Gamadge Surname, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available: English, French

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The name Gamadge reached English shores for the first time with the ancestors of the Gamadge family as they migrated following the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Gamadge family lived in Gamaches, in Normandy. The family name Gamadge was brought to England after the Norman Conquest, when William the Conqueror gave his friends and relatives most of the land formerly owned by Anglo-Saxon aristocrats. The Normans frequently used the name of their estate in Normandy as part of their name. The surname Gamadge was established by Norman landholders in the county of Herefordshire.

Gamadge Early Origins

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The surname Gamadge was first found in Herefordshire where they held a family seat from very early times and were granted lands by Duke William of Normandy, their liege Lord, for their distinguished assistance at the Battle of Hastings in 1066 A.D. This distinguished name appears on the Roll of Battell Abbey honoring those Norman nobles who were present at Hastings.

Gamadge Spelling Variations

Anglo-Norman names tend to be marked by an enormous number of spelling variations. This is largely due to the fact that Old and Middle English lacked any spelling rules when Norman French was introduced in the 11th century. The languages of the English courts at that time were French and Latin. These various languages mixed quite freely in the evolving social milieu. The final element of this mix is that medieval scribes spelled words according to their sounds rather than any definite rules, so a name was often spelled in as many different ways as the number of documents it appeared in. The name was spelled Gamadge, Gamage, Gammage, Gamages, Gamaches and others.

Gamadge Early History

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Gamadge research. Another 271 words (19 lines of text) covering the years 1159, 1285, 1306, 1411, 1563, 1621, 1735, 1803, 1756, 1803, 1758, 1844, 1799, 1842, 1790, 1850, 1842, 1859, 1828, 1913, 1853 and 1939 are included under the topic Early Gamadge History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Gamadge Early Notables (pre 1700)

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was Barbara Gamage (1563-1621), a Welsh heiress, who inherited the Coity estate on the death of her father John Gamage, and later married Robert Sidney, 1st Earl of Leicester; as well as Anthony Gamage, who was an Alderman of London. The Camidge...

Another 49 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Gamadge Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

The Great Migration

Because of the political and religious discontent in England, families began to migrate abroad in enormous numbers. Faced with persecution and starvation at home, the open frontiers and generally less oppressive social environment of the New World seemed tantalizing indeed to many English people. The trip was difficult, and not all made it unscathed, but many of those who did get to Canada and the United States made important contributions to the young nations in which they settled. Some of the first North American settlers with Gamadge name or one of its variants:

Gamadge Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Stephen and Thomas Gamadge who settled in Barbados in 1685

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Citations

Other References

Burke, Sir Bernard. Burke's Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Landed Gentry: Including American Families with British Ancestry. (2 Volumes). London: Burke Publishing, 1939. Print.
Holt, J.C. Ed. Domesday Studies. Woodbridge: Boydell, 1987. Print. (ISBN 0-85115-477-8).
Best, Hugh. Debrett's Texas Peerage. New York: Coward-McCann, 1983. Print. (ISBN 069811244X).
Leeson, Francis L. Dictionary of British Peerages. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1986. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-1121-5).
Cook, Chris. English Historical Facts 1603-1688. London: MacMillan, 1980. Print.
Browning, Charles H. Americans of Royal Descent. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing. Print.
Thirsk, Joan. The Agrarian History of England and Wales. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press: 7 Volumes. Print.
Crozier, William Armstrong Edition. Crozier's General Armory A Registry of American Families Entitled to Coat Armor. New York: Fox, Duffield, 1904. Print.
Samuelsen, W. David. New York City Passenger List Manifests Index 1820 - 1824. North Salt Lake, Utah: Accelerated Indexing Systems International, 1986. Print.
Bullock, L.G. Historical Map of England and Wales. Edinburgh: Bartholomew and Son, 1971. Print.
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The Gamadge Family Crest was acquired from the Houseofnames.com archives. The Gamadge Family Crest was drawn according to heraldic standards based on published blazons. We generally include the oldest published family crest once associated with each surname.

This page was last modified on 20 August 2013 at 12:06.