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A Challenge to Mrs. Newcomer's Research
I received the following e-mail from Bob Gossett on March 30, 2005. He believes that Mrs. Newcomer is wrong in her reporting that the Jean and Peter, the first Gossets in North America, were the sons of Jean Gosset and Susan D'Allain.
I have not personally researched the Jersey Island connection, so I cannot tell you which is correct. I am presenting his evidence here so that you may decide for yourself. Scroll down for my comments and those of another Gossett researcher, James Gossett, of New York.
I do not have a current e-mail address for Bob.
| Hi Kim,
I saw your page, re: the Newcomber book, and thought you would be interested in my following comments, if they haven't already passed your way, which clearly disprove some claims made in her book. They were clearly assumptions based only on similarity of forenames, a very risky thing to do!
I have personally been to Jersey a couple of months ago and dug up an important reference in the parish records to show the burial of
"Jean Gosset, the eldest son of Jean Gosset," buried St Helier, Jersey 6 Feb 1720/1
This is clearly the "John 1" as referred to Frank Gossett's Genealogy web pages [Frank's web site is no longer online]. This early death at the age of only 21 years and 4 months would explain why his brother Abraham became heir to his father's estate (his father outlived this John) and scotch the guesswork that this John was the first John into America. I have never believed that the primogeniture of the estate would emigrate and this clearly shows it.
Also as regards Peter Gosset who married Catherine du Four (also supposedly emigrated to America)...this is clearly not so. The Will of Jane Esther Gosset neé Le Touzay in 1748 who died in London refers to her nephew Peter as deceased but leaves bequests to his three surviving children. Although Peter and Catherine were married in London and had their first child there, the later children were born in Jersey to which they returned and where all their children who died young are buried (seen in the parish registers).. His widow Catherine was buried in St Helier Jersey on 2 Nov 1777 as I have seen in the Jersey parish registers. So they are not the American ones.
Best wishes,
Bob Gosset
Alicante Spain
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Bob sent the following documents to support his view.
Burial Record for Jean Gosset
French: Jean fils Esné de Mr. Jean Gosset fut enterré le sixième jour de feuvrier mille Sept Cents vingt
English: Jean eldest son of M. Jean Gosset was buried the sixth day of February one thousand seven hundred twenty
The document was stamped:
The archive reference stamp refers to a register book for Town Church in St. Helier, that contains burial and marriage records from 1719 to 1751. You may learn more about this register by visiting the Jersey Heritage Trust web site.
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Burial Record for Catherine DuFour
French: Mse. Catherine Du Four veuve de Mr. Pierre Gosset fut enterrée le deuxième jour de Novembre mille Sept Cent septante sept
English: Mse. Catherine Du Four widow of M. Pierre Gosset was buried the second day of November one thousand seven hundred seventy-seven.
The document was stamped with:
The archive reference stamp refers to a register book for Town Church in St. Helier, that contains burial records from September 30, 1751 to December 31, 1783. You may learn more about this register by visiting the Jersey Heritage Trust web site.
The page had "1777" handwritten in the upper left corner, most likely the year; and "238" handwritten at the top, center of the page, most likely the page number.
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The Last Will & Testament of Jane Esther Gossett
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Jane Esther's will was proved at London, England, on the 1st day of June, 1748. The Gossets are mention several times:
Item: I give and bequeath to the three children of Peter Gosset, deceased, the sum of four hundred pounds as they are now at the Exchequer bearing three percent interest, which interest of the said four hundred pounds shall be paid to the Widow of the said Peter Gosset for her use and the use of her three children as long as they are under age; but when of age or married, shall receive each one third of the half of the principal and the Mother shall enjoy the interest of the one half during the time she shall be a Widow and no longer
Item: I give and bequeath to Anna Gosset, wife of Gideon Gosset, my silver tea kettle lamp and salver; to Isaac Gosset, eight silver handle knives
Item: I give and bequeath to Anna Gosset, God-daughter, of my late Dear Spouse my smallest silver cup and six silver desert spoons; to my God-daughter Ester Gosset I give and bequeath my ring with brilliants and my little silver salver [Note: a salver is a tray used to serve food or drinks.]
I give and bequeath all the rest residue and remainder of my estate whatsoever after the payment of my just debts, legacies, before-mentioned funeral expenses and the expenses of proving this my last Will to Gideon and Isaac Gosset, both my dear nephews of Berwick Street Soho to be also divided between them that Gideon Gosset shall have one hundred pounds more in his share than Isaac Gosset his brother and I nominate, constitute and appoint them the said Gideon Gosset and Isaac Gosset Executors of this my last Will and Testament...
To view more information on Jane Esther Gosset's Last Will and Testament, click on the links below.
- To view an image of Jane Esther's Will, Click Here. The image is quite large at 2.6 mg, but is large enough to be legible.
- To read a transcription of Jane Esther's Will, Click Here.
- To purchase a PDF copy of Jane Esther's Will from the UK National Archives Click Here.
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The Internet has turned the world of genealogy on its ear. We now have almost instant access to information that before could only be found by relying on the eyes of someone else or by making an expensive trip "across the pond". Sharing our information on the Internet also opens us up to millions of proof-readers so errors can be found and corrected.
Bob gives the translation of Jean Gosset's burial record as "Jean Gosset, the eldest son of Jean Gosset, buried St Helier, Jersey 6 Feb 1720/1" The record is in French but there is no mention of Jean's age at the time of his death and it does not mention a burial place. It also does not say that he is the oldest son of Jean Gosset, only that he is a son. I have since learned that "fils esné" does mean "eldest son", so I stand corrected on this point. The Jersey Archive Reference numbers noted underneath the burial record indicate the burial register is from Town Church in St Helier. St. Helier is referenced by the numbers but does not appear within the burial record itself.
Bob's critique that Mrs. Newcomer made assumptions based on the familiarity of forenames could be used against his own research. The name Jean or John is found in almost every family with the surname Gosset. This makes the task of sorting out families very difficult even for the most diligent researcher.
In J. B. Payne's An Amorial of Jersey, the Pedigree of Gosset only mentions John being born in 1699. There is no death date. With the burial record above, I would think that Payne would have included it in his chart, but he doesn't.
Finally, The Last Will & Testament of Jane Esther Gosset does mention the three surviving children of Peter Gosset, deceased, but it does not mention their names. It also does not mention the name of Peter's widow. It is difficult to determine which Peter Gosset and family she is referring to without this information.
There is no foolproof way to determine who is right, Mrs. Newcomer or Bob Gossett, without further research. I'm sure that both of them want only to see that our family history is accurate, but the further back in time you travel, the harder it is to ensure that accuracy. Bob probably had access to documents that Mrs. Newcomer didn't. So, should anyone have additional information that could make things clearer, please forward it to me and I'll post it here.
| January 17, 2008
Hi Kim:
In your rebuttal to Bob's evidence, you write that the burial record of Jean "does not say that he is the oldest son of Jean Gosset, only that he is a son." I don't agree. He is described as "fils esné" which I believe is an archaic term for "oldest." Do a Google-search on fils esné and you'll find examples like this:
[French:] "Tristan de Langan, père dudit René, étoit fils esné, héritier principal et..."
[English] says "Tristan de Langan, father of the aforementioned René, being 'fils esné', principal heir and..."
And another
[French:] "... pour justifier qu'il est fils esné, héritier principal ...
[English:] " says "...in order to justify that he is 'fils esné, principal heir..."
Also, you write that the burial record does not state location. This is true, but Bob was looking at the burial records of St. Helier at the time. However, you make a good point that we cannot be certain to which father/son pair of Jeans this burial record refers.
On the other hand, the burial record of Catherine Du Four is particularly interesting, in that the year of her death (1777) coincides exactly with the year in which Marie (daughter of Catherine and Pierre) says she came into possession of Pierre's Bible (as stated in the Proceedings of the London Huguenot Society, Vol III). First two passages in this Bible (exactly as they are transcribed, in old French, in Proceedings):
Ausjourdhay le 30 daoust 1725 il a 47 ans que cette bible est faite elle apartien a moy Pierre Gosset.
En l'année 1777 cette Bible apartien a moy Marie Gosset etans venu de mes venerables ancetres père et mere.
Translation:
"Today the 30th of August 1725, 47 years after this bible was printed, it passed to me, Pierre Gosset."
"In the year 1777, this Bible passed to me, Marie Gosset, having come from my venerable ancestors, father and mother."
While it is possible that Pierre abandoned his wife (Catherine Du Four) and family to emigrate to America, it would seem unlikely. I believe that this burial record of Catherine, plus the evidence from Pierre Gosset's Bible, plus the will of Esther Jane -- together provide powerful evidence that Pierre (husband of Catherine Du Four) did not emigrate to America. Certainly his family did not.
Regards,
James M. Gossett
Ithaca, NY
Kim's Note: In regards to his comments on the translations, I think it is important to note that Jim has studied the French language for several years. "But, to leave no stone unturned," as he wrote in another e-mail, "I also wrote to another Gosset researcher... [and] asked him about the meaning of 'fils esné.' His reply...'fils esné' means eldest son; 'hériter principal' means principal heir. Those passages meant '...eldest son and principal heir.'" Thank you, Jim.
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© 2009, 2010, 2011 By Kimberly K. Hughes
You may make hard copies of the pages on this web site for your own personal research.
You may not publish any portion of this page on another web site. You may, however, link to this page.
The graphics contained within this web site, as well as the narratives, are copyright protected and may not be published without my written permission.
E-Mail me at Kimm@FamilyofGossett.com
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