Chapter 1: What's In A Name

A great deal apparently! Since it was to take well over three hundred years for the name Gillard to firmly establish after its evolution from the French origin of Guilard, Guillard/Gailard, Gaillard, Gaillarde, Gailiard, Galiard - all these variations being used for the one family in France where the problems of illiteracy caused no less difficulties than was to be experienced in England in later years, where all these spellings were used at various times, plus the additional ones of Gyllard, Gaylard, Gayllard, Gaylarde, Gaylerd, Gaylerde, Gayllerd.

Surnames were not commonly used in England until the fourteenth century and only became necessary as some sort of mobility took place and people started to move from village to village. They took their names from their trade - e.g. Farmer, Smith, Taylor, Fisher etc., by far the most common source of name origin, or nicknames, Long, Short, Black, White etc., or place of origin, Bedford, Sheffield, London, Lancaster etc.

The fourth source of origin for what is now known as Old English Family Names are those of foreign origin with France being the largest single contributor to this category.

The Dictionary of English Names gives the origin of the English name Gillard as:

"Gillard, Jillard, Jellard: Gillard with a hard ’G' is French (Guilard) corresponding to Norman Willard.

With a 'J' sound, it is a derivative of Gille (Giles), French Gillard -v - Giles".

As in England, a name had to have its origin from some source, either a place, trade or nickname/description etc.

The guide to its origin in France is contained in Cassell's French/English Dictionary:-

Gaillarde (Female) Jovial, Jolly, Merry, Lively, Blithe, Buxom, Light, Lighthearted, Libertine, Wanton, Broad, Gallant, Bold, Free, Half Tipsy, Cool, Fresh.
Gaillard (Male) Lively, Merry, Jovial Fellow, Strapping Blade, Jolly Dog, Gaillard "Resolv", Determined Dog, Big Fellow, Sly Dog.

One has to suppose that when the use of surnames became customary in France (probably at an earlier stage than in England) the name of Gaillard or Gaillarde was given to or used by females and males filling these particular descriptions.

The next reference to its French origin was found in the History of British Names in connection with the Huguenots - emigrants, principally from France, who sought refuge in England from religious persecution in Europe. The relevant extracts are:-

HUGUENOTS. Adherents to the movement of the Reformation called Huguenots, had grown in such numbers in France that they formed a strong political party. Attempts to exterminate them failed, but continued persecution by the Roman Catholics led to civil war and laws of great severity, leading to unbridled slaughter, resulting in wholesale flight of the Protestants. The fearful tortures and butchery which took place in Flanders led to thousands of Netherlanders seeking refuge in England, and following upon the perpetration of the terrible massacre of St. Bartholomew (1572), hordes of Frenchmen came over the channel.

The names of the Dutchmen, Walloons, and Frenchmen abound throughout Britain, although now often corrupted past recognition. An interesting study of the alien appellatives is provided by the records of the persons who obtained ex donatione regis letters patent making them English subjects, and admitting them to citizenship. Letters of denization and Acts of Naturalization were frequently not applied for until many years after arrival in this country, by which time the alien had often acquired an English name, so that it must not be concluded that the names in these documents are those brought from their native lands. A selection of sixteenth-century names follows:-

From
Belgium: Birde, Pilgrome
Brabant: Brunell, Nolans
Brittany: Androwe, Creeke, Fillpot (i.e. Philipot), Haye, Jurden, Kirgriste, Lovewell, Mee, Parchement, Parre, Peat, Pedreneck, Pelygryne, Person (probably Piers-son), Pevenger, Plynner, Popyn, Rawe, Sanker, Stookey, Swemeck
Burgundy: Ashen
Denmark: Peterson
Flanders: Boome, Fysche, Homebolte, Lotyn, Mace, Pavyllion, Pope, Raven.
France: Admande, Asshe, Averell, Barre, Bashley, Basse, Belhatch, Bendebowe, Blancke, Bocok, Bouchier, Bryant, Burges, Bylett, Campe, Cann, Carioun, Carowe, Casher, Codde, Cotton, Crewell, Fever, Folet, Galiard, Gavell, Cotter, Grace, Groundsell, Herault, Holwigge, Hotlofte, Isle, Lashe, Lovly, Lyster, Mallard, Mallet, Martell, Maunsell, Melly, Motton, Myer, Osanne, Paymente, Peers, Perago, Peryn, Philpot, Pigyon, Pitwell, Pomerell, Potte, Quesnell, Servile, Shale, Shell, Shower, Shynyng, Sorrell, Turkey, Vergyn, Vowtier

When my wife and I were in England in October 1977 we checked with the British Genealogical Society in London whether any serious or extensive work had been done previously on the origin of the Gillards. It is the custom for people doing work of this type to deposit a copy with the British Society with obvious advantage to future enquirers.

Unfortunately, in this instance, little had been done before except for a few small family trees of recent origin, but the following letter contained in the Gillard file was of interest:-

November 29th (no year) South Raynham Vicarage,
Fakenham, Norfolk.

Dear Madam,

My husband has passed your most interesting letter over to me to answer as my maiden name was Gillard, he has only taken Gillard Johnson as non-de-plume as there are so many Johnsons.

Our branch of the Gillard family came from Devonshire but were descended from an old Huguenot family. My father told me he was descended from an’ old French Noble, and a lady once called when I was a girl and said that our family was mentioned in a Huguenot book and we were descended from a ... ? ... - a refugee - I have often wished to trace the family but have lacked time. I think perhaps they came from Chateau Gillard a little way out of Paris, but that of course is only a surmise. I should think most likely that your ancestry was descended from the same family as so many Huguenots went to the W. Indies.

If you should discover anything further would you kindly let me know as I have for years wished to know more concerning our ancestors.

Thank you so much for your best wishes for the book - my husband has received many congratulations already. There was a splendid notice in last Sunday's Times.

Believe me,
V. Truly,
Mary F. Johnson

This letter had apparently been deposited with the Society by someone sorting papers from a deceased estate and coming to light following the link with the Huguenots contained in the History of British Names incited my curiosity to pursue the Huguenot association as far as was practicable.

From the brief readings of the considerable amount of literature on the subject held by the Melbourne Public Library and without covering all the ground as that would take days of full time effort, it was significant that in every Huguenot book where names were mentioned (many of course were restricted to the history of the movement) the name of Guillard or Gaillard (with variations) was found.

Since the link does seem a strong one it may be helpful to the reader, before listing the specific Guillard/Gaillard references to give a brief outline of the movement itself.

It probably commenced in the South of France within the provinces of Dauphine and Provence, at least that's the earliest reference to where the people came from who started the movement of religious "protest" against the Catholic Church and may have given rise to the name of the "Protestant" movement, although I can't see this stated specifically - it simply became known as the French Protestant movement - but more commonly the Huguenot movement.

This was around 1510 and from its earliest days it was recognised as a serious threat to both the religious and political dominance of the Roman Church, and at the outset, serious reprisals were taken against anyone advancing the Protestant cause.

The Huguenots believed they held the essentials of real religion but did not believe in the Pope or his doctrines. In short, amongst these people baptisms were administered, the Ten Commandments were taught, the Sabbath was solemnly observed and the word of God expounded.

King Francis the First who came to the throne in 1515, almost exterminated the movement by military executions and wholesale massacres, but they survived and increasingly won support among the noble and the privileged, and gained the private sympathy of some members of Royalty. This further increased the bitterness against the movement as they commenced to find support within the "voice of power".

The early gifted Huguenot Pastors were very successful in importing an awareness of the main errors of the Roman system. Mainly, the debarring of people from reading the scriptures and in exalting religious ceremonies and ecclesiastical granduer above the importance and principle of moral conduct.

Many battles were to take place in the name of the Huguenot (Protestant) movement, and were generally referred to in history as the French Wars of Religion. One of the principal ones already mentioned was the massacre on St. Bartholomews Day 1572 in Paris and in other centres resulting in the death of 70,000 people.

At one period around 1560 the Protestant congregation was forbidden to carry arms, but the armed Roman Catholics, incited by a raging priesthood were able to inflict severe assault on the Huguenots with the full protection of the Law.

In August 1573 the Huguenots were conceded freedom of worship and the public exercise of their religion, but they were still excluded from the professions, and increasingly, from the trades. Roman priests were also permitted by Law to enter the homes of dying protestants with the objective, often implemented with coersion and threat, to cause the Huguenots to abandon their Faith and embrace the Roman Order.

The Huguenots appealed to Queen Elizabeth of England for help. She being the only Monarch in Europe with Protestant sympathies. While maintaining outward appearances of non-interference she sent money by underground means to help equip the Huguenot armies and privately encouraged English men to join the Huguenot army as volunteers. Walter Raleigh, as a seventeen year old boy, was one of these.

The Huguenot movement commenced in the early 1500s was to last for just on two hundred years. The families seeking refuge went to England in two waves about 1550 and 1680, and many went to America and the West Indies during the latter period, but there was a steady stream from 1500.

The more interesting references to the Gillard (Guillards/Gailards) in connection with the Huguenots are:-

1. Refugees Before St. Bartholomew's Massacre (i.e. before 1572) by the Rev. David C.A.Agnew - Page 79.

a. Philippe Galliard, born in Flanders, Jane his wife, "and three big maides of Thage [the age] of XXXI, XX and XIX yeres" came into this realm of Shrovetide last. Their trade is twisting yarn.

b. John Galliard (no further reference) - Page 48.

2. Protestant Exiles From France in the Reign of Louis XIV (1643/1715) By the Rev. David C.A.Agnew

Paul Guillard, Stephen Guillard, John Gailard, Peter Guillard - no dates

3. Publications of the Huguenot Society of London

(A supplement to Dr. A.W. Shaw's letters of Denization & Acts of Naturalization) From 1603.

This lists the town and/or province in France where the Huguenot families came from who sought naturalization or denization after 1603, but it should be noted that they may have arrived in England many years before that.

The Gaillards along with twenty-seven other families came from the

Province of Languedoc. The actual entry is:-

’’Languedoc

Barbatier Cordes Grassiere Pujolas
Bernard Coughet Jourdon Razou
Boyer Delafarelle Labilliere Reynall
Cabibel Ducros Leques Rieusset
Cext Gaches Longuerine Tessier
Chabert Gailiard Loubier Vialas
Colombies Gourdon Melier Villeneuve"

The interesting thing about this reference is that the Province of Languedoc adjoins the Province of DAUPHINE AND PROVENCE and was no doubt closely associated with the commencement of the movement.

Also, in the list of Dr. Shaw's names these twenty-eight families are considerably greater in number than originated from any other one province.

The other interesting thing in connection with Languedoc as being the claimed general origin of the Gaillard Huguenots is the following specific reference to one of them in a list of naturalizations:-

4. The Huguenot Society of London Publications Vol. XVIII 151I

Naturalizations - Page 283 (some time around 1680/90)

John Gailiard (Galiard), born in Languedoc in France, son of Daniel Gailiard by Mary his wife ("John Galiard, a trooper ten years under Col. Lumley"). (Ibid).

John Gailiard, Attested by William Vialas and Stephen Siguala. Rest as in (30) (Trooper 10 years).

Stephen Siguala. Attested by Samuel Gamault and John Gailiard. Rest as in (39). (Trooper 5 years).

5. A Huguenot Family in the XVI Century (The Memoirs of Philippe De Mornay)

This tells the story of the persecution of a Noble Huguenot family in about 1550. Page 123 Chapter "An Escape From The Massacre" contains the following: -

"I was in this hollow above the attic I heard the most terrible cries from men, women and children who were being murdered in the streets, and having left my child below I fell into the greatest perplexity and almost despair so that, had I not feared God’s wrath, I would far sooner have flung myself down than have fallen alive into the hands of the mob, or have seen my daughter massacred before my eyes, which would have been more terrible to me than my own death. But one of my servant girls took the child safely through every peril and got with her to the house of Dame Marie Guillard, Dame d'Esprunes, my maternal grandmother, and there she left her, and my grandmother kept her till her own death".

(Dame Marie Guillard belonged to another Huguenot family linked to the De Mornay's by marriage).

6. History of the Rise of the Huguenots

Henry M.Baird (Professor in the University of New York)

One of the chapters of this book - The Massacre At Orleans, pages 569, 570, 571 describe the outwitting of a French Captain by a group of German Protestants in company with a number of French Huguenots and proceeds to this point:-

"The blasphemous words of the furious Captain Gaillard, when opposed in his plan to destroy Betzheim and his fellow Germans, truly expressed the sentiments which others might possibly have hesitated to utter so distinctly. "Par la mort Dieu! il faut qu'il soit.... Il n’y a ny Dieu, ny diable, ny juge qui me puisse commander. Vostre vie est en ma puissance, il fault mourir ... Baillez-moy mon espee, je tuerai l'ung apres l'autre, je ne saurois tuer trestous a la fois avec la pistolle."

Which roughly translated is:-

"By the death God! it must be ... there is no God, no Devil nor judge who can command me. Your life is in my power, death should occur ... give me my sword, I will kill one after the other, because I could not kill all at once with my pistol". (Obviously the Captain wasn't a Huguenot).

These various references to the French Huguenots in particular may or may not be specifically relevant to our Gillard family in Somerset, however, there are strong circumstantial links. The key facts are these:-

1. The name and origins of the family are clearly French.

2. They are listed in many separate books as Huguenot families.

3. There were members bearing the family name who sought refuge in England in both the major waves of Huguenot refugees around 1550 and 1680 respectively.

4. Many of the Huguenots settled in the West Country (Somerset, Devon, Cornwall).

5. The Somerset family carried on many of the same name spelling variations as existed in France, and added quite a few others.

Our particular family was in Martock Somerset from at least 1564 - which is the first reference to the family in the Parish when the records started there in 1558. The first born there was in 1570. Refer chart first ten generations.

Now the problem about this is that although, on the surface, they could easily have come to Martock with the thousands who emigrated as Huguenot refugees around 1550, the coincidental factor of the records being available only from that parish since 1558 leads also to the reasonable question , since there are many references to them within say six to ten years from the records commencing, that they may equally have been there before that. If they were in Martock much before 1550 they probably weren’t specifically Huguenot refugees.

That's not to say that they were not connected with them, in fact, everything points to them being either directly Huguenots or from the same brood its just that on any fair assessment it must be conceded that we don’t know exactly when this particular family came from France to England, under what circumstances or from which Province. It may have been Languedoc, or Flanders, or of course anywhere else in France. In connection with the Flanders possibility there is reference in the book "The Trail Of The Huguenots" by G. Elmore Reaman to a group of Flemish weavers settling at Glastonbury (which is only about ten miles from Martock) in the period around 1547/1553.

"The only refugee congregation outside London in King Edward's reign was established at Glastonbury in Somerset, unlikely as that western situation may now seem. The buildings and lands of the famous Abbey had lain vacant for ten years, since their expropriation by King Henry VIII and the legal murder of the last Abbot, when the Protector Duke of Somerset received them by exchange from King Edward, and founded there a colony of Flemish and French Protestant weavers ... The settlers were a compact group of refugees, Flemish and French Protestants who had gathered at Strasbourg under John Calvin himself and now had to move again. There were forty-six families for whom thirty houses were allotted, and they were encouraged to pasture their cattle in the park of the Abbey, some of whose buildings were used for their weaving industry. It was a deliberate attempt by the Protector to found an industrial colony. They held their Calvinist services in the parish church and a special liturgy in Latin was printed for them in London in 1551."

This makes the entry:-

"Refugees Before St. Bartholomew’s Massacre (i.e. before 1572)

By the Rev. David C.A.Agnew - Page 79

1. Philippe Galliard, bom in Flanders, Jane his wife, "and three big maides of Thage of XXXI, XX and XIX yeres" came into this realm of Shrovetide last. Their trade is twisting yam".

an interesting possibility in view of the first Gillard appearing in the Martock Parish Register - "Isobell Gillard married John Wafte 16th October 1564".

Now to the evolution of the name in Martock Somerset. As early as the 1560's and 70’s the "hard" anglicised versions of the name was used.

These were Gillard and Gaylard but it was not a consistent pattern and was to change, within families, only to revert to earlier spellings, and many individuals were the victim of different spellings for their baptism, marriage or death records.

We have to suppose, based on the later multi usage of the names that the first entries are all people from the one family, but in any event, our first known direct ancestor was the Nicolas Gaylard married to Johanne Newman in 1572 and you can trace the interesting name treatments on the chart which lists the first ten generations in England. But for "Other Gillards" it must be noted that this chart shows only those in the direct line back from George the Australian pioneer and the immediate relatives in each of these generations. For a full list of Martock births, deaths and marriages of Gillards refer to the Parish list at back of book.

Some of the more interesting name treatments evident on the Chart are:-

1. John Gaylard bom 1575 (2nd generation on Chart) had five children baptised as follows:

Francis Gaylerde 1602
John Gaylard 1603
Stephen Gayllerd 1606
Joseph Gayllard 1610
Marye Gayllard 1619

2. John's brother (Robert) 1578, had four children and had much the same problem with his lot:

Robert Gayllard 1614
Elenor Gaylerd 1616
Thomas Gayllerd 1622
John Gayllard 1625

3. The Robert Gayllard bom in 1614 (third generation) established a new form baptising his three as Gyllard.

Even though in the fifth and sixth generation - the late 1600s and early 1700s - they seemed to settle solidly for Gillard, the stability was to be short-lived as evidenced by these examples:

4. The Robert Gillard born 1721 had four children - the first three reverting in their baptism record to the earliest French version of Guillard, which had not been used by the family in Martock, with one exception, for at least two hundred years. Then just to prove the inconsistency, Gaylard was used for his fourth child (see seventh generation on Chart).

5. These three Guillards on marriage became Gillards in two cases, the other Gaylard - but each of the three, Edward, Joseph and James had six or seven children and used a mixture of Gillard and Gaylard throughout each family (see eighth generation).

6. George, the Australian emigrant's father Robert was baptised and married as Gillard, named the first George, who died, as Gillard and the "replacement" George was similarly treated, however, all the remaining eight children were baptised as Gaylard.

7. The final example worth mentioning also concerns pioneer George, born as Gillard, but his three daughters, born before he left for Australia, appear in the parish records at Martock as Gaylard - but fortunately the youngest Lydia, who was to prove the link in our search between Australia and England, was listed with the Government Registrar of Births as Gillard.

This was the luckiest break in the whole search. Since we had no knowledge of the name Gaylard, or in fact anything different to Gillard, and had Lydia been registered by the Government Statist as Gaylard (as baptised), the search made for her birth certificate to find the family's origin in England would have been in vain. George's emigration papers for himself and family, and his work contract were in the name of Gillard and all his other children bom in Australia were so baptised, and the name in Tasmania and Victoria has been that way ever since.

Later on, some papers were found in the archives office in Hobart which also identified their town of origin as Martock in Somerset. However, had the search for Lydia's birth certificate been unsuccessful we might not have proceeded beyond that point. She was the first and only one from those ten generations affected by the Government Legislation on birth registrations in 1837.

The Martock parish covers a rural area no larger than five miles from any one point to another and there were a few Gillards shown in the records of three of the nearby parishes, namely Curry Rivel where the records comnenced in 1642, Drayton (1558 records) and Long Sutton (1558).

The names used in Curry Rivel were Gillard in the first entry of 1697, then Gailard in marriages between 1717 and 1763, of which there were nine in number, then Gillard from then on.

In nearby Drayton there were about half a dozen marriages recorded between 1577 and 1811. The first was Gayllarde, (probably cousins - John Gayllarde married Christian Gaylard 20th April, 1577) the next two marriages were as Gaillard. From 1769 onwards Gillard was used.

In Long Sutton there were about the same number of marriages recorded, the earliest spelling (1616) being Gailard then Gaylard.*

The greatest distance of any of these three parishes from each other would be about eight miles (see parish map), but with over 90% of the baptisms and marriages occurring in the Martock parish - with none in any quantity in the neighbouring parishes until well after the family established in Martock, it is a safe assumption that Martock was the origin of the family in Somerset and probably in England, and the name pattern was basically evolved there.

For the most part the spelling of a name is not so much how any particular family wanted it spelt, since in those days they were illiterate in the majority of cases, including members of the nobility and Royalty. It was the way the parish or Government clerk or the Vicar thought it should be spelt. Hence the enormous variation in the spelling of names in those days.

* Earliest was John Guillard m. Margaret Burnard, 26 April 1562.

Should the reader still have any doubt on the name question let me quote from two well-qualified people. The first is from the genealogist used in most of this search, Mr. J. Bastin:

"Don't worry about it at all. Shakespeare who could hardly be described as illiterate wrote his name in something like a dozen different versions, so did Sir Walter Raleigh. In parish registers the entries were most often made by the parish clerk who was chosen at a vestry meeting, sometimes yearly. He might have the job thrust upon him more or less against his will and frequently he was a stout farmer who was more at home handling a plough than a pen and some of the scrawls have to be seen to be believed. Bear in mind too that frequently the people being married or the parents of a child being christened could not read or write and consequently had no fixed idea as to how their name might be spelt. They often spoke indistinctly - they do to-day - and the parish clerk or the vicar had to do the best he could. Add to this the fact that the parish clerk or the vicar might well be a little deaf and you have the reason for a dozen different versions of a name. Only last week I came across some people I was looking for in the registers of Dartmouth:
1798 Punchin Elizabeth d John 8 Mary bapt. 22 April
1803 Puncheon Henry son of John 8 Mary bapt. 13 Feb.
Quite obviously the same couple, the clerk just wrote down what he heard.
My own family lived for a long time at Ottery St Mary in Devon. The name appears in the registers as Bastin, Basten, Bastone, Bastynne - in fact any spelling you can think of can be found for sure. So take it from me that the Gaylords, Gaylards, Gillers, etc. are all Gillards."

And the final message in the publication "Aids To Finding Your Ancestor" by Anthony J. Camp, Director of Research of the Genealogical Society of Great Britain reads:

"I must end with one word of warning. The spelling of surnames only became standardized with the growth of education in the last century and the 'y' or the 'e' in our names, about which we may be so particular, made little difference 150 years ago when, in a country parish, perhaps only the parson could write and might baptise one of your children Smith one year, another Smythe the next. The great George Villiers, indeed, appears in the parish registers of Kirkby Moorside, Yorkshire (1687), as 'Georges vilaus Lord dooke of bookingham', so who are we to complain.

Finally on the question of the name, its evolution and probable origin, the phone books in England for the principal centres in the "West Country" (Taunton, Plymouth and Exeter) list over two hundred Gillards and only about four Gaylards, so even if it was to take three or four hundred years the "Gillard" style clearly won in the end.

ADDENDUM

Since drafting this Chapter some additional reading indicates that the Huguenot Protestant movement took its rise from the teachings of Martin Luther of Germany. It was later, however, more generally associated with John Calvin who refined the doctrine. This was at a time when most countries were rebelling against the Roman Church but it was only in France that the adherents of Protestantism were subjected to wholesale torture and murder.

At one time approximately one quarter of the population were Huguenots, and although it had some following among the poor who saw it as more humane, it never really had its strongest following within this group, who being uneducated preferred the rites of the Roman Church with its promise of salvation.

The Huguenot was represented more within the middle and upper classes, and was strong amongst professional and trades people. He needed, according to "Reaman" to be a person of enquiring mind and exceptional courage, desirous of living by new ideas and brave enough to sacrifice friends, position, and even life itself in order to maintain them.

Within France it was at its strongest in the south with the Province of Languedoc, being a key Huguenot area.

ADDENDUM II

In the interim between completion of the manuscript and publication the question of establishing more positive links between the French and English generations remained a nagging thought - suggestive of "unfinished business" prompting me to write to the Huguenot Society in London to see if they could tie up Nicholas Gaylard, the first known ancestor with any French emigrant. They were most helpful and I believe successful, the relevant entries being located in the following publication:

Letters of Denizations and Acts of Naturalization for Aliens in England 1509 - 1603 Edited By William Page F.S.A., Fellow of the Huguenot Society of London 1893

Which, by way of explanation of the then existing laws of admission to citizenship, contains this extract from the preface:

"At an early date it became necessary to regulate the admission of foreigners to the privileges of natural born subjects of the realm, and in the reign of Edward III, an Act was passed distinguishing between natural born subjects and aliens; the latter generally having the unenviable privilege of paying double subsidy and being under certain other disabilities. During the wars with France and the English Civil Wars of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, it was important to know and to restrict the numbers of foreigners in this country, which was done by careful enquiry during the levy of a subsidy, and at times by laying special subsidies upon aliens. The two modes by which an alien obtained the privileges of a native were by taking out an Act of Naturalization or Letters of Denization. The former was obtained by a Bill in Parliament, and gave the recipient a position in all respects similar to that of a native, the latter were acquired by grant from the Crown, and the privileges conveyed by them were not retrospective, but only commenced from the date of the grant. This difference was important when aliens were incapable of holding lands in this country, as Letters of Denization not wholly correcting the incapacities entailed by foreign birth, were not sufficient to enable a man to inherit lands, nor confer any benefit on the children born previous to the date of the grant of Denization, hence it is that we find from the documents dealt with in this volume, that it seems to have been almost invariably the practice for the children of Englishmen, born abroad, to obtain Acts of Naturalization, and for strangers of foreign blood to procure Letters of Denization."

The relevant entries are:

Galiard, Nicholas, from the dominion of the King of France. 16 April, 1537 (Pat., 28 Hen. 8, p.5, m.13.).
Galyard, Nicholas, from the dominion of the King of France. 16 April, 1540 (Pat., 31 Hen. 8,p.2, m.34).

See photocopy of complete page at end of chapter.

However, despite a thorough check at the Public Records Office in London by John Gillard (one of the English variety of Gillards who coincidentally shares with me the same international employer), we were not able to get any other information which would have been highly relevant and interesting, such as age, marital status, dependents, province of origin in France etc.

There are, however, two key facts around which we can fill in the likely relationship. These are:-

(1) The two Nicholas Gillards (Gaylards etc.) were the only Gillards seeking Naturalization or Denization between 1503 and 1609 (there were many later on), and

(2) They each bear the same Christian name as our first known ancestor, Nicholas Gaylard who married in Martock in 1572.

We do not know when "our Nicholas" was bom, but let's assume around 1550, so the likelihood of him being one of the other two Nicholases is slim. Also someone had to father the other Gillards on the top of our Chart, such as Isobel, who married at Martock in 1564 and was probably born around 1540. That leaves the logical alternative of him being the son of one of them.

My assumption is that he is the son of one of them and grandson of the other, with a structuring something like this:

The first Nicholas (a denizen 1537) was probably of mature age and the head of the religious family. He had probably then lived in England some time (see other examples on list of Naturalizations and Denizations) say ten years for example, putting him in the birth age category 1480/1490.

The other Nicholas (forget the spelling variation in surname) was granted Denization exactly three years later. Assuming him to be the son of Nicholas X would put him into the logical age of birth category of say 1505/1520. He probably married at Martock some time between 1530/1540 and became the father of Isobel (married 1564 - assume birth around 1540) and Nicholas and probably one or two others not on the chart.

In any event it is fair to assume that Nicholas Gaylard was the son of one of these "French Nicholases" - which one doesn't matter much as there is little likelihood of a fruitful extension of the search beyond this point.

Garry Gillard | New: 5 April, 2019 | Now: 9 October, 2021