Show ContentsGalmadey History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Early Origins of the Galmadey family

The surname Galmadey was first found in Devon where "Langdon was for several generations till recently the seat of the Calmadys. "1

By the 13th century, the family held the estates of Wembury in Devon. "The church [of Membury] contains a monument to the memory of Sir S. Calmady, who was mortally wounded at the siege of Ford House, during the great civil war." 2

Early History of the Galmadey family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Galmadey research. Another 141 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1080, 1142, 1149, 1162, 1163, 1455, 1487, 1510, 1600, 1619, 1635, 1642, 1645, 1660, 1666, 1671, 1683, 1685, 1686, 1697, 1732 and 1755 are included under the topic Early Galmadey History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Galmadey Spelling Variations

Sound was what guided spelling in the essentially pre-literate Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Also, before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Therefore, spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Galmadey family name include Calmady, Kalmady, Galmady, Callmady, Calmadie, Calmadee, Calmadey, Callamadee and many more.

Early Notables of the Galmadey family

Distinguished members of the family include Sir Shilston Calmady (died 1645), English soldier in the English Civil War, killed in action; and his son, Josias Calmady (1619-1683), an English politician who sat in the House of Commons, Member of Parliament for Okehampton (1660.) Edmund Calamy the Elder (1600-1666), one of the authors of ‘Smectymnuus,’ was born in February 1600, the only son of a tradesman in Walbrook. His father came from Guernsey, and the family tradition is that he was an exiled Huguenot from the coast...
Another 85 words (6 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Galmadey Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Galmadey family

For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, Canada, the America colonies, and many of smaller tropical colonies in the hope of finding better lives abroad. Although the passage on the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving, those families that survived the trip often went on to make valuable contributions to those new societies to which they arrived. Early immigrants bearing the Galmadey surname or a spelling variation of the name include: the name represented in many forms and recorded from the mid 17th century in the great migration from Europe. Migrants settled in the eastern seaboard from Newfoundland, to Maine, to Virginia, the Carolinas, and to the islands..



The Galmadey Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Simili frondescit virga metallo
Motto Translation: The twig has leaves of similar metal.


  1. Worth, R.N., A History of Devonshire London: Elliot Stock, 62, Paternoster Row, E.G., 1895. Digital
  2. Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.


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