“…and of course the name is spelled Gaylard or Gayland… .This time it is spelled Gailer… .Gaylard, Gayland, Gaylord”

~ Wilfred Gayleard

Here is the main family group from the mid 1800’s that I can find, it has the most records and can be found in the census records from 1851 to 1891 in Hampshire. The biggest piece of this puzzle is finding William Henry Gayleard marriage record and because of this I cannot accurately state who George’s parents are. Ann’s father is William Pearce listed as a poulterer in her second marriage in 1870. The other missing piece is that I cannot accurately find either of them in the 1841 census either. For George it is most likely that he is on a ship somewhere at the time. For Ann, I haven’t found a household with both Ann and a father William in it.

The birth of George and Ann’s first child, Mary Ann Sarah Elizabeth in 1846. She married at least twice and lived until the late 1920’s. She is was often referred to as Aunt Polly.

Here is George and Ann’s second child, George Henry John Gayleard’s baptism in 1849, also he was born in 1848.

This is George and Ann’s third child William Henry Gayleard born in February and died 5 months later in July.

Even though it is hard to read this the 1851 census with George, Ann, Mary Ann and George listed as living on Tower Street in Portsmouth. This is the only time Ann is listed as Ann Elizabeth. In all the future census records you see them as listed as being born in Portsmouth, Hampshire.

Robert Bathe Gayleard was born on April 18th but however lived only 16 days. You will notice the family is living at 3 Crown st now.

In 1856 Mary Ann and George are baptized again, you can see that Mary Ann is listed as being born in February of 1846 and George is listed as being born in 1848. The family is listed as living on Crown st and of course the name is spelled Gaylard or Gayland.

This is my great grandfather’s birth certificate, he is born on July 13th, 1857, and it is hard to make out but the address might say 3 Crown st.

Here is the 1861 census, and the name is badly misspelled making it harder to find. This time it is spelled Gailer, however you see Ann, Mary, George and William all there alongside 2 people living with them. Mary Martin, needlewoman and Ellen Peters, wife of sailor. They are listed as living on 6 Brunswick street.

George worked on ships, he is listed as fisherman, pilot, seaman, etc. I have found him and his two sons in the list of Merchant marines in England. The name is sometimes spelled correctly but however also spelled Gaylard, Gaylord or Gayland.

“In 1884 George Gayleard jumps ship in New Zealand and there is a warrant for his arrest.”

~ Wilfred Gayleard

Here is one of the documents showing George working on the ship the Brothers. At the time it seems crew were hired for 6 month contracts aboard a ship and that ship had records of those who were on the ship and their positions plus where they sailed to in those 6 months.

Here is another example of the ship accounts….however it is the last ship George Gayleard would work on, he is discharged on November 29th, 1867.

George Gayleard dies December 1st , it lists him as being 59 years of age of a “strangulated hernia, 6 days no medical attendance before death”

This is George Gayleard’s burial record, he is buried on December 8th, 1867. His place of residence and death is Prince Regent Street, Southsea, Portsea.

In 1870 Ann remarries to William Barnes a private in the 82nd regiment, he from Lancaster. In the marriage certificate we find that Ann’s father is William Pearce, listed as a poulterer. Currently I have found no information on William Pearce. At the wedding as a witness is Mary Ann Galley, Ann’s daughter.

In the following census in 1871 Ann and William are still living in Portsmouth. William Barnes is not present at the time, however Ann is listed as wife of soldier in the 82nd Regiment. William Gayleard is listed as a boarder and at the age of 14 is now a painter apprentice. With them is Mary A. Frost, a dressmaker.

In 1881 Ann and her husband William have moved to Alverstoke. It does appear that Mary Ann is living with them as a daughter is listed, however her last name is listed as Downing and as a wife of a soldier in India. It is possible that this information is incorrect as I have found no evidence at this point of Mary Ann remarrying to someone named Downing.

This is currently the last information on Ann Barnes, nee Pearce, that I can find. She and William are still living in Alverstoke.

Children of George Gayleard and Ann Pearce:

1. Mary Ann Sarah Elizabeth Gayleard
2. George Henry John Gayleard
3. William Henry Gayleard
4. Robert Bathe Gayleard

1. Mary Ann Sarah Elizabeth Gayleard

Mary Ann Gayleard was the oldest of the children born to George and Ann in 1846 and lives until the late 1920’s. She was often referred to as Aunt Polly by my grandfather and in her letters.

Mary Ann can be found in the 1851 and 1861 cenus records but I can’t seem to find her in the 1871 census.

Mary Ann Gayleard marries Thomas Charles Cornelius Galley in 1867, although she is 21 she says states her age as 19. A common theme in the women in my family history, they are constantly changing their ages, often making it harder to find them. They are married in St Paul’s church on February 10th, 1867. Thomas Galley is listed as a cork cutter? However so far I can find neither in the 1871 census. However at some point Mary Ann and Thomas go their separate ways . It is possible that Mary Ann does moved in with her mom, Ann and is listed incorrectly…or correctly as Mary Ann Downing.

On November 30th, 1881 Mary Ann Gayleard marries a second time to William Evans a lance corporal in the 59th Regiment, originally from Mountain Ash, Wales

Here is William Evans found in the 1881 census in the Barracks in Portsmouth. He lists his birthplace as Mountain Ash, Glamorganshire.

What is odd here is that this is Mary Ann Gayleard and William Evans being married a second time in 1883, this time in the parish of New Brompton in Kent. Why they got married a second time I cannot find.

In 1891 Mary Ann and William have moved to Alverstoke and William is listed as working as a Labourer ordance stores.

By 1901 Mary Ann and her husband have moved to Wales, William is listed as an army pensioner and Rebecca Davies is listed as their adopted daughter.

In 1911 Mary Ann and William are living in Wales but their daughter Rebecca Davies has married a William Davey and have a daughter named Alpha.

I do have what is reported to be pictures of Mary Ann but there is some dispute over some and there is no record of who exactly is in the photos.

Here is the first photo she is reported to be in. According to family stories, this is a photograph of my grandfather William John Gayleard when he was born. The woman on the left is his mother Harriet Gayleard nee Hicks and William Henry Gayleard with Mary Ann Gayleard being on the right holding the baby. I will save the controversy of the photo for a separate post.

Also another photo reported to be of Mary Ann Gayleard this time of her wedding with William Evans in 1881…or 1883. There would be a 2 or 4 year difference between photos and also no one ever wrote the names of the people on the back of the photo. Could this also be her?

However in this photo I did find some written notes. This is Mary Ann Evans (Gayleard) in the 1920’s. Seated is Mary Ann, behind her is Rebecca Davey (Davies) and two of her three children, Clifford and Priscilla. Clifford was born in 1914 and Priscilla in 1917.

2. George Henry John Gayleard

George Henry John Gayleard is born in Portsea in 1848 and lives until the early 1900’s

According to George’s baptism in 1856 alongside his sister Mary Ann, he was born on January 24th, 1848. George shows up in the census records of 1851 and 1861 alongside his family.

In 1873 George marries Susan Messum daughter of Joseph Messum. In here you can see that George is also a mariner much like his father George.

Here is an example of one of the crew lists. It is from 1864 and George Gayleard is listed as being 16 years old at the time. I have checked the Crew Lists on a couple of the websites, and you can find Gayleard spelled Gaylard, Gayland, Gaylordo and of course Gayleard. The other piece of great information you can find is what county they were born in to cross reference who you are looking for. From Portsmouth you see the similar names; George (older) George (younger), William – brother of George Henry Gayleard and son of George Gayleard….and one more. Henry Gayleard, although that is for another post.

In 1881 George Gayleard can be found in Portsea, however the spelling of the name is Greyhard so was a little hard to find at the beginning. What also is interesting is that George is listed as a visitor in Jane Messum’s house and not as her son in law and that he is unmarried. Jane and Joseph Messum had two daughters, one Susan and the other Emma, both get married in the 1870’s. However in the census record there is an Amy Messum listed as her daughter. After a bit of investigation I found that Amy Messum also appears in a newspaper report as Amy Gayleard. So at some point Susan changes her name to Amy and then moves back in with her mother, Jane.

At this point both George Gayleard and Susan/Amy were extremely hard to find what happened to them. I searched quite a bit but this is the last record of Amy Messum I could find but I did find a couple more instances of George Gayleard being on the crew lists. And then he too disappeared until.

So in 1884 George Gayleard jumps ship in New Zealand and there is a warrant for his arrest. What is nice about this is that there is an actual description of George and names the ship he deserts from. But why did he jump ship?

Well there is no written connection between George jumping ship and him getting married to Charlotte Kirk however the Lady Jocelyn arrives in January of 1884 in New Zealand and by March of that year he is married. How did meet? Was it on that ship during a 3 month voyage from England to New Zealand? We may never know.

Unfortunately there isn’t too much information of either George or Charlotte in New Zealand as the census records at that time have been lost, however they do appear in city directories and on the voters list. And George is listed as being a mariner.

However, Charlotte dies in 1900 at age 44. George another 8 years and dies in 1908, his age listed as 59 but most likely he was 60 at the time.

3. William Henry Gayleard

William Henry Gayleard was born in 1857 in Portsea, Hampshire, England and passed away in 1930 in Canada. I will start a whole new post for him and his family

4. Robert Bathe Gayleard

Born on April 18, 1864, lived only 16 days.

Continue Reading: 4. Henry Gayleard 1820-1865