Gumersale Surname, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

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Gumersale is a name that first reached England following the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Gumersale family lived in the place called Gomersal in Western Yorkshire, which derived its name from the Old English personal name Gudmoer and the Old English word halh. The name Gudmoer was composed of the elements gud, which means battle, and moer, which means fame. The word halh means nook or recess. This name was therefore formed under the Old English naming system, which gradually dissolved after the Norman Conquest. At this time, Old English names became less common and were replaced by popular continental European names. The surnames in England that were found shortly after the Norman Conquest were usually of Norman French rather than native English origins.

Gumersale Early Origins

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The surname Gumersale was first found in Yorkshire in the West Riding where they held a family seat at Gomershale, later to become known as Gomersal. A knight's fee granted by William the Conqueror to Gilbert de Lacy was the first record of the place name from whom conjecturally the Gomersalls were descended. The grant of lands also included a mill and a manor at that time. Today Gomersal is a village in the metropolitan county of West Yorkshire and not that long ago was originally known as Great Gomersal and Little Gomersal.

Gumersale Spelling Variations

It is only in the last few hundred years that the English language has been standardized. For that reason, Anglo-Norman surnames like Gumersale are characterized by many spelling variations. Scribes and monks in the Middle Ages spelled names they sounded, so it is common to find several variations that refer to a single person. As the English language changed and incorporated elements of other European languages such as Norman French and Latin, even literate people regularly changed the spelling of their names. The variations of the name Gumersale include Gomersal, Gomersall, Gommersal, Gommersall, Gomershall and many more.

Gumersale Early History

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Gumersale research. Another 47 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Gumersale History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Gumersale Early Notables (pre 1700)

More information is included under the topic Early Gumersale Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

The Great Migration

Faced with the chaos present in England at that time, many English families looked towards the open frontiers of the New World with its opportunities to escape oppression and starvation. People migrated to North America, as well as Australia and Ireland in droves, paying exorbitant rates for passages in cramped, unsafe ships. Many of the settlers did not make the long passage alive, but those who did see the shores of North America were welcomed with great opportunity. Many of the families that came from England went on to make essential contributions to the emerging nations of Canada and the United States. Some of the first immigrants to cross the Atlantic and come to North America carried the name Gumersale, or a variant listed above: William Gomersall arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1856.

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Citations

^ Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)

Other References

Leeson, Francis L. Dictionary of British Peerages. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1986. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-1121-5).
Browning, Charles H. Americans of Royal Descent. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing. Print.
Robb H. Amanda and Andrew Chesler. Encyclopedia of American Family Names. New York: Haper Collins, 1995. Print. (ISBN 0-06-270075-8).
Lennard, Reginald. Rural England 1086-1135 A Study of Social and Agrarian Conditions. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1959. Print.
Cook, Chris. English Historical Facts 1603-1688. London: MacMillan, 1980. Print.
Shaw, William A. Knights of England A Complete Record from the Earliest Time to the Present Day of the Knights of all the Orders of Chivalry in England, Scotland, Ireland and Knights Bachelors 2 Volumes. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing. Print. (ISBN 080630443X).
Burke, Sir Bernard. General Armory Of England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales. Ramsbury: Heraldry Today. Print.
Weis, Frederick Lewis, Walter Lee Sheppard and David Faris. Ancestral Roots of Sixty Colonists Who Came to New England Between 1623 and 1650 7th Edition. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0806313676).
Colletta, John P. They Came In Ships. Salt Lake City: Ancestry, 1993. Print.
Magnusson, Magnus. Chambers Biographical Dictionary 5th edition. Edinburgh: W & R Chambers, 1990. Print.
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The Gumersale Family Crest was acquired from the Houseofnames.com archives. The Gumersale 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 10 December 2014 at 16:06.