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.
Early Origins of the Oldgate family
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.
[1]CITATION[CLOSE]
Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4) 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.
Early History of the Oldgate family
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 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.
Early Notables of the Oldgate family (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.
Migration of the Oldgate family to the New World and Oceana
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.