People search
(married name will be ignored if broad check is ticked;
a broad check includes a search for nicknames, married names and other alternative names)Where were they from?
Search for places, see all people in the tree with events in that place, and (where added) see places marked on a map with photos, links and other information about the location.
Mary Ann GOTHAM
1803 - 1876 (73 years)
Has 20 ancestors but no descendants in this family tree.
Set As Default Person 
-
Name Mary Ann GOTHAM Relationship 
with Teresa Ann GOATHAM Born 19 Jan 1803 West Teignmouth, Devon, England 
- From baptism register
Baptised 30 Jan 1803 St. James’ Church, West Teignmouth, Devon, England - From PR entry (image on FMP, viewed 9 Aug 2018)
Gender Female Census 1841 Census 1851 Occupation 1851 Boat woman - Not only was Mary described as a 'boat woman' in the 1851 census, which was taken shortly after the death of her husband, but she was referred to in the following quote which appeared in an article in the TDA (Lake, W C 1890, 'Notes on the Origin of the Streets of Teignmouth, and on their nomenclature', p. 117):
"Leading out of
Northumberland Place on its western side towards the river
are Queen Street, Quay Street, and the western end of
Osmond's Lane. Queen Street was at one time known as
Mary Heath's Lane, as in it lived Mrs. Davis, usually called
by her maiden name of Heath, a personage of no little
consequence, who owned a market-boat, which plied daily,
or twice a day, according to the tide, between Teignmouth
and Newton, the then only public means of communication
between the two towns, Mary Heath, or Davis, being one
whose kindly nature and willingness to oblige and wait for
everyone, resulted pretty frequently in a very difficult passage
of her boat along the shallow portions of the estuary, and at
times even in its actual arrest till the tide rose again. The
street had its present dignified appellation conferred on it by
its inhabitants in honour of Her Most Gracious Majesty
soon after her accession to the throne."
I'm not sure if the street really was named after her or her mother. It comments she was known by her maiden name - of course the maiden name of 'Mrs Davis' was really Gotham, but as her mother married (?, or at least, appears to have lived with) William Heath when she was very young she may generally have been thought of as Mary Heath prior to her marriage. Her marriage only took place after the accession of Queen Victoria, so clearly the lane would not have been referred to as 'Mary Davies Lane'. Obituaries of her cousin, Thomas Edwin Gotham refer to his aunt Mary Heath, i.e. this Mary's mother, as having managed the market boat, and I suspect the lane may actually have been named after her.
Census 1861 Census 1871 Child Status Illegitimate (no sign of parental relationship) Died 27 Jul 1876 The Union Workhouse, Newton Abbot, Devon, England Cause: Decay of nature - Snippet from newspaper (in index) - Western Morning News of 29 July 1876 - seems to show she died 'Thursday last'.
The only death registration to match gives an age of 80, 7 years older than this Mary really was:
GRO ref: Davis, Mary q3 1876 aged 80 Newton Abbot RD 5b 86
Details from death registration (GRO register entry)The newspaper report of her death also shows her as 80, as well as the burial register entry (East Teignmouth), supporting it being her the registration of the death of this Mary Davis.
Buried 29 Jul 1876 St. Michael the Archangel’s Church, East Teignmouth, Devon, England - From PR entry (image on FMP, viewed 9 Aug 2018)
Half-siblings3 half brothers and 5 half sisters (family of William HEATH and Mary GOTHAM) Patriarch & Matriarch 
Elizabeth, b. Est 1724, d. Yes, date unknown (Great Grandmother)
Person ID I300714 All | All in the Goatham / Gotham One-Name Study , All subjects of the Goatham / Gotham One-Name Study Last Modified 25 Aug 2024
Mother Mary GOTHAM, bap. 19 Jun 1781, St. James’ Church, West Teignmouth, Devon, England , d. 12 Dec 1839, East Teignmouth, Devon, England (Age ~ 58 years)
Other Partners: William HEATH m. 27 Oct 1806Married? Not married or evidence to suggest they didn't marry Family ID F300245 Family Group Page | Family Chart
Family George Henry DAVIES, b. Abt 1807, d. 10 Jan 1851, The Strand, East Teignmouth, Devon, England (Age ~ 44 years) Married 17 Dec 1837 St. Gregory the Great’s Church, Dawlish, Devon, England - From PR entry (image on FMP)
"1837. Marriage solemnized By Banns in the Parish of Dawlish in the County of Devon
No. 6, When Married: December 17th
Name and Surname: George Henry Davies, Age: 30, Condition: Batcheler, Rank or Profession: Seaman, Residence at the Time of Marriage: Dawlish, Father's Name and Surname: Robert Davies, Rank or Profession of Father: Seaman
Name and Surname: Mary Ann Gotham, Age: 32, Condition: Spinster, Rank or Profession: -, Residence at the Time of Marriage: [I think Dawlish written once was intended to apply to both - not central in the box but lower than other groom's info] Father's Name and Surname: William Gotham, Rank or Profession of Father: Seaman
Married in the Parish Church according to the Rites and Ceremonies of the Established Church by me, J D Perkins D D
This Marriage was solemnized between us, George Henry Davies, Mary Ann Gotham
in the Presence of us, Elisabeth Heath, George Thomas"
GRO ref: GOTHAM, Mary Ann to DAVIES, George Henry q4 1837 Newton Abbot RD 10 195
Who was the Mary Ann Gotham who married George Davies?
At first I thought it was fairly simple.
William GOTHAM and Fanny PERRING?
The naming of her father as William pointed to a daughter of William Gotham bap 1776 and his wife, Frances Perring: although I have not a baptism for such a daughter, (not in PR for West Teignmouth for 1804-1806), while I have for other chidlren of theirs, the age at marriage suggests she was born in 1805, and this would be in a convenient gap between the other known children of William and Fanny.
In addition, Mary and her husband were godparents to the first daughter of Elizabeth, daughter of the William and Fanny.
Mary GOTHAM (later HEATH)?
It now seems clear that Mary Ann was an illegitimate daughter of Mary who was the sister of the above William, and that Mary Ann invented a father for her marriage (unless she was the result of incest!) There is a baptism for such a daughter of Mary, in 1803. It would suggest she was 2 years older than the marriage record claims, but as she was older than her husband she was quite likely not entirely honest about her age to lessen the apparent age gap between them.
This Mary Ann had a half sister Elizabeth HEATH, one of the witnesses to the marriage, the other witnesse was George THOMAS, a brother-in-law of this Mary Ann.
At the time of the 1841 census Elizabeth was living with George DAVIES and Mary; she married in 1846 but was widowed in 1849. Still (or again) living with Mary in 1851, when Mary [Ann] was the head of the household, also having been widowed - and they are shown as sisters.
If Mary Ann and George were not aunt and uncle to Elizabeth's daughter to whom they were godparents then what was the connection? - since William (Elizabeth's father) was the brother of Mary Heath née Gotham then Mary Ann and Elizabeth were first cousins, still close enough that Elizabeth might well have chosen them.
Family This couple had no children together Last Modified 25 Aug 2024 Family ID F300261 Family Group Page | Family Chart