People search
(married name will be ignored if broad check is ticked;
a broad check includes a search for nicknames, married names and other alternative names)Where were they from?
Search for places, see all people in the tree with events in that place, and (where added) see places marked on a map with photos, links and other information about the location.
Eliza WILLIAMS
Abt 1831 - 1910 (~ 79 years)
Has 2 ancestors and 188 descendants in this family tree.
Set As Default Person 
-
Name Eliza WILLIAMS Relationship 
with Teresa Ann GOATHAM Born Abt 1831 - Birthplace shown as Ashprington in 1851, Ashburton in 1861 and 1871 censuses. I think Ashburton must be a mistake for Ashprington, where Eliza did clearly live during part of her childhood, although as the family are recorded as living in Aveton Gifford when she was baptised I think this is probably where she was born.
Baptised 31 Jul 1831 St. Andrew’s Church, Aveton Gifford, Devon, England 
- From PR entry (image on FMP, viewed 6 Feb 2015)
"July 31st. Eliza, parents: Henry & Grace Williams, abode: Aveton Gifford, father a labourner, ceremony performed by The Rector [name not given]"
Gender Female Residence 1841 Washbourne, Ashprington, Devon, England - With her parents and siblings, at the time of the census.
Occupation 1851 Riversbridge, Blackpool, Stoke Fleming, Devon, England - Eliza and her younger sister Emma were both employed as house servants at Riversbridge, the home of farmer Henry Netherton and his wife. Henry farmed 300 acres, and the census shows that he was employing 9 labourers, 3 of whom, aged 11 to 19, were living in, as was a third house servant.
Occupation 1858 Servant - At the time of her marriage
Died Dec Q 1910 Plymouth Reg Dist, Devon, England - GRO ref: Gotham, Eliza, aged 79, q4 1910, Plymouth RD 5b 153
Siblings1 brother and 7 sisters Patriarch & Matriarch 
Henry WILLIAMS, bap. 13 Oct 1793, St. Michael and All Angels’ Church, Loddiswell, Devon, England, d. Sep Q 1849, Totnes Reg Dist, Devon, England (Age ~ 55 years) (Father) 
Grace PROUT, b. Abt 1796, Ugborough, Devon, England, d. Dec Q 1869, Plymouth Reg Dist, Devon, England (Age ~ 73 years) (Mother) Notes - Surname shown as Williams in GRO marr index, maiden name as Pearn on another family tree. Both could be true but I can't find Pearn - Williams marriage that would add weight to this.
Need to see marr cert or child's birth cert, or marr entry in PR.
Person ID I300071 All | All in the Goatham / Gotham One-Name Study , All subjects of the Goatham / Gotham One-Name Study Last Modified 27 Jul 2022
Father Henry WILLIAMS, bap. 13 Oct 1793, St. Michael and All Angels’ Church, Loddiswell, Devon, England , d. Sep Q 1849, Totnes Reg Dist, Devon, England (Age ~ 55 years) Mother Grace PROUT, b. Abt 1796, Ugborough, Devon, England , d. Dec Q 1869, Plymouth Reg Dist, Devon, England (Age ~ 73 years) Married 19 Jan 1819 St. Michael and All Angels’ Church, Loddiswell, Devon, England - Before 1824, assuming all the children with them in the 1841 census are the offspring of both Henry and Grace.
This marriage seems the most likely (data from DFHS index of PR entries, image viewed on DFHS website, members' area)
Family ID F300598 Family Group Page | Family Chart
Family William George GOTHAM, b. Abt 1818, West Teignmouth, Devon, England , d. Mar Q 1901, Plymouth Reg Dist, Devon, England (Age ~ 83 years) Married 16 Feb 1858 St. Nicholas’ Church, Shaldon and Ringmore, Devon, England - From PR entry (image on FMP, viewed 15 Nov 2014)
"William George Gotham, of full age, Bachelor, Gardener, residence at time of marriage St Nicholas [Shaldon], father: Thomas Gotham, Fisherman
[married]
Eliza Williams, of full age, Spinster, Servant, residence at time of marriage St Nicholas [Shaldon], father: Henry Williams, Miller"
GRO ref: Gotham, William George, to Williams, Eliza q1 1858 Newton Abbott RD 5b 216
Surnames used as 2nd (or occasionally 1st) Christian names were by no means always the mother's maiden name, but the majority were probably the maiden name of the mother of paternal grandmother.
I don't know where Pearn came from that William and Eliza gave to a son. Their PR marriage entry (i.e. certificate data) shows that Eliza was a spinster when she married, and William's parents marriage entry also shows Charlotte was a spinster (a Prowse) when they married. Eliza William's mother was Grace PROUT, probably a Prout by birth as a sister of Eliza's was named Grace Prout WILLIAMS.
Although such names were nearly always family names in the broadest sense, they could be from in-laws etc. e.g. a sister's husband (possibly used when he was a Godfather) or a step-father.
I wonder if it's possible that William married Eliza accepting that she was pregnant by another man - their first son, the only one given a surname as a Christian name, was born somewhere between 6 weeks and 4½ months after the marriage.
There is probably some significance in the name Pearn being given with the Christian names 'Henry John'. A Henry John Pearn was baptised in Dawlish, not far from Teignmouth, in 1840. Maybe he was Godfather to Henry John Pearn GOTHAM. His parents were John and Joanna, they appear to be the couple who married in Exeter in 1836, Joanna being a Cox at the time of marriage; the PR entry does not show whether she was a spinster at the time.
Children7 children Last Modified 14 Feb 2017 Family ID F300021 Family Group Page | Family Chart