Saturday, September 22, 2012

Mystery and Conflict

One longstanding (25 yrs plus!) brick wall in my research is the relationship between the WYATT and CATER families in Bristol.

In 1714, Thomas WEBB (?-1718) wrote a will in which he described Andrew CATER the younger as his "wife's kinsman", and left him a significant piece of land in Stapleton, Gloucestershire. Mary WEBB (1649-1729), Thomas's wife, was born Mary WYATT, and came from a merchant family with strong London connections. Andrew's ancestors are believed to have had property in both Bedfordshire and London.

The use of the word 'kinsman' implies a more distant relationship than close family - but how distant? And can any further information be found on Andrew CATER - clearly he was the son of another Andrew, and I believe he may have been born about 1661 in Elstow, Bedfordshire. His wife may have been a Mary, but nothing further is known of her.

So far I have found no further clues, except that Andrew CATER named his first son Wyatt CATER, and his grandson was John Wyatt CATER. In fact I have found 17 direct descendants of Andrew who were named either John Wyatt CATER or Wyatt CATER. As for the bequest of land, that only lasted a little more than a generation, as by 1779 it was all mortgaged or sold.


Recently I came across a Probate court case between Andrew CATER and the heirs of Thomas WEBB - and I'm still discovering more about it. The National Archives have provided copies of 4 documents from the case - including the complaint of Andrew CATER, and replies from the widowed Mary WEBB, and from Francis JAY, a nephew of Thomas, who was guardian of Thomas's son (who was declared insane).

Even if this bundle of documents doesn't give the answer, it's another step towards a fuller picture of these families. Another brick in a very holey wall!




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