GAY Family of South Stoke and Combe Hay

[Rubbish]

I have found the excellent list of Marriages at Combe Hay on the net, but am still looking for all Gay Family baptismal and burial entries for Combe Hay from the start of the registers to 1720. Can anyone who has access to this information please get in touch.

Thanks

Paul aka Rubbish

[Old Bristolian]

Hi Paul

Have you been in touch with the Somerset Hundreds groups at Yahoo groups? There may be someone there who can help - let me know if you would like me to do this.
I hope to be visiting Taunton in the next month or so - if you don't have any luck, I'll have time do to a little research myself

Steve

[Nanny McPhee]

Hello both

As a matter of interest for me?  Where have they buried all our ancestors from Combe Hay?  I visited the village a little while ago looking for the Brown families but found nothing!  Mind you, this applies to much of my tree, where were all the bodies buried in those days?

Nanny McPhee

[Old Bristolian]

Hi Nanny

Do you mean you can't find headstones - or records of the burials. The latter should be in the parish register of burials. If you are looking for headstones, I think only a few people could afford them, and most burials were unmarked

Steve

[Nanny McPhee]

Hello Steve

Sorry, I didn't  mean headstones, I know that a lot of families in the early 1800's couldn't afford a marker.  I did mean space.  It is only a small churchyard and it seemed to be full of stones but no spare land for the poor unfortunate deceased.

Having said that, I know my 4xGt Grandparents were not too badly off as John Brown was a carpenter and worked on the Caisson Hydrostatik Boat Lift project on the Somerset Coal Canal in 1796 and the man who patented the project, Robert Weldon was a witness at John Brown and Ann Pyatts wedding.  Ann's father was a farmer so they should have been able to have an headstone?

Nanny McPhee

[Nanny McPhee]

Hello again Steve

I have found on IGI the birth of an Elizabeth Gay in 1739 in Coomay [which must mean Combe Hay]  She married a John Shepheard on 14th Dec 1760 in Coomay.   John was born c1735 of Gloucester Film No.457052.  You probably have this already if you have the marriage list.

Joanna Gaye born c 1533 married Joannes Phelps 20th Oct 1544 Joannes born c1529
Joannes Gay born c1535 married Isabella Kelston 2nd Oct 1559 Isabella born c1539

Thomas Gay christened 25th March 1621 [no parents recorded]
John Gay      christened 08th March 1667 parents John Gay/Elizabeth
Thomas Gay christened 03rd April   1672  parents John Gay/Elizabeth

Joseph    Gay or Millard or Smith christened 20th Mar 1670
Margaret Gay or Millard or Smith christened 08th Sep 1673
father John Millard or Smith, mother Eleanor Gay
IGI Batch No.7203827 All at Combe Hay

Found these this evening, any good to you?

Nanny McPhee

[Old Bristolian]

Thanks Nanny,

The original enquiry was from Paul - I'm sure he'll reply to you - but as I'm descended from the same family he is researching, thanks from me as well.

Regarding space in churchyards - in practice, bones were often removed (in the Middle Ages) & placed in Charnel Houses, usually attached to the church. This made way for other burials - I don't know when this practice ceased - with the Reformation I guess. Otherwise I think families just buried one on top of another - some plots can contain up to 6 or more bodies (I think coffins are a fairly modern idea)

Steve

[Rubbish]

Nanny,
Thanks for spending time scanning the IGI. You gave me a couple of new entries that I did not know about. I aree looking for headstones is usually an unfruitful task. They also weather very quickly and any placed before 1800 are usually undecipherable.

Paul

[Nanny McPhee]

Thank you both for your replies, glad to help somebody else for a change and besides it is nice to look for someone other than the same old gt's all the time.

That is very interesting about the Chanrnel houses too.  Another bit of bedtime reading methinks!

Nice speaking to you boys!

Nanny McPhee