A. Facts
As you have seen, there have been various possible spellings of our name eg Gober, Gobert, Gobear, Gobere, Goubert, Guber, Ganbert and Gambert. I've looked at records, such as the IGI, where the person making the record, then or now, may have made a mistake or given a phonetic version (the original speaker for the family being unable to write). However, although there has been some misspellings, I haven't yet found any evidence of our name having changed or evolved into something permanently different. The research shows that there were certainly four groups of GAUBERTs. Some have varying degrees of chronological, physical, and geographical association with another group. Others remain the subject of an isolated single recorded event. The groups were -


1
the GAUBERTs of today who are descended directly back to Peter Gaubert the father of Edward born 1704 who was the father of Peter born in 1748 and who married Ann Waight. This couple had many children, the first being Stephen GAUBERT who was born in 1769
2
contemporary GAUBERTs in London such as Ann, daughter of John & Mary, and christened in 1708 at St Andrews, Holborn. She was christened at the same church as were many of our early family. Being born in Ormond Street, she would have passed some of our earliest known home addresses (such as Baldwins Gardens, where in 1769 and 1770 respectively, Stephen and Elizabeth, the children of Peter & Ann, were born) on her way to that church.
3
contemporary GAUBERTs in Ireland and possibly those in The Netherlands
4

the earliest recorded GAUBERTs in Kent and Norfolk (although it is by no means certain that they were living in those areas. They might have travelled to those parts for the specific events) and isolated individuals such as Grace Gaubert. I can't find the reason for ' Gaubert Hall' at Hipperholme but it's intriguing because of the internet record of Phebe Gaubert being baptised in 1670 at nearby St John's Church in Halifax. Some records show this spelling as Gauber.



Those in 1,2, and 3 above all share the common feature of suddenly arriving on to the scene round about 1700, each with a consistent spelling, and quickly assimilating into English life and English churches,  their respective French churches declining rapidly. Further below a comparison of Wills show that 1,2 and 3 are related to each other. Those in the 4th group need further research.

B.    ' Peter GAUBERT '

When I first wrote this paragraph way back in the 1970s, Peter Gaubert was then our earliest known ancestor. Over forty years later I've only managed to push it back two generations to his father Edward's father Peter. The speed of progress in the electronic age ! Where does the younger Peter and his descendants fit into the Gauberts family tree ?

The evidence of the existence for any 'Peter GAUBERT' is -

1.  the record at St. Anne's, Soho, of the birth on the 20th. April 1724 of Lewis John GAUBE, son of Peter and Elizabeth

2.  the record from the French School at Westminster showing Peter GAUBERT born on 17.12.1748 and baptised on 24.03.1757, the son of Edward and Sarah GAUBERT

3.  the family bible showing the children of Peter and Ann GAUBERT (our proven direct ancestor) that records Stephen GAUBERT as being the first born on 04.01.1769

4.  the Will of Stephen GAUBERT made on 01.08.1774 in Middlesex which mentions Peter GAUBERT a nephew, who has two children - a son Stephen GAUBERT, and a daughter Elizabeth

5.  the Will of Stephen GAUBERT, shopkeeper of Wexford which was made on 28.03.1738. This mentions Peter GAUBERT a brother who has two children - Stephen Andre GAUBERT and Jane. The Will was proved on 29.06.1764.

6.  the IGI record of Peter marrying Ann Waight on 13th June 1768 at Saint Anne, Soho

7.  the burial of a Peter Gaubert on the 26th Nov 1816, aged 71 yrs, of Serles Place

8.  in The Guildhall Library in London I found 'British Clockmakers & Watchmakers Apprentice Records 1710 - 1810 by Dennis Moore. It contains the record that on the 20th October 1737 Edward Gaubert, son of Peter Gaubert, of St Annes, Westminster, was apprenticed to Issac Philippon, master, of St. Martins in the Fields, watchmaker, for a consideration of £ 12. Edward would therefore have been born about 1722.


apprentice edward


9. the Will of Jane Gaubert made in 1752 which mentions her brothers Stephen and David and her sister Elizabeth married to Edward Ward.




Have a look at the plan below which uses information from official sources such as Wills and parish records plus family bibles.

whole will plan



Are any of them the same 'Peter' of 'Peter and Ann'? The Peter at 1., 2. and 8 are obviously not the same person but those at 1. and 5. might be. Peter at 1 and 8 are likely to be the same person. If so, Peter at 1 could be the father of Edward who himself was the father of Peter shown at 8. above who was born in 1748. Obviously the Peter at 5. cannot be the same person as Peter at 2. since the former record was made in 1738 whilst our Peter wasn't born until ten years later. The Peter of 2,3,4,6 and 7 are therefore probably the same person. The 'Peter' at 2 and 7 are definitely the same person. The further Peter at 4. with a son Stephen does strengthens that probability. Peter at 6 is definitely
our man.

Consequently I do believe that Peter Gaubert (born 1748 and buried on the 26th Nov 1816) in 2, 3, 4, 6 & 7 above to be the same man, and that his parents were Edward Gaubert (of Litchfield Street, Soho, born c 1704, married 1741, died 29th Oct 1747) & Sarah Gaubert and that Edward's father was Peter Gaubert of King Street, Soho (died 15th Jan 1739).


C. Irish GAUBERTs

1. Does Peter's father Edward appear in the Irish records - no, not yet - but. Is that because he was dead by the time that Stephen made his will in 1774? What about the two Stephens who made the wills of 1738 and 1774 -  are they related? Is Stephen Andre the Stephen who married Margaret Stour? If so the Irish and London 'connection' is established. This has been the most difficult point to resolve. Wills only reflect an individual’s choice, they are not a complete contemporaneous record of a family. We don’t have many dates available to accurately place the order of seniority in both wills. Stephen, married in 1762, could be older or younger than his brother David and nephew Peter. Similarly Stephen, born c. 1717 could be older or younger than his brother Peter. In the wills webpage Stephen married in 1762. Whatever his age he would therefore have been probably born by 1744. Stephen Andre might have been born by 1738. I'm not convinced that they are the the same person.

2.  Lt. Louis GAUBERT didn't appear in the 1709 Pension List. Lewis GAUBERT of Waterford died in 1709. They must be the same person.

3. Sgt. Estienne (Stephen) GAUBERT died on 03.02.1750 and Stephen the shopkeeper of Wexford was born c. 1717  and his  will proved on 29.06.1764 - they're not the same person.

4. While I believe that Lt. Louis and Sgt. Estienne may have been closely related we have no evidence of any heirs. However I believe that 'Stephen the shopkeeper of Wexford' was that Etienne. Lewis GAUBERT of Waterford doesn't mention any children in his will.

5. The will of Stephen GAUBERT of Wexford made in 1738. He mentions a brother - Peter - who had Stephen Andre and Jane. Despite the gap between the making of this will and the will made by Stephen in Middlesex of 1774 - 36 yrs. - we have two Stephens each mentioning a relative named Peter who in turn had a son named Stephen. Coincidence ?

6. In 2013 the records of St Martins Workhouse in London were made available on a couple of genealoigical websites. It revealed the entry I've highlighted in red on this site at http://www.gaubertgenealogy.freeola.org/LondonLives.html for 'Edward Gobart' otherwise Edward Stephen Gaubert. He was the son of David Gaubert & Sarah Jennings and was baptised on the 2nd Feb 1752 at St Martins in The Fields, Westminster. His Will records that he died in Dublin in 1791. I've highlighted the workhouse entry because of the note in the last column - 8th Dec 1762, sent for by an uncle in Ireland. It's taken me almost 44 years to find this gem! This has been the most important discovery concerning the Gauberts of England and the Gauberts of Ireland because the names and relationships in the Wills of Stephen of Wexford (1738), Jane (1752), Stephen Gaubert (1782), Edward Gaubert (1764) and Edward's workhouse entry can now produce a coherent link between the two groups (see below). Stephen Gaubert, shopkeeper of Wexford is the only apparent candidate for being the 'uncle'.

gaubert family tree 2014

Gaubert family tree (male line 2014)


Lewis Gaube
The Will of Stephen GAUBERT, shopkeeper, of Wexford which was made on the 28th March 1738
and proved on the 29th. June 1764.
lewis john gaube
stephen will drawing


The Will of Stephen Gaubert made 1st Aug. 1774 proven 1782

1782



D. French GAUBERTs
There are only TWO questions -

1. part of the family - John Peter’s and Stephen the Dentist’s - recall the story of one of our ancestors fleeing France in a wine vat to England. Is this true ? Since it is improbable to accept navigational accuracy in a lone cask other than in a Monty Python sketch, the story must refer to the cask being carried aboard a ship with a compliant crew. John Peter’s branch believed that the Gauberts were of Huguenot origin. They also believed a family legend that a Duc de Nemours, Marquis de Gaubert had left Bordeaux on St. Bartholomew's Night in a wine vat and landed in Scotland in Queen Elizabeth's time. To date that event - Elizabeth became Queen in 1558 and died in 1603. The Massacre of St. Bartholomew was in 1572. Henry 1V of France became Catholic in 1593. He issued The Edict of Nantes in 1598. So the story does ‘ fit ’. As to the Duc de Nemours, I’ve only had this information a short time and haven’t done any research yet. It does sound too fanciful and rather typical of a child’s bedtime story

2. is Louis, son of Charles, Lord of Mosnac the same Louis who fought and settled in Ireland, and the same man as Lewis, gentleman of Waterford who died in 1709 ?

Charles died on 07.05.1666 thus making his son at least 24 yrs old at the time of the Battle of The Boyne. The records show that Lt. Louis had served for 12 yrs. When the regiment was disbanded in 1699. His military career thus started in 1687 and he must have been born before 1670. It's actually possible that they are the same ' Louis '.


E. Recap

The preceding pages show that at present we can directly trace our ancestry back to Edward Gaubert, father of Peter, who was the father of Edward Gaubert and his wife Sarah, the parents of Peter born 1748. I believe that Peter Gaubert (born 1748 and buried on the 26th Nov 1816) in 2, 3, 4, 6 & 7 above was the son of Edward Gaubert (of Litchfield Street, Soho, born c 1704, married 1741, died 29th Oct 1747) & Sarah Gaubert and that Edward's father was Peter Gaubert of King Street, Soho (died 15th Jan 1739).

What about Jeanne Gaubert who married Issac Barbe during 1713 in London ?  She was recorded as a native etc of Normandy, implying she was an immigrant. The date suggests her birth at around 1690 – 1695. This would make her of similar age to Edward, father of Peter, who was also in London. 

The family story of the Duc de Nemours awaits further investigation. Any connection to Grace Gaubert who married Joshua HIRST on 02.11.1727 at Almondbury, York.( The Mormons Vital Records Index – British Isles) also remains uncertain as does Gaubert Hall.

Tatiana - fascinating but an unsubstantiated cat's cradle. 

For my branch of the family, this research has been a kind of homecoming. My paternal grandfather died when my father was young. Dad had really no recollection of his father, just a faint image. The children were put into the care of an orphanage. Grandmother remarried, destroyed all family memorabilia and rarely spoke of the past. The skeletal family tree did give some comfort in answering an otherwise apparent isolation.

Whilst this project has been fascinating it is important to retain some perspective of its relative importance. It’s time to move on - unless I find something interesting on the web. In a light-hearted moment, whilst surrounded by heaps of individuals records and personal data, I remember the inescapable difference between marriage and death - you can only smell your own flowers at the former !