Origins Available: English,
French
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.
Early Origins of the Gamadge family
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.
Early History of the Gamadge family
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 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.
Migration of the Gamadge family to the New World and Oceana
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