Nat Gould

William Gould 1704-1757

William Gould was born in 1704 at Pilsbury Grange near Hartington in Derbyshire, the second son of William Gould 1677-1772 and his wife née Anne Morewood. He was baptised at Hartington on 31 August 1704.

His first wife was Dorothy Beresford, the daughter and heiress of Samuel Beresford and his wife née Ann Marsh of Brownhill in Warslow in Staffordshire. She was baptised at Alstonefield in Staffordshire on 26 July 1705.

They lived at and had seven children. Four died young, namely Robert (1725-1742), Anne (1727-1728), William 1731–1737 and another Anne (born and died in 1733). One son and two daughters survived to inherit from their father, namely

Mary Gould. Born in 1728. She married Sampson Salt of Greenlowhead, and they had two sons and four daughters.
Rebecca Gould. Born in 1735. She married Richard Hodgson, and they had two sons and a daughter.
William Gould 1738-1787. Known as "Gentleman Gould", he was the only surviving son by his first marriage when his father died, and inherited the bulk of the family property. He was twice married, but had no surviving children.

Dorothy Gould née Beresford died in 1739, and was buried on 24 September 1739 at Alstonefield.

William Gould married Elizabeth Grindon at Alstonefield on 23 January 1741. She was probably born in 1722/23 and was baptised at Alstonefield on 7 February 1722/23, the daughter of William and Sarah Grindon. She died on 26 June 1790 aged 66 years. Their children, all under age when their father died, were:

Richard Gould 1742-1809. He married first Anne Sterndale known as Nancy Sterndale, by whom he had two daughters, and secondly Rebecca Salt.
Elizabeth Gould. Born 1744.
Hannah Gould. Born 1746.
Thomas Gould. Born 1748. He married Sarah Davenport and had seven children.
Sarah Gould. Born 1750.
Anne Gould. Born 1751.
John Gould.
Joseph Gould 1757-1819. He married Mary Chadwick and had a son John Gould 1793-1872.

William Gould died on 26 August 1757 and was buried at Alstonefield on 28 August 1757, where there is a memorial gravestone to his memory and that of his wife Elizabeth Grindon née Grindon. He was only 53 years old.

His Will was drawn up just six days before he died. It may therefore have been drafted hastily. He signed it with a flourish, but in an uneven hand.

When William Gould died he left a widow and eleven surviving children. Three were by his first wife Dorothy, and eight by Elizabeth his second wife. Elizabeth’s children were all young. Richard (the eldest) was thirteen, and Joseph (the youngest) was only a few months old. In contrast Dorothy’s children were all adults. Her son William was 19 years old. Her daughters were aged 28 and 22, the elder being already married.

As regards Elizabeth’s family, William Gould bequeathed to her eldest son Richard the property in Warslow he had purchased from the late William Gould of Westwood, and Richard had to pay £400 in total to the younger children. When he came of age, Richard was also to have the Alstonefield tithes (yielding a valuable income) and the tenancy of Brownhill, both rented from the Harpur-Crewes. In the meantime they were to be held by his widowed mother, who also received an annuity of £6. When Richard came of age and took over Brownhill, she was to have Shawmoor Yate farm and a tenement. After her decease, Shawmoor Yate was to pass to her second son Thomas and the tenement to her third son John Gould. No property was reserved as the inheritance of the youngest son Joseph Gould. Thomas, John and Joseph Gould were each to receive £100 when they came of age, plus £50 each paid to the executors to put them to a trade. Legacies of £100 each were bequeathed to his daughters Elizabeth, Hannah, Sarah and Anne Gould, also to be paid when they came of age.

As regards Dorothy’s family, her son William was to have the rest of the substantial property belonging to his father. Not for nothing was he to become known as "Gentleman Gould". Out of his inheritance of property at Staden he was to pay his married elder sister Mary Salt £100, while the younger (then unmarried) sister Rebecca Gould was to receive £300, a bed and a large pewter dish.

The testator’s brothers Richard Gould and Thomas Gould were appointed executors, as was his young son Richard. The Will was witnessed by William Grindon (perhaps the widow’s father), Samuel Slack and John Green, and proved on 27 October 1757.

If William Gould had intended to establish a dynasty at Brownhill, he did not succeed. Only one more generation of Goulds lived at Brownhill. His son Richard Gould had no sons, and his widow’s second husband gave up the tenancy. The Harpur-Crewes converted Brownhill into Warslow Hall for use as their summer residence.