Shamp History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
France

Thousands of new names appeared among the French people in the medieval period. Shamp appeared in Champagne at that time. It was a name for a person who lived at Champagne, in France.

Early Origins of the Shamp family

The surname Shamp was first found in Champagne, to which the family held the countship from ancient medieval times.

During the 12th and 13th centuries, the Champagne family were renown throughout the whole of western Europe for their textiles and "Champagne" wine which drew merchants and nobles alike. The descendants of the family of the count of Champagne trace their origin back to these times, and several cadet branches of the family were created, the Marquis de Villaines of Maine, de Champagne de la Suze of Maine, de Champagne' de Motteferchaut of Anjou, and de Champagne de la Pommeraye of Bretagne, to mention a few. The Champagne family were involved in the many facets of the culture and times, and during later years branches of the family established themselves in Austria, Geneva, Belgium, and Italy.

Jean-Baptiste Champagne, son of Charles and Catherine (née des Ombaes), travelled from île de Ré, France to Canada in the 17th century. He worked as a sergeant in the Marien detachment, and after arriving in Quebec he married Marguerite Legardeur, daughter of Michel and Marguerite (née Gambier), on 29th October 1703. Marguerite passed away and Jean-Baptiste remarried to Marie-Angelique Brisval. 1

Early History of the Shamp family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Shamp research. Another 75 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1134, 1154, 1361 and 1600 are included under the topic Early Shamp History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Shamp Spelling Variations

Most surnames have experienced slight spelling changes. A son may not chose to spell his name the same way that his father did. Many were errors, many deliberate. During the early development of the French language, a person usually gave his version, phonetically, to a scribe, a priest, or a recorder. Prefixes or suffixes varied. They were optional as they passed through the centuries, or were adopted by different branches to signify either a political or religious adherence. Hence, there a many spelling variations of the name Shamp, including Champagne, Champagn, Champaigne, Champaign, Chanpagne, Chanpagn, Chanpaigne, Chanpaign, Chempagne, Chempagn, Chempaigne, Chempaign, Chenpagne, Chenpagn, Chenpaigne, Chenpaign, Shampagne, Shampagn, Shampaigne, Shampaign, Shanpagne, Shanpagn, Shanpaigne, Shanpaign, Shempagne, Shempagn, Shempaigne, Shempaign, Shenpagne, Shenpagn, Shenpaigne, Shenpaign and many more.

Early Notables of the Shamp family

Another 41 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Shamp Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Shamp migration to the United States +

French settlers came early to North American, following in the wake of the explorers, and creating New France. Quebec City, founded in 1608 by Samuel de Champlain is said to have been the first American site founded as a permanent settlement, rather than as just a commercial outpost. But emigration was slow, in 1643, 109 years after the first landings by Cartier, there were only about 300 French people in Quebec, and by 1663, when the region was officially made The Royal Colony of New France, by Louis XIV, there still only around 500 settlers. Over 2,000 would arrive during the next decade. Early marriage was desperately encouraged amongst the immigrants. Youths of 18 took fourteen-year-old girls for their wives. The fur trade was developed and attracted immigrants, both noble and commoner from France. By 1675, there were around 7000 French in the colony, and by that same year the Acadian presence in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island had reached 500. In 1755, 10,000 French Acadians refused to take an oath of allegiance to England and were deported to Louisiana. Despite the loss of the Colony to England, the French people flourished in Lower Canada. Among settlers to North America of the Shamp surname were

Shamp Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Allen Shamp, who landed in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1874 2

Citations +

Olivier, Reginald L. Your Ancient Canadian Family Ties. Logan: The Everton Publishers, Inc., P.O. Box 368, 1972. Print
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)