Oldgate Surname, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

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The history of the Oldgate family goes back to the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of Britain. It is derived from the family living in the area of Holdgate in Hereford. Holgate was also listed as a township in the suburbs of York at one time.

Oldgate Early Origins

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The surname Oldgate was first found in Shropshire at Holdgate, Stanton Holdgate or Castle Holdgate, a small village which dates back to 1185 when it was listed as Castellum Hologoti and literally meant "castle of a man called Helgot", from an Old French personal name + the Latin castellum. Holdgate (Holgate) Castle is situated in the village of Holdgate and was mentioned in the Domesday Book. It was an 11th century earthwork motte and bailey fortress founded by Helgot de Reisolent. Ruins of the castle are still found there today.

Oldgate Spelling Variations

Until quite recently, the English language has lacked a definite system of spelling rules. Consequently, Anglo-Saxon surnames are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. Changes in Anglo-Saxon names were influenced by the evolution of the English language, as it incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other languages. Although Medieval scribes and church officials recorded names as they sounded, so it is common to find one person referred to by several different spellings of his surname, even the most literate people varied the spelling of their own names. Variations of the name Oldgate include Holgate, Holdgate, Howgate, Hogate and others.

Oldgate Early History

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Oldgate research. Another 149 words (11 lines of text) covering the years 1481, 1555, 1545 and 1554 are included under the topic Early Oldgate History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Oldgate Early Notables (pre 1700)

Another 34 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Oldgate Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

The Great Migration

Searching for a better life, many English families migrated to British colonies. Unfortunately, the majority of them traveled under extremely harsh conditions: overcrowding on the ships caused the majority of the immigrants to arrive diseased, famished, and destitute from the long journey across the ocean. For those families that arrived safely, modest prosperity was attainable, and many went on to make invaluable contributions to the development of the cultures of the new colonies. Research into the origins of individual families in North America revealed records of the immigration of a number of people bearing the name Oldgate or a variant listed above: James Holgate settled in Philadelphia in 1685; William Holgate settled in New England in 1748; Mathew Holdgate settled with his daughter Mary in Philadelphia in 1685.

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Citations

^ Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)

Other References

Browning, Charles H. Americans of Royal Descent. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing. Print.
Bowman, George Ernest. The Mayflower Reader A Selection of Articales from The Mayflower Descendent. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing. Print.
Matthews, John. Matthews' American Armoury and Blue Book. London: John Matthews, 1911. Print.
Dunkling, Leslie. Dictionary of Surnames. Toronto: Collins, 1998. Print. (ISBN 0004720598).
Colletta, John P. They Came In Ships. Salt Lake City: Ancestry, 1993. Print.
Marcharn, Frederick George. A Constitutional History of Modern England 1485 to the Present. London: Harper and Brothers, 1960. Print.
Colletta, John P. They Came In Ships. Salt Lake City: Ancestry, 1993. Print.
Bardsley, C.W. A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6).
Lennard, Reginald. Rural England 1086-1135 A Study of Social and Agrarian Conditions. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1959. Print.
Humble, Richard. The Fall of Saxon England. New York: Barnes and Noble, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-88029-987-8).
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The Oldgate Family Crest was acquired from the Houseofnames.com archives. The Oldgate 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 1 December 2014 at 06:52.