I started my family history about 2016 with my mum providing some information and photos of her side.  One name - Gadsdon - I had not heard of before.  My great-grandmother was called Eliza 'Lila' Maria Emma GADSDON who married a William Henry SMITH (but not THE WHSmith of stationery shop fame!).  The photo shows Eliza as the lady on the right hand side with William and their three children taken approx 1903 in London, UK.  The eldest son was called William Gadsdon SMITH and I was curious as to a child having the middle name of his mother's maiden name.  Little did I know that it was quite common for this to happen, and also very useful to genealogy researchers trying to trace the female line of their families.

I then began to trace the line further back and found the majority of the family were based in Buckinghamshire (especially Eaton Bray, Stoke Goldington) and Bedfordshire with the spelling of GADSDEN, with just one branch coming down to London in early 19th century where the spelling changed from GADSDEN to GADSDON.  In 1891 31% of all GADSDEN/GADSDON families were living in London.

Research has found many hundreds of relatives all descended from one couple with the surname GADSDEN born in 1550.  That is the earliest I think will be able to research as the family were not gentry and parish registers did not exist for the commoners before that date.  Due to the research all pointing to one couple I was intrigued to see how everyone is connected.

This study will focus primarily on the UK based family, as 95% were in the UK up to the early 19th century with just a handful overseas mainly due to being transported for misdemeanours to America and Australia.  However I know now there are many of the family in other countries which will be added to the study in due course.

Variants - the most common variant is GADSDON which seems to cover the branch which moved from Buckinghamshire/Bedfordshire to London in early 19th century.  Census records and other documents show the spelling changing to GADSDON which could be explained by it being spelt phonetically or a handwriting transcription error or even the local dialect being misheard by the London enumerator.

Other Variants to consider in the future will include: GADDESDEN / GADSON / GASDON/ GODSON

The origin of the surname GADSDEN that I have first recorded in my personal family tree is in Stoke Goldington, Buckinghamshire, UK in 1550.

However, this name is of English locational origin from Great or Little Gaddesden in Hertfordshire. Recorded as Gaetesdene in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, dated 944 and as Magna (Great) and Parva (Little) Gatesden in the 1254 Pipe Rolls of that county, the name derives from the Olde English pre 7th Century personal\nickname "Gaete" from "Gat", a goat, plus "denu" or "dene" a valley. The surname is first recorded in the latter half of the 13th Century, (see below). One, Richard de Gatisdene and a John de Gattsdene appear on record in Buckinghamshire and Norfolk in 1273 and 1275 respectively. On December 11th 1586 Marye, daughter of Thomas Gaddesden, was christened in Hitchin, Hertfordshire and on May 11th 1623 Ann, daughter of Luke Gadsden was christened in Hitchin. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Audufus de (of) Gatesden, which was dated 1272, The Hundred Rolls of Bedfordshire, during the reign of King Edward I, The Hammer of the Scots, 1272 - 1307. 

There are few notable GADSDEN/GADSDONs over time - some famous, some infamous

• Sir Peter Drury Haggerston Gadsden GBE AC JP FREng (28 June 1929 – 4 December 2006) was a Canadian born British chartered engineer and globe-trotting trader. He was the 652nd  Lord Mayor of London in 1979 and 1980.  He started the tradition of the livery weekend in Ironbridge.
  
  
• Christopher Gadsden (February 16, 1724 – August 28, 1805) was the principal leader of the South Carolina Patriot movement during the American Revolution and a soldier and politician and plantation and slave owner from South Carolina. He was a delegate to the Continential Congress, a brigadier general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina, a merchant and the designer of the Gadsden flag. 
  
  
• James Gadsden (May 15, 1788 – December 26, 1858) (grandson of the Christopher Gadsden) was an American diplomat, soldier and businessman after whom the "Gadsden Purchase" is named, pertaining to land which the United States bought from Mexico, and which became the southern portions of Arizona and New Mexico.  James Gadsden served as Adjutant General of the U. S. Army from August 13, 1821 – March 22, 1822. Between 1853 and 1856, he served as U. S. Minister to Mexico. He was known commonly as General Gadsden, although he never had a rank above Colonel.

Data on the GADSDEN / GADSDON family will be compiled from Birth, Marriage and Death entries from the General Register Offices for England and Wales; Census and Residency records; Military records; Probate & Wills; Pedigrees submitted by many GADSDEN / GADSDON researchers including the extensive database compiled by my aunt and two 3rd cousins about thirty years ago when they contacted every family member in the phone book and asked for information!