Early Life
I have yet to find a birth record for
William Cox als Hayward. His parents are quoted as
Thomas Hayward and
Susan Shoyle in
Burke's Landed Gentry (e.g. [1]), but no birth is given. In the
Genealogy of Rogers of Dowdeswell2 he is said to have been 35 in 1682, making his year of birth c. 1647. This is corroborated by his memorial inscription at Quedgeley, which gives his age as 49 in 1696. Most likely, he was born in Forthampton, where his father and grandfather lived.
At some point, William acquired the estate and buildings of
Woolthrop House, which later became
Quedgeley, and moved there. Some historical detail is available
here.
Family Life
William married
Eleanor Rogers; according to
Rogers of Dowdeswell2 this was in April 1670, but their first son
William was born 23
rd of February 1670 so unless he was born out of wedlock, which seems unlikely, that marriage date must be incorrect. The fact that William senior married Eleanor Rogers is also confirmed in
Burke's 1906 (albeit again no date is given).
William and Eleanor had seven children, but two died as children:
- William, born 1670 and who married Margaret Selwyn
- Mary, born 1672 but died two months later
- Thomas, born 1673
- Elizabeth, born 1675
- Anne, born 1677
- Susanna, born May 1680 but died very soon after
- Richard, born 1681
Death
William's will was dated 1 May 1694, which suggests that he died sometime after this date but before his will was proved in January 1697. A memorial at Quedgeley confirms the date as 19th July 1696:
Gulielmi HAYWARD, Armig.
Et ELEANORÆ, Uxoris optimæ,
Filiæ Richardi ROGERS de Dowdeswell, Gen.
Qui animâ, corpore, et pulvere, demum conjunctissimi
Virtutum omnium juxta æmuli
Multis nominibus claruerunt
Fide in Deum firma
Studio in Liberis educandis prudentissimo
Eximiâ in Rebus gerendis peritiâ
Benignitate in proximos, remotos, omnes,
Felicissimi Uterque;
Amicitiæ sanctioris semper tenacissimi,
Tam bonos omnes charos habuerunt
Quam ipsi omnibus charissimi
Quod patuit non solum, quoad in vivis essent.
Sed in exequiis utriusque celebrandis Quorum
Alteram Apr. 18 an. 1684 ætat 33.
Alterum Jul. 19 an. 1696 ætat 49.
Vitâ defunctos
Innumeri melioris notæ e viciniâ magno cum planctu nec minori pompâ Deduxerunt
Ex superstite Sobole
THOMA, ELIZABETHA, ANNA,
GULIULMUS Primo-genitus
A rough translation:
William HAYWARD, Armig[erous]
And ELEANOR, most excellent wife, and
Daughter of Richard ROGERS of Dowdeswell, Gen[tleman]
Whose soul and body are now dust
Whose virtues many sought to emulate
And whose names were widely reknowned.
They were strong believers in God
Diligent and well-educated
Eminent in business
Fair and kind to all, no matter how remote the relationship
A happy pair;
Their friendship was sacred and strong
They were held dear by many
And they loved all dearly
Sadly, both died and their funerals were celebrated
One [Eleanor] on April 18 1684, aged 33
The other [William] on July 19 1696, aged 49.
Many notable people paid their respects
From the surviving children,
THOMAS, ELIZABETH, ANNA, WILLIAM (eldest son)
In his will (where he is referred to as William Cox alias Hayward) he mentions:
- His sons Thomas and William (the latter being sole executor)
- His daughters Elizabeth and Anne
- His mother (in-law?) Susan Rogers. Note that this contradicts other sources (e.g. [2]) that say Eleanor Roger's mother was Mary Browne
- His brother Phillip Hayward
- His brother and sister "Sturmy" (? perhaps his sister married John Sturmy of Swindon, who is mentioned later)
- His sister (Mrs) Parker
- His brothers(in-law) William Rogers and John Rogers of Dowdeswell
- His brother (in-law) John Rogers of Haresfield
A full transcript of the will is available at:
http://freepages.rootsweb.com/~wrag44/genealogy/wills/haywardwills/WilliamCoxalsHayward1696.htm
No mention of his youngest son Richard or wife Eleanor, so they presumably pre-deceased him.
Regarding Susan Rogers - this is confusing. William's mother, according to the sources we have, was Susan Shoyle (but would have become Susan Hayward when she married). William's mother-
in-law was Mary Rogers (nee Browne). The "Susan Rogers" mentioned in the will seems to have taken the first name of his mother and the married surname of his mother-in-law. Could this be an error in the transcription, or an error in the original writing of the will, or a real person?
Regarding John Sturmy, the Rogers pedigree
2 on page 6 shows Alice Rogers (daughter of John Rogers and Sibella Pulton) marrying John Sturmy of Swindon, Gloucestershire (who died 11 May 1650). Perhaps this is the father of the John Sturmy who married William's sister. It's possible that this latter John had a further son called John Sturmy, see
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NG4S-ZP8.
Regarding John Rogers of Haresfield, the same pedigree shows a series of John Rogers of Haresfield; the most likely is John Rogers, b. 1640 and died 1698 (so the year after William Hayward), buried at Haresfield. If this is the right person he wasn't an actual brother-in-law, but a 2nd cousin of Eleanors.
Regarding William and John Rogers of Dowdeswell, these are probably two brothers of Eleanor (William, b. 1657, d unm 1734; John b. 1662, m. Hester & died 1732).
Cox als Hayward
It appears that at least from William upwards, the family combined the surnames of Cox (poss. Cocks or Cockes in very early generations) and Hayward. William himself, in his will, refers to himself as William Cox als Hayward. However, William's children all seem to have simplified the surname to Hayward, dropping the Cox for reasons unknown.
A lot of my work disentangling the "Cox als Hayward" puzzle was helped by
this document written by William Good in 2011.
1) From
Burke's1:
William Hayward, Esq., son of Thomas Hayward, Esq. and Susan his wife ... and grandson of Thomas Hayward (alias Cox), of Forthampton, living 1620
There are a few "Cox or Hayward" surname entries in both FamilySearch and FindMyPast, but none for Willliam (there's a marriage for a Thomas Coxe or Hayward, in 1675, who looks like he could be a brother of William's).
2) In
Genealogy of the Rogers of Dowdeswell2, William is described as:
William Cox, al's Hayward, of Wollesthrop, in the Parish of Quedgley, Co. Glouc
Footnotes
[1] Burke's Landed Gentry, 5th Edition, Vol. 1, Page 605
[2] Genealogy of Rogers of Dowdeswell in the County of Gloucester, 1869. Note that this same tree appears in Miscellanea Genealogica:
https://archive.org/details/miscellaneagenea112unse/page/n277/mode/2up
1648 - 1696 (~ 49 years)
[4] 
