The Davidge Family of Melbury Abbas and Motcombe, Dorset, England
Introduction
This is the story of my Davidge Family History. It starts with Sarah Davidge, my great great great grandmother. Both she and her sister Anna were married to my great great great grandfather, Joseph Scammell.
Davidge is a patronymic form of the name David, and seems to be local to the Dorset/Somerset border (though this is not to say that the name is not found elsewhere). The spelling varies from record to record. It is important to remember that until comparatively recently people were not literate. A name would be spelt however a clerk or Minister thought it should be spelt. Thus a surname can vary in spelling from generation to generation, and even within the same generation! Name changes are also common when someone emigrated - not only to another country but to another area of his own country when clerks and scribes struggled to make sense of unfamiliar names and accents. So you will find Davidge, Davige, Davadge, Davig, Davag, Davage, Davyg, Davyge, Daviche and probably other variant spellings too. Keep an open mind and be flexible. A different spelling does not mean a wrong spelling or the wrong family.
As with all my on-line family histories I have references to all my sources and in some case more information about the families mentioned. I am happy to share this information with genuine family history researches directly descended from this Davidge family.
Contact: helen at sign dorsetbay dot plus dot com. Please use . in place of dot and @ in place of 'at sign'!
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