1786
Born
3 February 1786 at Devonport
February 3rd 1786, Devonport— From Janet Brock’s research
Mum’s record Evidence
From Janet Brock’s research notebook.
William Thomas
1786 – 1811
✓ Validated against records · 2026-07-04
William Thomas was born on the 3rd of February 1786 at Devonport — and baptised that April not in the parish church but at the Princes Street Independent chapel: his Cornish parents, John Thomas and Priscilla Maddick, were worshipping among the dissenters of the dockyard towns in those years, and William's younger siblings were likewise baptised at the Morrices Square Independent meeting in Plymouth Dock. It is the family's first recorded turn away from the established church — a century and a quarter before his great-granddaughter Jenny put on a Salvation Army bonnet.
The family came back east to Brixham, and William went to sea — a mariner, as the banns described him when, on the 2nd of March 1810, he married Jane Soper there. One child came: William, baptised the 2nd of June 1811. And then the record goes quiet in the way this family's records do. William died young — between about 1811 and 1815, possibly at sea; no burial has been found — and in 1815 the Brixham register has the widow's next chapter: "Joseph Taylor of this parish and Jane Thomas, widow, both of this parish, were married after banns."
He was perhaps twenty-eight. His only son grew up to be a master mariner; his grandson skippered Hull smacks; and the pattern he began — the young widow, the remarriage, the sea keeping what it took — repeated in each generation that followed.
Composed from validated records · 2026-07-04
- Birth
- February 3rd 1786, Devonport
- Baptism
- April 14th 1786, Devonport (Parish Records)
- Marriage
- March 2nd 1810 to Jane Soper in Brixham (Parish Records)
- Death
- Possibly between 1811 and 1814
- Parents
- John Thomas and Priscilla Maddick
- Siblings
- William Thomas baptised September 12th 1784 Brixham John Thomas baptised September 12th 1784 Brixham William Thomas born February 3rd 1786, baptised April 14th 1786, Princes Street Independent Devonport Nicholas Thomas baptised February 25th 1789, Morrices Square Independent, Plymouth Dock Ann Thomas baptised February 29 1789, Morrices Square Independent, Plymouth Dock
- Children
- William Thomas baptised June 2nd 1811, Brixham
- 1810
- Marries Jane Soper, Spinster, in Brixham. William Thomas of this parish and Jane Soper of this parish were married after banns on the second day of March 1810 in the presence of Caleb Collier (?) and Edith Elizabeth Thonsall
- Occupation
- Mariner (Stated on the Banns)
- 1810-15
- William dies possibly at sea
- 1815
- Jane remarries in Brixton Joseph Taylor of this parish and Jane Thomas, widow, both of this parish were married after banns
In your grandmother’s words · from her notebook
Family
Parents
The children of John & Priscilla
· · William Thomas b. 1786this page · ·
Marriage
Children
Life
Confirmed — anchored to a recordEstimated — inferred
1786
Baptised
14 April 1786
William Thomas, born 3 February 1786, baptised 19 April 1786 at the Princes Street Chapel (Independent), Devonport — father John, mother Priscilla.— The Independent chapel baptism — TNA RG 4 (1786)
Read at the image record Evidence
Confirmed against the original record, read at the image:
- The Independent chapel baptism — TNA RG 4 (1786) — General Register Office: registers surrendered to the Non-Parochial Registers Commissions — TNA RG 4/961, "Devonport, Princes Street Chapel (Independent): Baptisms" (findmypast TNA/RG4/BAP/67760), read 4 July 2026. Born 3 February 1786 exactly as Mum recorded; the register's baptism date is 19 April where her page reads the 14th — the register wins. Birthplace given as "Plymouth Dock", Devonport's older name; parents John and Priscilla — the sojourners of the 1781 Brixham register. read at the image
1810
Married Jane Soper
2 March 1810 at Brixham
William Thomas of this parish and Jane Soper of this parish were married after banns on the second day of March 1810, in the presence of Caleb Collier (?) and Edith Elizabeth Thonsall. William's occupation, stated on the banns: mariner.— The wedding at Brixham — Mum's register reading (1810)
Mum’s record Evidence
From Janet Brock’s research, cited — not yet re-verified at the image:
- The wedding at Brixham — Mum's register reading (1810) — Janet's transcription from the Brixham register, on her page for William. Register image to be re-verified and cited in a Devon parish-register session. from Mum’s research
1811
Dead by about 1815, possibly at sea — no burial found
about 1811
Possibly between 1811 and 1814— From Janet Brock’s research
Estimated Evidence
From Janet Brock’s research notebook. Estimated — inferred, not directly recorded.
1815
The widow remarries — Joseph Taylor, Brixham
1815
Jane remarries in Brixton Joseph Taylor of this parish and Jane Thomas, widow, both of this parish were married after banns— From Janet Brock’s research
Mum’s record Evidence
From Janet Brock’s research notebook.
Occupation
Mariner (Stated on the Banns)— From Janet Brock’s research
Mum’s record Evidence
From Janet Brock’s research notebook.
Our research
The Devonport dissenter's gaps
Open research · Devonport, Plymouth Dock & Brixham
- The Independent chapel baptisms — HIS IS FOUND (July 2026): TNA RG 4/961 confirms the Princes Street Chapel baptism, born 3 February, baptised 19 April 1786 (Mum's page read the 14th), parents John and Priscilla — now on this page as a source. Still to pull: Nicholas and Ann at Morrices Square, Plymouth Dock (25 February 1789; Mum's sibling list on George's page gives Ann an impossible "29 February" — her own page says the 25th), and the register image for the archive.
- His death window, ~1811–15 — bounded by his son's baptism (June 1811, where the register may note the father) and Jane's remarriage (1815). Brixham burials and at-sea losses of the Napoleonic years are the search; a mariner of these years may also appear in naval or privateer musters — an open question.
- The twins of 1784 — William and John, baptised together at Brixham on 12 September 1784: the first William evidently died in infancy for the name to be given again in 1786; the burial wants finding.
- Jane Soper — her page (born 1784) and her Taylor remarriage belong to the Soper pass to come.