The roots of the
Anglo-Saxon name Gainsford come from when the family resided in the region of
Gaye which was located in France. The surname Gainsford was also a
nickname which described someone with a
happy or light spirited character.Early Origins of the Gainsford family
The surname Gainsford was first found in
Durham at Gainford, a parish, in the unions of Teesdale, Darlington, and Auckland. "This place was anciently a seigniory detached from the palatinate jurisdiction of the county, and invested with several valuable privileges and immunities. It appears to have been indebted for its origin to Egfrid, Bishop of Lindisfarne, who founded a church, which in 830 he gave to the see, together with the lands annexed to it, and which continued to form part of the episcopal possessions till the commencement of the 11th century."
[1]CITATION[CLOSE]
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Early History of the Gainsford family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Gainsford research.
Another 229 words (16 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Gainsford History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Gainsford Spelling Variations
The English language only became standardized in the last few centuries; therefore,
spelling variations are common among early
Anglo-Saxon names. As the form of the English language changed, even the spelling of literate people's names evolved. Gainsford has been recorded under many different variations, including Gainsford, Gaynesford, Gainford, Gaynsford, Ganesford and many more.
Early Notables of the Gainsford family (pre 1700)
More information is included under the topic Early Gainsford Notables in all our
PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Migration of the Gainsford family to the New World and Oceana
For many English families, the political and religious disarray that shrouded
England made the far away New World an attractive prospect. On cramped disease-ridden ships, thousands migrated to those British colonies that would eventually become Canada and the United States. Those hardy settlers that survived the journey often went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations in which they landed. Analysis of immigration records indicates that some of the first North American immigrants bore the name Gainsford or a variant listed above:
Gainsford Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
- Mathias Gainsford who settled in Maryland in 1774
Gainsford Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
- Arthur Gainsford, who settled in Pennsylvania in 1876
- Arthur Gainsford, who arrived in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1876 [2]CITATION[CLOSE]
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
Contemporary Notables of the name Gainsford (post 1700)
- John Gainsford (1938-2015), South African rugby union player for Springboks