William Belchier/Belcher

[kath davis]

William Belchier was born 1738ish I know not where - so that is my question.
He was married to Mary Coulling, from Rousham, 1787 in Heyford Lower.  I have trawled the parish record, found 4 sons and many grandchildren all baptised Heyford Lower, but no Belchers earlier.  One son Stephen married and settled in Stoke Lyle.  I cannot find a Baptism or birth record within this area for William, who was buried Heyford Lower in 1811, age 73.  There are 4 possibilities within Oxfordshire, but non is more likely than the others - geographically.  Any thoughts please?

[Teresa Belcher]

Hi Kath - I too have got slightly stuck at this William Belcher (1738-1811). I cannot find any birth records stating his parents. Others (on Ancestry) are assuming William Belcher x Martha Spencer but I'm not sure this is correct as they are in Christian Malford. I found that he married Mary Banghan Widdow in 1767 and they had: John, Henry, Robert, Stephen, Richard. I am a direct descent of Stephen. Teresa

[ColC]

William Belcher of Heyford at Bridge
spouse   Mary Banghan (Widow) OT
By licence    Both signed
Marriage Date:   13 Jun 1767
Marriage Place:   Heyford Lower, Oxfordshire,

I guess from some of the trees on A…..y Couling was Mary’s maiden name but no birth record on A….y

There do not seem to be any baptism records in the Heyford area for William; the one you mention is below is the nearest, however it is strange that none of the children were named William.

William Belcher   Baptism   31 Aug 1735   Combe   William & Martha

Given that the eldest son was John, maybe the one below but the age at death would have to be wrong?

William Belcher   Baptism   4 Apr 1731   Milton Great   John & Mary

Alternatively the record may not of have survived, some of the parish records on A…….y are not too clear. Or he may have been born elsewhere, there are about 50 in England 1737 +/- 2years.

Colin

[ColC]

William Belsher of Witney married Mary Fuller

29/07/1752 Thame Oxfordshire.

So definitely not him.

Colin

[kath davis]

Many thanks to you both for offering some support with this.  I have re-covered my research as we had some differences, which I hope I can clear here. 
William Belcher married Mary Baughan, a widow 13 Jun 1767 at Heyford at Bridge - Heyford Bridge and Heyford Lower appear to be the same place. She was a widow having married William Baughan at Heyford at the Bridge 17 Dec 1756.  Her maiden name was Coulling, a surname which can have many spellings!  Both parish records are available to view online.  William Baughan was buried 30 May 1766, Heyford Lower, again the parish record is online. 
There were children to the Baughan marriage, William, Mary, Thomas, Stephen, James and John.  All baptised at Heyford Lower.  … and children to the Belcher Marriage, as you have them Teresa, with the exception of John, who was born before Wm Baughan died, so we kindly assume he was his child.
My husband is also a direct decendant of Stephen, via his daughter Hannah.
Colc, you would be correct regards Mary Coulling - I found a good birth record at Tackley -(Tackley is 2-3 miles from Heyford Lower.  Surname is written as Cocking) “parents Abel and Mary his wife”.
Still no sign of Williams parents.

[belcher33]

Hi

I also have this William in my family tree. Im a descendant of his son Robert b1774 brother to Stephen. I have his parents as William Belcher B1698 Combe oxfd married to Martha. Their children are William b1735 John b1732 d1816 Mary b1737 Thomas b1742 Martha b1745 Sarah b1747

William Belcher b1698 parents William Belcher and Frances Bowerman m 1697 children, William b1698 Anne b1700 Mary b1705 all in Combe oxfd.

Helen

[kath davis]

Helen
Thank you for your reply and the information.  The parents you have are ones I found - among 3 others in a reasonable distance.  I was searching online and could find no good reason for selecting them rather than one of the others, except they were the nearest.  Excuse me for asking - do you have something more tangible we can work on?  His birthdate is 3 years out from that given at his death - but the latter could easily be wrong. 
Regards, Kath

[belcher33]

Hi Kath

No sorry this was all the information taken from ancestry of 3 different trees.  Ive only researched Robert (stephens brother) do you have any any information you can pass on regarding stephen or the other brothers as havent started researching them as of yet.

Many thanks
Helen

[kath davis]

Helen
Sorry for the delay in replying - I thought I had, but must have forgotten to hit the post button!  Anyway, I have been looking at the Combe William and family.  As the nearest to Lower Heyford, it did seem the best option.  I haven't managed to find anything to put this in as definite, but am happy it is probably correct.  I found a couple more children to the William and Martha marriage; William born and died 1731 and Ann born 1740.  I haven't found a marriage or Martha's maiden name yet. Rather annoyingly there are some pages of the Combe register missing!  The interesting thing was that the younger 3 children, Thomas, Martha and Sarah were all Baptised at Kidlington. It doesn't put them any nearer Heyford, but they are not static in Combe either.  William's (1735) wife Mary Coulling was Baptised at Tackley which is midway between Kidlington and Heyford.  He would have been living at Kidlington as a teenager.

Regarding the William and Mary boys, they were all baptised in Lower Heyford and the scans of the orginal records are on Ancestry. The eldest is John, and the youngest of the Braughan marriage also John - hence my error.

Still looking for Martha's family name.  I think not Spencer - the William B she married would be the one from Sutton Benger - he was on my list! 

Still lots to do, Kath