Gamadge History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
France

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 castle and vill of Gamaches were situated in the Norman Vexin, and gave name to a Deanery in the Archdiocese of Rouen. Godfrey de Gamaches, who doubtless derived his name from this vill, inherited two knight's fees of old feoffment in the Honour of Lacy. The English interests of his family were therefore established before the reign of Henry I. This Godfrey received from Henry III. a grant of Stottesden in Shropshire, where his posterity remained seated till about 1254. He also obtained Marshall, in the same county, by grant of Richard I., and died before 1176. His second son, William, inherited Mansel-Gamage, Herefordshire, Gamage Hall in Dimock, and other lands in Gloucestershire, and was Constable of Ludlow." [1]

"The Lords of Gamaches in the French Vexin were said to be descended from Protadius, Mayor of the Palace to Theodoric, King of Orleans, 604." [2]

Early Origins of the Gamadge family

The surname Gamadge was first found in Shropshire at Stottesden, a parish, in the union of Cleobury-Mortimer, hundred of Stottesden. [3]

Early feudal rolls provided the king of the time a method of cataloguing holdings for taxation, but today they provide a glimpse into the wide surname spellings in use at that time.

Godfrey Gamages was listed in the Pipe Rolls for Hertfordshire in 1158; Philip de Camiges in the Hundredorum Rolls for Wiltshire in 1275; Alicia Gamage in the Hundredorum Rolls for Oxfordshire in 1279; and William Camage was listed a a Freeman of York in 1583. [4]

Early History of the Gamadge family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Gamadge research. Another 136 words (10 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 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.

Early Notables of the Gamadge family (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.

Gamadge migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. [5]

Gamadge Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

Stephen and Thomas Gamadge who settled in Barbados in 1685

Citations +

Cleveland, Dutchess of The Battle Abbey Roll with some Account of the Norman Lineages. London: John Murray, Abermarle Street, 1889. Print. Volume 2 of 3
The Norman People and Their Existing Descendants in the British Dominions and the United States Of America. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0636-X)
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies