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Susan LAVERS
1779 - Aft 1836 (~ 57 years)
Has 30 ancestors but no descendants in this family tree.
Set As Default Person 
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Name Susan LAVERS Relationship 
with Teresa Ann GOATHAM Baptised 9 Feb 1779 St. Michael’s Church, Blackawton, Devon, England 
- illegitimate, bapt register shows Susanna, dau of Sarah
On the SouthHams website
Gender Female Died Aft 1836 - Alive when her step-father James Baker wrote his will
Half-siblings1 half brother and 4 half sisters (family of James BAKER and Sarah LAVERS) Patriarch & Matriarch 
Johane BASTARD, b. Est 1628, d. Yes, date unknown (3 x Great Grandmother)
Notes - (Research):I'm not sure what became of Susan and her husband.
She was clearly still alive when her step-father wrote his will in 1836, and his description of her as "wife of William Ellis" (rather than widow) suggests he was too.
William was described as 'of East Allington' when they married but if they lived there after marriage I cannot find any children (looking at the SouthHams website, as on 24 June 2014).
I cannot find them her in the 1851 census where the birthplace and age would show a Susan(na) Ellis to be this Susan.
There was a William Ellis, fisherman, age (rounded down) given as 60, living in Aveton Gifford with a Susan Ellis, also 60, Elizabeth, 20 and Ann, 15, with (shown as separate to the family but in the same house) a James Ellis, aged 25. This could well be them.
Aveton Gifford was in Kingsbridge Registration District and the death of a Susan ELLIS was recorded in Kingsbridge RD in the first quarter of 1850: ELLIS, Susan - Kingsbridge RD vol. 9 page 275. There were two death of William Ellises registered in Kingsbridge RD between 1841 and 1851: ELLIS, William q4 1841 Kingsbridge RD 9 231 and Ellis, William q2 1849 Kingsbridge RD 9 234. Hence, it is possible that both William and Susan had died by the time of the 1851 census.
Interestingly, in the 1851 census there is a clearly different William Ellis but of similar age living in Aveton Gifford. I say clearly different because his occupation was given as 'retired miller'. He was a widower, living at Marsh Mills with his miller son John and John's family. It would be good to find him in the 1841 census in case his wife was a Susan(na). However, despite the fact that his son was born in Aveton Gifford c. 1821, I have not so far found them (tried searches in both Ancestry and FMP). Perhaps unclear handwriting has led to them being mis-transcribed on both sites. I will try to browse the images when I find the time.
Looking for other marriages of a William Ellis to a Susan(na) to see if there were others (looking in the FMP index) who could be the couple I found in Aveton Gifford in 1841 I found none, but Aveton Gifford is one of the parishes who PRs are not yet on FMP, so there could have been another couple with the same names married there.
Person ID I783 All Last Modified 26 Jun 2014
Mother Sarah LAVERS, b. 1757, Blackawton, Devon, England , d. 19 Oct 1839, Woodford, Blackawton, Devon, England (Age 82 years)
Other Partners: James BAKER m. 15 Dec 1779Family ID F592 Family Group Page | Family Chart
Family William ELLIS, d. Yes, date unknown Married 26 Oct 1802 St. Michael’s Church, Blackawton, Devon, England Last Modified 24 Jun 2014 Family ID F593 Family Group Page | Family Chart
- illegitimate, bapt register shows Susanna, dau of Sarah
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Event Map Click to hide 
Baptised - 9 Feb 1779 - St. Michael’s Church, Blackawton, Devon, England 
Married - 26 Oct 1802 - St. Michael’s Church, Blackawton, Devon, England = Link to Google Earth (if installed; see link below to install) Pin Legend 
Wills (transcripts) 
The will of Susan's step father, James Baker
Susan was baptised early in 1779, probably as a baby, the same year that, in December, her mother was to marry James. It seems probable that she grew up with James as a father figure, but he clearly didn't see her as equal to his own daughters, leaving her just £5 in his will (and that as an after-thought)
The will does seem to make it clear that Susan was not James' natural daughter.