Inscription on tablet in Westbury on Severn church. (General)
by essjay 
, Monday, December 18, 2017, 12:10 (2315 days ago)
In the Bigland Transcriptions for Westbury is the following entry:
SOUTH AISLE
On tablets.
Near this Place lie the Remains of RICHARD PLEYDELL, of this Parish, late
of the Parish of Lairso in the County of Monmouth, who died Nov. 25,
1809, Aged 63
Years.
Also MARY, his Daughter, who died Jany. 18, 1805, Aged 26 Years.
The burial records for Westbury contain an entry for Richard Plaisted on 27 November 1809, aged 63. But he died at Caerwent, Monmouthshire (his will starts "I Richard Playsted of the parish of Caerwent...) and there does not appear to be a parish of Lairso - I have asked on MonGenes.
Richard is my 5 x great grandfather.
There is no burial record at Westbury for a Mary with a surname even vaguely resembling Plaisted at in 1805, or indeed any Mary in her 20s. But there is one for Mary Playsted on 28 June 1804, aged 28 - although Richard's daughter Mary was baptised in 1773 at Westbury, so even this burial record doesn't quite fit.
How accurate are the Bigland Transcriptions?
Is there anyone living in Westbury who could kindly check the inscription for me, please - assuming it still exists?
Inscription on tablet in Westbury on Severn church.
by 10noyrum , Monday, December 18, 2017, 15:32 (2315 days ago) @ essjay
Could this be a mis-transcription of Llansoy, Monmouthshire?
Inscription on tablet in Westbury on Severn church.
by essjay , Monday, December 18, 2017, 17:16 (2315 days ago) @ 10noyrum
That was a suggestion on MonGenes as well.
These are the facts as I know them.
Richard was born in Westbury on Severn in 1746. He and his wife Rachel Selwyn had many children, baptised at a few different churches - Westbury, Newnham and one at Littledean. Some time between the birth is the youngest child in 1793, and Richard's death in 1809 most of the family moved to Monmouthshire, leaving some of the eldest sons in Westbury. A history of the Plaisted family says that Richard went to live at Crick Manor in Mathern parish
In 1809, just under two months before his death, Richard made a will giving his abode as parish of Caerwent. In this will he gave bequests to all the children I have baptism records for except Mary. Either she had died, or he had disowned her.
Two of his daughters married on the same day at Caerwent five months before Richard's death, and were 'of this parish'.
By 1841, two of the sons had moved to the Pontypool area, though one had lived in Dinham near Shirenewton in 1808 when a child was baptised there.
The two younger sons remained in the Caerwent area. In the 1841 census, one was at Crick Farm in the Hamlet of Crick, described in the census as being in the parish of Caerwent. When this son married at Lydney in 1829 he was 'of the parish of Caerwent'. The other son was at Matherne Farm, Mathern, in the parish of Mathern in 1841.
Nowhere can I find any records indicating that Richard lived at, or even owned property, anywhere other than in the Forest of Dean, Caerwent and Mathern.
I am beginning to wonder if the tablet was commissioned some time after Richard's death, and if the commissioner was one of the sons who remained in the Forest of Dean who had only vague knowledge of the correct names of the places in Monmouthshire. Perhaps he was even a grandchild who did not know the exact date of his aunt Mary's death.
Inscription on tablet in Westbury on Severn church.
by mjcrowley , Wednesday, February 21, 2018, 19:23 (2250 days ago) @ essjay
Richard was my 4th gt grandfather. His daughter, Phoebe married William Miles in 1807 and my maiden name is Miles. I visited the church at Westbury in 2014 and have a photograph of the tablet which you mention in your post. The transcription you quote is wrong in two places. The name on the tablet is RICHARD PLAYSTED and it clearly says Late of the parish of CAERWENT. I have a copy of Richard's will also his father John's will. John Playsted's tombstone is in the grounds of the church. The tomb inscription was also recorded by Ralph Bigland. The stone is now very worn, but it was just about possible to confirm the wording. There is also a mention of this Plaisted memorial on the British Listed Buildings website.
Inscription on tablet in Westbury on Severn church.
by essjay , Wednesday, February 21, 2018, 19:58 (2250 days ago) @ mjcrowley
Thank you so much for that information. So it would appear to be an error in the Bigland transcriptions.
I have the transcription of Richard's will from this site, and the image of his will from Ancestry. I also have the transcription of John's will,and the final administration of his will, but this does not appear on Ancestry.
I have just looked at the British Listed Building website and found the memorial on there, thank you.
I am descended from Phoebe's brother Richard - I think. My 3 x great grandfather was Selwyn Plaisted born ~1806 in Dinham near Shirenewton, Monmouthshire. But I cannot prove he was the son of Richard junior. However, I do have a lot of circumstantial evidence including a DNA match between my mother and a descendant of Richard junior by his second wife.
Inscription on tablet in Westbury on Severn church.
by mjcrowley , Thursday, February 22, 2018, 14:18 (2249 days ago) @ essjay
Thank you so much for that information. So it would appear to be an error in the Bigland transcriptions.
I have the transcription of Richard's will from this site, and the image of his will from Ancestry. I also have the transcription of John's will,and the final administration of his will, but this does not appear on Ancestry.
I have just looked at the British Listed Building website and found the memorial on there, thank you.I am descended from Phoebe's brother Richard - I think. My 3 x great grandfather was Selwyn Plaisted born ~1806 in Dinham near Shirenewton, Monmouthshire. But I cannot prove he was the son of Richard junior. However, I do have a lot of circumstantial evidence including a DNA match between my mother and a descendant of Richard junior by his second wife.
Did you know that there is more than one link between Selwyns and Playsteds (Plaisted/Playstead). Richard Plaisted (1746 - 1809) has a brother John and a sister Mary. Mary Plaisted marries John Selwyn in 1771. Six months later, Richard Plaistead (brother of Mary) marries Rachel Selwyn (sister of John). Mary and John Selwyn are witnesses to Richard and Rachel's wedding. I think it must be very likely that your Selwyn Plaisted is descended from Richard Plaisted.
Inscription on tablet in Westbury on Severn church.
by essjay , Thursday, February 22, 2018, 16:33 (2249 days ago) @ mjcrowley
Hi,
Yes, I do have that marriage.
Something that has always puzzled me.
Richard senior was the son of John and Mary. John died in 1759, and Mary in 1763. The burial record gives the date of John's burial as 28 January but the Bigland transcription of the gravestone gives his death as 1 February, 4 days after the burial. The transcription also gives his age as 64, but the only contender for his baptism that I can find is in 1713, which would make him 46 when he died.
Do you know if the date and age of John in the Bigland transcription are the same as is actually written on the gravestone?
The tablet in the church also refers to Richard's daughter Mary who, according to the Bigland transcription, died 18 January 1805 aged 26. There is no burial record for a Mary in 1805 but there is one for a Mary in 1804, though the age in the burial record doesn't fit with the baptism record for Richard's daughter Mary.
Is the Bigland transcription accurate for Mary?
Inscription on tablet in Westbury on Severn church.
by mjcrowley , Thursday, February 22, 2018, 19:41 (2249 days ago) @ essjay
I agree. The dates are very confusing. The tombstone is too worn to compare with the Bigland transcription. It could be that either Bigland or the stonemason transposed the figures and "aged 46" became "aged 64". A further problem is that on the marriage allegation on this website, John Playstead of Westbury is said to be 26 when he marries Mary Marshall in 1743. That would make him 42 in 1759.
As you say the dates for Mary, daughter of Richard and Rachel don’t add up either. Her baptism record is given as 1773. The tablet in the church says she died in 1805 aged 26. The burial record says she was buried in 1804 aged 28. Nothing matches!
Inscription on tablet in Westbury on Severn church.
by essjay , Thursday, February 22, 2018, 19:57 (2249 days ago) @ mjcrowley
I agree. The dates are very confusing. The tombstone is too worn to compare with the Bigland transcription. It could be that either Bigland or the stonemason transposed the figures and "aged 46" became "aged 64". A further problem is that on the marriage allegation on this website, John Playstead of Westbury is said to be 26 when he marries Mary Marshall in 1743. That would make him 42 in 1759.
As you say the dates for Mary, daughter of Richard and Rachel don’t add up either. Her baptism record is given as 1773. The tablet in the church says she died in 1805 aged 26. The burial record says she was buried in 1804 aged 28. Nothing matches!
I had always assumed that the digits of John's death age were transposed somewhere from the stone mason to the publication of Bigland's transcriptions.
Knowing how inaccurate marriage records from 100 years later can be, a discrepancy in John's age in the marriage allegation is not surprising. As he made his mark, he could not read or write and may not have been able to work out how old he was within a few years.
I think Mary will have to remain a mystery. The tablet states that she had died, and she is the only one of Richard's children not named in his will drawn up in 1809.