Gregor Purdy - Purdy Resource Center

This is a collection of notes I've made about the things I've discovered about Purdys.

Variations

I've seen many variations of the name, falling into two broad categories. Bear in mind that despite similarity in sound or spelling, some of these are probably not actually related.

Main variations

Perdew, Perdie, Perdue, Preddy, Priddy, Puddy, Purdee, Purdey, Purdie, Purdin, Purdom, Purdon, Purdue, Purdum, Purdy.

The name came to England around the time of the Normans conquest (c. 1099), in the form "Por Deau" (literally "for God"). In the 1600's, this name found its way to the USA when Francis Purdy I came over from Yorkshire England with his wife and children, settling in what is now the Westchester County area of New York.

Other variations

Pudig, Pudich, Pudick, Pudish, Pudix, Purdy.

In coming to the USA from Odessa Russia (some possibly via Germany) in 1849, some members of the Pudig family changed their last name to Pudick, and some to Purdy. Some other possible variants of this name from the 1920 census are Pudix, Pudich, and Pudish. [http://genforum.genealogy.com/purdy/messages/217.html]

Sources

1. U.S. Census Bureau Places Table: http://ftp.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/places.html
2. U.S. Geological Survey: http://www.usgs.gov
3. [Various] State Atlas and Gazetteer (DeLorme)
4. http://extra.entisoft.com/P/u/Purdy.HTM

Popularity of the Variations

According to the 1990 United States Census:

Books About Purdys

• History of the Descendants of Samuel Harper, James Purdy and James Leeper, and Other Branches of the Leeper and Harper Families; Harper.
• Purdey's, the Guns and the Family; Richard Beaumont; Hardcover, 248pp.; ISBN: 0940143410; Safari Press, Incorporated, 1984 December.
  
• Purdy: Allied Families of Purdy, Fauconnier (Falconer), Archer and Perrin; A. F. Perrin and M. F. Meeker; Paperback, 114pp.; ISBN: 0832817597; Higginson Book Company, 1991 January.
• Purdy's Instrument Handbook, Ralph G. Dewey; 1996.
  
• Purdy's Eagle Lake, First Edition; Tim I. Purdy; Paperback, 136pp.; ISBN: 0938373048; Lahontan Images, 1989 January.
  
• Boats by Purdy; Alan E. Dinn; Paperback, 208 pp.; ISBN: 1888671262; Tiller Publishing, 2003 July. (See its web page)
  

Books by Purdys

• Hole in the Fabric: Science, Contemporary Literature and Henry James; Strother B. Purdy; Paperback, 240pp.; ISBN: 0608200069; Books on Demand.
  
• One to Ten Count Again; James Woodard and Linda Purdy; Library Binding; ISBN: 0914844075 Publisher: Jay Alden Publishers, 1972 January.
  
• Outline of the History of the Flaming Gorge Area; William M. Purdy; Hardcover; ISBN: 0404606377; AMS Press.
• Reality of God: Thoughts on the Death of God Controversy; Alexander Purdy; Paperback; ISBN: 0875741541; Pendle Hill, 1967 July.
  

Public Purdys

• Brown, J. Purdy: Operator of the first American itinerant show to use a circus tent, in 1825.
• Lahm, Frank Purdy: Lieutenant in U.S. Army who flew with Orville Wright in a demonstration of the world's first military airplane at Fort Myer, VA on 1909-07-27.
• Purdy, Al: A leading 20th century Canadian poet. Author of Naked with Summer in Your Mouth (1994).
  Collected poems:
  
• Purdy, Bryn: Author of A. S. Neill: Bringing Happiness to a Few Children.
• Purdy, Daniel L.: Author of The Tyranny of Elegance: Consumer Cosmopolitanism in the Era of Goethe.
• Purdy, Gerry: President of Mobile Insights, in Mountain View, Calif.
• Purdy, James: An American writer of short stories and novels. Author of Out with the Stars (1993).
  
  and Moe's Villa and Other Stories
  
• Purdy, Jedediah: Author of Common Things: Irony, Trust and Commitment in America Today (Knopf; 256 pages; $20).
  
• Purdy, John L.: Author of Nothing But the Truth: An Anthology of Native American Literature
  
• Purdy, Michael: Author of Health and Exclusion: Policy and Practice in Health Provision.
  
• Purdy, Richard Little: Co-editor of The Collected Works of Thomas Hardy and author of other works.
• Purdy, Robert: Colonel in U.S. Military Led an advance force of 1,500 troops complementing about 4,000 men under General Wade Hampton in an advance on Montreal as part of the War of 1812. Met resistance by Colonel Charles de Salaberry's force of 460 in the Châteauguay River valley, resulting in the Battle of Châteauguay on 1813-10-26.
• Purdy, Scott: Author of Hands on Approach to Teaching books on: Measurement (1988); Statistics, Probability and Graphing (1988); Algebra (1989); and Patterns and Functions (1991). Also, author of Time Management for Teachers: Essential Tips and Techniques (1997-07).
• Purdy, Susan Gold: Author of The Family Baker: 150 Never-Let-You-Down Basic Recipes.
  
• Purdy, Verity Sweeny: Dance professional and author of The Luckiest Girl in the World: A Memoir.
  
• Purdy, W.A.: Author of The Church on the Move: The Characters and Policies of Pius XII and John XXIII (1966).
  
  and, author of The Search for Unity: Relations Between the Anglican and Roman Catholic Churches from the 1950s to the 1970s (1996).
   
• Wilbur, Richard Purdy: American poet.

Purdy Places

Canada

• Ontario
  • Purdy's Mills (aka Lindsay), Victoria county
    On Scugog River, 21 miles west-northwest of Peterborough.
    Founded 1825
    Named after William Purdy, who built the first mills.

United States of America

• Arkansas
  • Purdy, Madison County
    36°5'29"N 93°34'25"W [2]
    From Huntsville: 412 North East to CR18 South [3]
• Georgia
  • Purdy Lake, Brooks County
    South of Quitman: Empress Road South to/past CR100 [3]
    Swampy?
    Near Florida border.
• Idaho
  • Purdee Lake (aka Porters Lake), Kootenai County
    47°32'40"N 116°27'46"W [2]
• Iowa
  • Purdy, border of Lucas and Marion Counties
    41°9'38"N 93°13'59"W [2]
    From Pleasantville: 181/5 South to G76 East to 60th Avenue South [3]
• Indiana
  • Purdy Hill, Clay County
    From Terre Haute: 40 East (near Billtown) [3]
• Kentucky
  • Purdy, Adair County (and Purdy-Sulphur CR West)
    37°9'5"N 85°11'6"W [2]
    elevation is 1,018 feet [2]
    At 206 near 531 [3]
  • Purdy Hill, Hopkins County
    Near Dawson Springs off 109 [3]
• Massachusetts
  • Purdy Corner, Bristol County
    Near Mansfield, South of Boston
    From Quincy: 93/1 West to 95 South to 140 South to 106 West
    to Tremont Street South to Williams Street South East to Purdys Corner [3]
• Missouri
  • Purdy, Barry County (and East Purdy)
    population was 977 in 1990;
    housing units was 420 in 1990;
    36°49'2"N 93°55'14"W; [2]
    land area is 1,686,000 km^2;
    FIPS code is 60176
    ZIP code is 65734
    From Monett: 37 South to B/C [3]
  • Purdee Chapel Cemetary, Jackson County
    38°59'25"N 94°13'51"W
  • Purdey Creek, Monroe and Ralls Counties
    39°22'46"N 91°41'53"W [2]
• New York
  • Lake Purdy
    West of 684, East of 100, South of 116, off Croton River (?) [3]
  • Purdy Brook, Westchester County
  • Purdy Creek, Steuben County
  • Purdy Hill, Chenango County
  • Purdy Hill, Steuben County
  • Purdy Pond, Westchester County
  • Purdy Ridge, Dutchess County
  • Purdys, (Northern) Westchester County
    East of I-684 and South of Mills Road (116), along Titicus Reservoir [3]
  • Purdys Grove, (Southern) Westchester County (Rye)
    Near Connecticut border
    At about I-95 and I-287 and 1 [3]
  • Purdys Mill, Clinton County
    Off Stillwater Brook / Rand Hill Road
    South of Duley Road
    North of French Settlement Road
    Near Canada
    87 North from Plattsburgh to 374 West to Old Military Turnpike North
    to Jersey Swamp Road West to Rand Hill Road North [3]
• Oklahoma
  • Purdy, Garvin County
    34°42'57"N 97°35'14"W [2]
    elevation is 1,035 feet [2]
• Pennsylvania
  • Purdy, Washington County
    From Weirton (West Virginia): 22 East to 18 North to SR4003 North West to T867 [3]
    At intersection of SR4003 and T867
    Near Warrior's Point
    Near West Virginia Border
  • Purdy Creek
    Lake Wallenpaupack Basin, Northeastern Pennsylvania
    http://pa.water.usgs.gov/abstracts/wrir_98-4186.html
    http://pa.water.usgs.gov/reports/new-rpts.html
• Tennessee
  • Purdy, McNairy County (and Purdy Road and Purdy-Beauty Hill Road)
    35°13'36"N 88°31'50"W [2]
    From Adamsville: West on Hickory Flats / Old Stage Road [3]
• Texas
  • Purdy-Nielsen Memorial Airpark (private)
    From Huston: 59 South West to Beasley (North of 360, West of 361) [3]
• Virginia
  • Purdy, Greensville County
    36°49'20"N 77°35'18"W [2]
    elevation is 233 feet [2]
    From Emporia: North on 619 to 608 [3]
• Washington
  • Purdy, Pierce County (and Purdy Creek)
    47°23'21"N 122°37'27"W [2]
  • Purdy Creek
    Near Union
    http://wa.water.usgs.gov/wash.disc.sw.html
    http://wa.water.usgs.gov/wash.disc.qw.html
• West Virginia
  • Purdy, Calhoun County
    38°56'38"N 81°8'6"W [2]
    elevation is 706 feet [2]
• Wisconsin
  • Purdy, Vernon County (and Purdy Valley)
    43°31'1"N 91°2'53"W [2]
    elevation is 704 feet [2]
    From LaCrosse: 35 South to 56 East to N South [3]

Purdy Companies

• Purdy Materials Plant #1
• Purdy Center, Camp-of-the-Woods
  P.O. Box 250
  Speculator, NY 12164
  (518) 548-4311 ext. 257
• Wiggin, Purdy, McCooey and Dion Funeral Home, 655 Central Avenue, Dover NH. 800-698-1017. [2000-03-05]

Copyright © 2008 Gregor N. Purdy. All rights reserved.

: 2005-12-04 21:14:52 -0800 (Sun, 04 Dec 2005) $