D'Egville or Degville

[Anonymous]

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Does anyone know where the name d'Egville/Degville originates from. Hazel Empson (née Hope) named her son Degville and hazel's brother Walter Hope named his youngest son Degville. (one family story was that the d'Egvilles came over with William the Conquerer)

[Anonymous]

Sadly the D'egvilles did not come over with William the Conquerer but in the mid 18th century Peter Dagueville (as the name was spelt in the 18th Cent.) was a Dancer at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane and His Son James Harvey (or Hervet) D'Egville changed the spelling to the more aristocratic version around the 1790s - which the whole family continue to use (as D'Egville or Degville) to this day.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for that information which is very interesting. Do you know anything more about the d'Egvilles. The d'Egville in my family tree is Lewis Harvey d'Egville who married Mary Davis on 3.5.1804. They had 12 children (all born in Worcester ), one of whom was James Harvey d'Egville b. 1813 (same name but maybe a different person. According to the census Lewis Harvey d'Egville was a dancing master !

[Anonymous]

As a member of the Degville family i thought you might like to know that we have traced our family tree back to the Deyville family who arrived in England in the 12th century.They originated from the Languedoc region of southern France.One of whom,John,supported Simon de Montfort,who made him a Baron.Unfortunately this lasted just a few months as the King regained power.
Another member of the family,Goscelin,supported the Duke of Lancaster in the Wars of the Roses.He ended up in York.Hung,drawn and quatered!

The Deyville's settled in the midlands in the 13th century,and that is where you will find the vast majority of Degville's to this day.I was the first Degville born in London for almost 100 years in 1970.
There are Degville's in Australia,South Africa and many in the southern American states.There are no Degvilles in France or anywhere else in Europe.