Thomas NASH born in 1700s and his descendants (General)

by Matthewtanash, Sunday, March 11, 2018, 05:42 (2442 days ago) @ Clements Tump

A number of us have been working on this puzzle for about a decade. The number of Richard Nashes make this tricky, and there are a number of gaps in the parish records.

Our opinion is that Richard NASH (b 1774 d 1829) is the Coleford baker, son of Thomas NASH (b c1748) and Ann HARPER (b c1751, married 14-May-1768 Newland). This Richard married Elizabeth WINTLE on 11-Dec-1806, though I just noticed that Richard’s condition is listed as a widower). His will (on Ancestry) also names his wife as Elizabeth.

We have never discovered proof of birth/baptism of Richard NASH (b c1779). If you look at the dates in the census of 1841, 1851, and 1861, and his burial record, it seems that his birth occurred between 1778 and 1781. This is the brother of my 4xG-grandfather John Nash (b c1775). This Richard NASH married Mary JAMES, as far as we can tell. Their older brother, another Thomas NASH (b c1772 d 1825), mentions them and another brother Samuel in his will. Interestingly, Thomas leaves his house and land (Old Clay Oak) to be split between “Mary the wife of Richard Nash” (we assume this is Mary JAMES) and “nephew John Junior,” we believe John NASH (b 1802 d 1881?, oldest child of my 4xG-grandfather John NASH b c1775).

Although our consensus is that Richard NASH (b c1779) is the son of Richard NASH (b c1746) and Mary HARRISON (b c1749 m 1767), there is a possibility that he is the son of Richard NASH (b c1740) and Elizabeth MORSE (b c1740 m 21-Nov-1767), parents of Ann (b c1774 m James Digwood) and Eleanor (b 16-jul-1776 m Thomas DAVIS). In his will of 1796 (on Ancestry), Richard NASH (b c1740) mentions a son Richard NASH, as well as his daughters Ann DIGWOOD and Eleanor (“Elinor”) DAVIS. We do not know the birth date of that son Richard NASH.

However, since the will of Richard NASH (b c1740) does not mention Richard’s brothers Thomas (c1772), John (c1775), and Samuel (b ???), and since the since the will of Thomas (c1772) mentions Richard and his brothers but NOT any sisters, and also since Richard NASH born c1779 and wife Mary JAMES and their descendants show up living amongst John NASH (b c1775) and his descendants, we tend to believe that Richard NASH (b c1779) is the son of Richard (b c1746) and Mary HARRISON (b c1749). Unfortunately, we don’t have conclusive evidence of this.

So, there are at least three NASH families living in the Newland area descending from the three NASH marriages of 1767 and 1768. We just aren’t sure exactly how/whether the two families of freeminers living in and around Sling and Clearwell (i.e., descendants of Richard NASH & Mary JAMES and those of Richard NASH & Elizabeth MORES) are related to the bakers and maltsters of Coleford (the descendants of Thomas NASH & Ann HARPER).