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William GOTHAM
1673 - 1730 (~ 56 years)
Has 7 ancestors and 368 descendants in this family tree.
Set As Default Person 
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Name William GOTHAM Relationship 
with Teresa Ann GOATHAM Baptised 17 Jul 1673 St. John the Baptist Church, Marldon, Devon, England 
- From PR entry (image on FMP, viewed 13 Nov 2014)
"1673: William the son of Tymothy Gotham ___ 17th of ??"
Month not clear in PR, appears to be between April and July; BT (image on FamilySearch, viewed 26 May 2018) clearly shows 17th July.
Gender Male Occupation 1711 Woolcomber - When a bondsman for a marriage (Nicholas Trebilcott of Exeter to Rebecca Wilcox spinster also of Exeter - Fursdon vol. 3 p. 17) - "Gulimus Gotham de Painton Woolcomber"
Miscellaneous 2 Jan 1711/12 Bondsman - William was a bondsman for the marriage of Richard Churchward of Stoke Gabriel, Yeoman and Susanna Wills of the same, Spinster. (found in Fursdon vol. 3 p. 17 at the DHC, viewed on FamilySearch) - "Gulimus Gotham de Painton Woolcomber". William does not appear to have been a regular bondsman so I guess there was some link between him and one or both of the couple.
A Susanna Gotham had married a Thomas Wills in Plymouth in 1667, but she belongs to a group at present not linked to the group William was in; it would appear that any relationship between them must have been quite different so this is probably not the link.
Also bondsman was a John Hannaford "de Painton agri:". Not, it would appear, the John Hannaford who was to marry Mary Gotham, probably a second cousin of William, about a year after this; the bondsman with William made his mark, the John who married Mary Gotham signed with a very confident hand.
Died - I did think that William was probabIy still alive in 1740 as in that year I think it was his daughter Susanna who was bound to appear bef QS; the catalogue entry mentions her along with a "William Gotham of Paignton cordwainer" I think means that that William was still alive (so far I have only seen DRO catalogue entry). Who was that William? If it was this William it would seem he wasn't buried in 1729/30! But I can't find another William who could have been (who fits the description 'senior').
This William's son, and Susanna's brother, William seems to have moved to Wolborough before 1740 (judging by the baptisms of his children), but a QS appearance in 1751 does describe him as a shoe maker, i.e. consistent with the William metioned in the entry for Susanna's QS appearance. An unusual occupation amongst the Gothams, but I don't know what this William did for a living, so he could, like his son, have been a cordwainer.
Buried 19 Mar 1729/30 St. John the Baptist Church, Paignton, Devon, England - From PR entry (image on FMP, viewed 17 Nov 2014)
"William Gotham Senr. _ [March] 19"
Siblings4 brothers Patriarch & Matriarch 
Notes - (Research):It is clear that the William of Paignton was the William born Marldon. Not only is there the lack of a marriage, burial or baptism of any children of William in Marldon, and the use of the relatively uncommon names Dinah and Timothy for children, but also William's brother John, when executor in trust of his brother Humphry's will, showed his charges in a resulting Consistory Court case, and they included going to Paignton to given an account to his brother William.
Person ID I300156 All | All in the Goatham / Gotham One-Name Study , All subjects of the Goatham / Gotham One-Name Study Last Modified 22 Jul 2020
Father Timothy GOTHAM, b. Est 1632, bur. 3 Dec 1703, St. John the Baptist Church, Marldon, Devon, England (Age ~ 71 years) Mother Katherine, b. Est 1640, d. Yes, date unknown Married - Katherine is named as Timothy's 'now wife' in indenture date 1682, Timothy could have been married more than once, and so ** Katherine was not necessarily the mother of all of his children. ** This wording could be more in case Timothy should remarry at a later date rather than imply an earlier wife, but even if so with no marriage date it is still quite possible Timothy had his children with more than one wife.
Family ID F300050 Family Group Page | Family Chart
Family Margery ALWARD, bap. 19 Feb 1679/80, The Church, St. Marychurch, Devon, England , bur. 7 Aug 1748, St. Mary the Virgin Church, Wolborough, Devon, England (Age ~ 68 years) Married 10 Jun 1701 St. John the Baptist Church, Paignton, Devon, England - From PR entry (image on FMP, viewed 15 Nov 2014)
This shows the groom as Richard Gotham.
Why I think the marriage recorded as of Richard was actually the marriage of William
I suspected Richard was a son of Timothy and showed him as such for sometime, but the lack of both a baptism and a burial record for Richard together with the lack of a marriage record for William made me wonder (and add a note to this tree) suggesting that William and Richard might be the same person. I think the evidence I have seen is now sufficient for me to be fairly sure sure they were, so I have merged the two.
In addition to the lacking records, the date and the Christian name of the bride are right for William:
* When William's brother John died in 1735, his will meant that a guardian was needed for William's son Timothy and he (Timothy) desired his mother to be assigned - and she is named as Margery. Margery was the name of "Richard's" wife.
* William's first child was baptised in December 1701, suggesting that he had most likely married in 1700 or 1701 - especially as they seem to have been a very fertile couple, with no large gaps between children.
The record of the marriage of "Richard" was in June 1701.
* Lastly the location of the marriage of "Richard" ties in with William. See research notes attached to William for evidence that it was William, the son of Timothy, who lived in Paignton.
The one piece of evidence against William and Richard being one person, is that if there was no brother of William called Richard, then why did William give the name to a son? The names William, John and Timothy are all names of close family of William. I think his wife Margery was the daughter of a William and had a brother James, which just leaves the name Richard as not obviously the name of a close relation. Given that I haven't found the marriage of Margery's parents there could have been another brother Richard baptized in the parish where they were married, probably not yet online or where the PRs don't survive.
But of course William had moved from Marldon where most of his close family lived. He must have had friends in Paignton. Maybe a close friend was best man at the wedding and godfather to his son. Or (perhaps more likely) maybe an Uncle Richard on his mother's side was a significant figure in William's life; perhaps Richard he was childless and was the reason for William moving to Paignton - to be apprenticed to or work with him.
Whilst I am now highly confident that Richard and William are one and the same, if I could find that Margery or William had a close relation or other link to a Richard I would feel that bit more satisfied that William's 'brother Richard' did not exist.
Residence to 1731 Paignton, Devon, England William and Margery and family - All of William and Margery's children were baptised in Paignton (1701-1721), five of the children died in infancy (1706-1720) and were buried there as was William in 1729/30. In 1730 eldest daughter Mary was married there, and in December 1731 fifteen year old son John was buried there. Exactly three weeks later Mary too was buried.
Residence From 1735 Wolborough, Devon, England Margery moved the family - It appears that Margery and most of her surviving children moved from Paignton to Wolborough, probably between December 1731 and March 1735/6.
Four of Margery's children married, the first in 1735/6 - and all married in Wolborough. None of them was shown as 'of' another parish. Then in 1748 that is where Margery was buried.
With the loss of so many of her children at a young age, as well as her husband Margery may have been seeking to move to somewhere healthier. Her husband may have depended on the sea for his livlihood. Margery and her children did not. Her daughters could probably have found domestic work anywhere, son William was a shoemaker, and would probably have served an apprenticeship by the time the family moved, son James' fate is unknown, while the youngest Timothy's occupation may have been yet to be decided.
Children12 children Last Modified 22 Jul 2020 Family ID F300044 Family Group Page | Family Chart
- From PR entry (image on FMP, viewed 13 Nov 2014)