Monday, July 25, 2016

Across the Pond to early 1500s: the GAYLORD/GAYLARD/GAYLAUD/GAYLER family


The GAYLORD family in the Pitminster region of Somerset England is known in early Connecticut by Alice GAYLORD who had married Richard TREAT 27 Apr 1615. Richard and Alice came to America in 1630 with their 9 surviving children. [Treat Genealogy].  Note that TREAT is TROTT in England. Alice is the first Gaylord I ran across in my research.

Alice and her husband, Richard TREAT, were the parents of (Gov.) Robert TREAT, Robert being the 6th of 11 known children of this early settler couple. Some information on Alice was found through searching the TREAT biographies and records. I found Alice's surname unusual and went searching for any possible ancestors in Pitminster. There are many variants of the name as shown in the title of this blog.  It is believed the original surname is of French Huguenot origin: GAILLARD of Normandy. There are also early Gaillard settlers in the southeast states who came directly from Normandy. For those who love history: The Bayeux Tapestry may be 'read' for the history of the conquest of England by William, the Conqueror, uniting England and Normandy.

Alice seems to have been the youngest of 5 children of Hugh GAYLORD and wife Johane AILVYN, and was baptised 10 May 1594 at the church of St. Andrew & St. Mary, built about 1300.
    His daughter Alice was baptized at Pitminster, 10 May, 1594, and married there, 27 April, 1615, Richard Trott (Treat), and came to America with her husband and their nine surviving children in 1630.  (The image above of the Pitminster parish church is from Mike Searle)

Hugh assisted his mother in executing his father Nicholas' will in 1546, and later was executor of his mother Johane's will in 1572. Thank heavens for wills - they provide confirmation or strong evidence of lines of descent, siblings, occupations, land holdings, and more.

Hugh's will unfortunately perished [via bombs, WW2], but is recorded in the Taunton Calendars (File 1614, No. 110). He had a number of lands in the region around Pitminster: Poundisford, Smalecross, Trull, Lakemead, Southgrove, and Smalrest.

Hugh's parents were Nicholas GAYLORD and Johane [surname possibly SEVENOAK - not proven]. Nicholas died 25 Mar 1546 and was buried 7 Apr 1546 at Pitminster, at age 31. A very young man. I do not have the reason for his death. His wife Johane would have been left with 3 known children, and she married Giles Alvyn, and had at least two more children. She died about 29 Aug 1572, aged 49 years. Nicholas GAYLORD's will is dated 25 March 1546; he is noted to have been buried on 7 Apr 1546.

As you can see there were two Joan/Johane ALVYN/AILVYN women who married GAYLORD men. I have seen online trees with the children thoroughly mixed up because of this issue. Giles and Joan Alvyn were possibly cousins of the GAYLORD family. A little hard to research and prove after so many centuries!

Nicholas GAYLORD (abt 1515-1546) & Johane [SEVENOAK] (abt 1523-1572)
                                                                Johane's 2nd marriage, Giles ALVYN
Hugh GAYLORD (abt 1543-Oct 1614)  & Joane AILVYN (abt 1553-aft 1591)
Alice GAYLORD (May 1594-abt 1670) & Richard TREAT (bef 28 Aug 1584-Mar 1669)

If you know anything more about any of the above individuals, I would be so pleased for more details. And if you wish more information on them, I'm also happy to share. Contact me at my address at the bottom of the page or, in the Comments section.

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Family, friends, and others - I hope you enjoy these pages about our ancestors and their lives. Genealogy has become somewhat of an obsession, more than a hobby, and definitely a wonderful mystery to dig into and discover. Enjoy my writing, and contact me at celia.winky at gmail dot com if you have anything to add to the stories. ... Celia Lewis