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Margery ALWARD
1680 - 1748 (~ 68 years)
Has 2 ancestors and 368 descendants in this family tree.
Set As Default Person 
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Name Margery ALWARD Relationship 
with Teresa Ann GOATHAM Baptised 19 Feb 1679/80 The Church, St. Marychurch, Devon, England 
- From PR entry (image on FMP, viewed 26 Nov 2014)
Shown as daughter of Jane, no indication of whether Jane was a widow or single. (Not found the marriage of an Alward to a Jane that could be Margery's parents, but there were several Alward children of a William baptised in the 1670s; in addition a William was buried in Oct 1679 so I think Margary was probably the daughter of William and Jane)
Given my estimate of 1677, and how close St Marychurch is to Paignton, this would seems to be probably the baptism of this Margery. (I searched for baptisms in Devon, 1664+/- 20 years, Margery Alward including name variants, in FMP index on 26 Nov 2014, i.e. when most but not all Devon registers had been indexed)
Gender Female Buried 7 Aug 1748 St. Mary the Virgin Church, Wolborough, Devon, England - From PR entry (image on FMP, viewed Nov 2014)
"B.7. Margaret Gotham." - under headings '1748' and 'August'
Children in the family seem to be described as 'son of' or 'dau of' at this time, so the Margaret referred to was probably an adult.
Although Margery's family had lived for sometime in Paignton, and her husband was buried there, some of their children lived back in the Newton Abbot area, and so it is quite likely that William's wife would have moved back there and been buried in Wolborough.
Hence although other records refer to her as 'Margery' l think this is probably her burial despite her name being recorded as 'Margaret'.
Siblings1 brother Patriarch & Matriarch 
William ALWARD, bur. 7 Oct 1679, The Church, St. Marychurch, Devon, England (Father) 
Jane, d. Yes, date unknown (Mother)Person ID I300706 All | All in the Goatham / Gotham One-Name Study , All subjects of the Goatham / Gotham One-Name Study Last Modified 22 Jul 2020
Father William ALWARD, bur. 7 Oct 1679, The Church, St. Marychurch, Devon, England Mother Jane, d. Yes, date unknown Married - * This couple and their family are a bit speculative - see birth comments for daughter Margery *
Family ID F301297 Family Group Page | Family Chart
Family William GOTHAM, bap. 17 Jul 1673, St. John the Baptist Church, Marldon, Devon, England , bur. 19 Mar 1729/30, St. John the Baptist Church, Paignton, Devon, England (Age ~ 56 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 26 Nov 2014)