| Notes |
Early Life
Thomas Hayward was born in 1706, and baptised on the 2 nd of August, the second son of William Hayward, owner of the Quedgeley estate in Gloucestershire and Margaret Selwyn, the daughter of Maj-Gen. William Selwyn. See the note ( Just Who Was Thomas Hayward?) below this one for my analysis of some confusion in the various records (and online pedigrees) about who Thomas was.
Career
Thomas was admitted to Lincoln's Inn in February 1722/3; he later became the MP for Ludgershall in Wiltshire between 1741 and 1747 and secondly between 1754 and 1761.
Family Life
Thomas married Mercy Parsons, daughter of Charles Parsons, at Bredon in Worcestershire on the 12 th December 1732. Together they had at least four children:
- Frances, born 1733
- Charles, bapt. 1736 but possibly not of this family (see next child)
- Thomas, also bapt. 1736 in Quedgeley a few months after Charles
- William, bap. 1743, who subsequently changed his surname to Hayward-Winstone upon receiving an inheritance from his uncle, and who married Elizabeth Wayne
Both Christies and Bonhams have auctioned part of a china service belonging to Thomas and Mercy.
Death
Thomas died on the 14 th of March 1781. An obituary in the Gentleman's Magazine1 reads:
[On the 14th of March 1748] At Quedgley [sic], in Gloucester, in his 75th year, Tho. Hayward, esq; formerly member for the borough of Luggershall [sic] in two successive parliaments.
A monumental inscription at Quedgeley Church reads as follows 2:
Sacred to the memory of Thomas HAYWARD, Esq., of Wolstrop, in this Parish, who by a wise and impartial administration of justice served his country on the Bench and in the Senate, with equal candor and discernment. Dying on the 14th of March 1781, aged 75.
As also his truly amiable wife MERCY, the daughter of Charles PARSONS, Esq., of Breedon, in the county of Worcester, who died February 6th, 1777, aged 72,
by whom he had issue THOMAS, who died in his infancy, FRANCES, CHARLES and WILLIAM, William enjoying the name and estates of Thomas WINSTONE, Esq., of Oldbury House, in this county.
Charles, as the present heir, erects this monument in memory of these the best of parents.
Here rest in peace consigned to native dust,
This honor'd pair, who, faithful to their trust,
Through life's whole day pursu'd one even track,
And, as the night drew near, with joy look'd back.
Her sense, good humour, dignity and ease
Which taught each action of her life to please,
Soften'd at once and happily refin'd
The sterner virtues of his manly mind,
Where honour shone with undiminished ray
And firm integrity bore constant sway;
Who mot profuse, though charitably great,
Ope'd wide to all, his hospitable gate.
Happy the few who in these paths have trod,
And lov'd their neighbour in the love of God.
See the second note below ( Just who was Thomas Hayward?) for some information on Wolstrop, as mentioned in this inscription. Wolstrop/Woolthrop House was later renamed Quedgeley House; it was originally acquired by William Cox als Hayward, the grandfather of Thomas of this page.
Footnotes
[1] https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/PXjPAAAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA148
[2] Gloucestershire, Bigland's Monumental Inscriptions; Bristol & Gloucester Archaelogical Society; Entry for Quedgeley
Just who was Thomas Hayward?
There is a bit of confusion around Thomas' identity and I believe there were actually two Thomas Haywards of roughly the same age, location and profession. One, the Thomas of this page, was born in 1706, son of William and later an MP. The other was born in 1702, son of Thomas, and also a lawyer but probably never an MP. I draw on the following sources:
1 - Alumni Oxonienses1, which has the following entry for a Thomas Hayward:
Hayward, Thomas, s. Thomas, of Tewkesbury, co. Gloucester, gent. Balliol Coll., matric 21 Oct., 1719, aged 17; B.A. 1723, M.A. 1726, bar.- at-law, Lincoln's Inn, 1729, M.P. Ludgershall 1741-7 & 1754-61, died 24 March, 1781.
From which we draw the following biography: Son of Thomas of Tewkesbury, born 1702, educated at Balliol from 1719 to 1726; barrister at Lincoln's Inn from 1729 and MP for Ludgershall from 1741-7 and 1754-61; died 1781.
2- The DNB2, which largely copies Alumni Oxonienses has:
Thomas Hayward (1702-1781), a barrister of Lincoln's Inn, was M.P. for Ludgershall, Wiltshire, 1741-7 and 1754-61; and died at Quedgeley, Gloucestershire, 14 March 17Hl
3- Burke's3 is quite brief, showing Thomas as the son of William Hayward of Quedgeley and telling us:
Thomas Hayward, Esq. of Quedgeley, m. Mercy, dau. of Charles Parsons, Esq. at Bredon, co. Worcester, and d. 1782, leaving two sons, Charles, the elder, d. 1803 [and William Hayward, the younger son succeeded]
4- The memorial 4 at Quedgeley church says Thomas was 75 when he died in 1781, meaning he would have been born in 1706. The memorial also indicates that Thomas was 'of Wolstrop'; Wolstrop was a hamlet and we find the following information from The History of the County of Gloucester in its entry for Quedgeley parish:
Wolstrop...is a hamlet in this parish...William Hayward, Esq. was lord of the manor at the latter end of the 17th century; Chas. Hayward, Esq. his great grandson in lineal descent, dying in 1803, is succeeded by his brother, William Hayward Winstone, Esq. who is now proprietor of the whole hamlet and resides at Wolstrop house. The first William Hayward mentioned must be the father of Thomas of this page; Charles and William Hayward Winstone are the sons of Thomas of this page.
5- Gloucestershire Notes & Queries5, Volume 3 2 quotes the Quedgeley Parish Registers and gives the following children of a William Hayward:
- Albinia, bapt. 28 Oct 1703
- William, bapt. 2 Feb 1704
- Thomas, bapt. 2 Aug 1706
- John, bapt 22 Apr 1708
6- The History of Parliament Online6 notes:
bap. 2 Aug 1706, 1st surv s. of William Hayward of Quedgeley, by Margaret, da. of Maj-Gen William Selwyn, MP, of Matson, Glos. educ L. Inn 1723, called 1729. m by 1733, Mercy, da. of Charles Parsons of Bredon, Worcs., 3s. 1 da. suc fa. 1709
Thomas Hayward was brought in for Ludgershall in 1741 by his uncle, Colonel John Selwyn. Voting with the Administration in all recorded divisions, he was classed as an Old Whig in 1746. He did not stand in 1747 but was again brought in by his cousin George Augustus Selwyn in 1754.
7- The Lincoln's Inn Admissions Register7 has the following two admissions for people called Thomas Hayward:
- 20 May 1720: Thomas Hayward, son and heir app. of Thos. H., of Tewkesbury
- 1st Feb 1722/3: Thomas Hayward, eldest son of William H. of Quedgley, co. Glouc., arm., decd.
: We have two different dates of birth: either 1702 or 1706. I believe that 1706 is the correct date for Thomas, the son of William of Quedgeley. The Thomas Hayward born in 1702 was a different person, the son of Thomas of Tewkesbury.
Education: I don't think Thomas is the person described by Alumni Oxonienses as having matriculated at Balliol in 1719, because he would have only been 13 at the time.
Career: Thomas was admitted to Lincoln's Inn in 1722/3 and presumably went on to become the MP for Ludgershall as described above. I don't think he can have matriculated at Balliol in 1719 as he would only have been 13: this must be the other Thomas.
It looks to me like Alumni Oxonienses and DNB have copied the wrong admissions entry for Lincoln's Inn and thus conflated two different Thomas Haywards into one person.
Footnotes
[1] Alumni Oxonienses, 1888, Volume 2, Page 635; (https://archive.org/details/alumnioxonienses02univuoft/page/635/mode/2up?q=hayward)
[2] Dictionary of National Biography, Stephen Leslie, 1885, Volume 9, Page 313 (https://archive.org/details/dictionarynatio51stepgoog/page/n328/mode/2up)
[3] e.g. 4th Edition, volume 1, page 675; Hayward of Quedgeley House
[4] Gloucestershire, Bigland's Monumental Inscriptions; Bristol & Gloucester Archaelogical Society; Entry for Quedgeley
[5] https://archive.org/details/gloucestershiren03londuoft/page/90/mode/2up
[6] https://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1715-1754/member/hayward-thomas-1706-81#footnoteref1_59zxqsc
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Abt 1706 - 1781 (~ 74 years)
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