c1722 - 1760

William Gough was the third son of William Gough of Willsbury, Saint Briavels, Gloucestershire (1691-1773) and his wife Catherine Portrey (1698-1733), heiress to the Ynyscedwyn estate in Ystradgynlais. He was baptised at Chepstow on 8th February 1721, old-style, which would be 19th February 1722 as we see it now. His older brothers were Richard Gough Aubrey, senior (1718-1751) and the Reverend James Gough Aubrey (1720-1796). He had a younger brother George, baptised at Saint Briavels in April 1723 and attested to in a Lease and Release of 1723/24 when all four brothers are listed, but who died young. Another brother, John, must have been born after this date, and is remembered on a plaque in Saint Cynog's, as well as being listed as joint plaintiff in the Gough family's attempt in the mid 1750s to sell the Portrey estates.

William also had a sister Elizabeth, born in 1728. She married William Lucas and they had two sons, William Lucas (jnr) and James Owen Lucas, and one daughter Barbara Ann, who in 1796 married John Laugharne Popkin. A date of death for Elizabeth Lucas is uncertain; she last appears in the Ynyscedwyn estate papers in 1788, but appears to be mentioned in her brother, James Gough Aubrey's will, written in 1793, where he sometimes refers to her as 'my poor sister'. Another sister, Jane, is mentioned on the plaque in Saint Cynog's, but the mid 1750s legal case refers to Elizabeth as William senior's only daughter.

In estate papers, William is generally referred to either as William Gough, or as William Gough Junior, if his father is also involved in the transaction. He is also known to history as William Gough Aubrey, though the attestation of this is uncertain.

His older brother Richard had to take the additional surname Aubrey as a condition of inheritance of the Ynyscedwyn estate upon the death of the last remaining male Portrey, Christopher Portrey (junior) in December 1752. His next brother, James, also took the additional surname of Aubrey at some point, perhaps upon the death of Richard in 1759. Whether William officially added the Aubrey name I am uncertain, but it may have been adopted after the death of Richard as William was the only one of the brothers with any children and it might have been assumed they would eventually inherit Ynyscedwyn.

Son of William Gough and Katherine née Portrey

William Gough married Christiana Fleming 'on or about' the 19th June 1751 when he was around 29 years of age. She was the sister of Hezekiah Fleming, then Captain in the 34th Regiment of Foot, who in 1757 was appointed Lieutenant Colonel in the 73rd Regiment of Foot, and in 1777 would attain the rank of Major General. Theophilus Jones incorrectly calls Christiana the daughter of Hezekiah Fleming, but his will makes clear the relationship: "my sister Christiana Gough".

The marriage took place abroad in Minorca, presumably at Mahon, William Gough being at the time 'lieutenant of His Majesty's Ship Fougeux' [sic] as recorded in Ynyscedwyn estate record D/D Yc 1211/1-3 where Hezekiah Fleming and Helen Hope, spinster, attest to it in a 1781 affadavit.

William Gough and Christiana Fleming were married by Reverend James Moore, chaplain to Colonel Dejean's Regiment, then upon duty in the island of Minorca. She is recorded as a spinster of Minorca, indicating that Captain Hezekiah Fleming had family with him in the garrison there. The witnesses are recorded as being William Bennet, then a lieutenant aboard the HMS Fougueux, later captain of HMS Lennox, Hezekiah Fleming, and Lady Hope Fleming, identified as Hezekiah's wife, whom he had married in London in 1749.
They report that a few days after the wedding the couple sailed for England, a letter included in the record by Rev. James Moore indicating this was on or shortly after the 21st June 1751.

William and Christiana had at least five children. Of these, William, the middle of three sons, who was born in the Summer of 1755 (Baptised August 10th 1755) died young.

Richard William Gough was the eldest son, born in 1752. He is generally listed as the first Gough squire of Ynyscedwyn, from when his uncle, James Gough Aubrey died in September 1796, and took the additional surname Aubrey himself, being known as Richard Gough Aubrey. He married Jane Williams, née Wynter, in September 1789 but they had no children. He died on 26th January 1808 after what his gravestone in Saint Cynog's cemetery, Ystradgynlais, makes sound like a painful lingering illness.

Fleming Gough was the third-born son of William and Christiana, taking his Christian name from the surname of his mother's family. He was born in 1756, if you calculate his year of death 1835 minus his given age of 79 - however, his baptismal record at Saint Briavels is for January 11th 1758, making a date of birth in late 1757 most likely. Fleming Gough was ordained to the diaconate of Saint Briavels, Glouctershire on Sunday 24th September 1780 (Ynysecedwyn estate paper D/D Yc 1207) and first received a post as a priest at Steeple Ashton in 1782. By 1788 he was living in Briton Ferry and was possibly Curate there. He became Rector of Ystradgynlais, in succession to his uncle, James Gough Aubrey, in 1796, formally appointed 1797.

Reverend Fleming Gough married Martha Taylor (sometimes given as Taylour) in 1785 and they had four children - Harriet Gough (1788-1868), who married Howell Jones Williams, Susannah (Susan) Gough (1790-1868), who died unmarried, William Fleming Gough (1792-1796) who died a child, and Richard Douglas Gough. The Reverend Fleming Gough succeeded as squire of Ynyscedwyn upon his brother's death in 1808, and died on the 27th October 1835 at Yniscedwin House. He was succeded in the estate by his only surviving son, Richard Douglas Gough.

Elizabeth Gough was the daughter of William and Christiana. She died in Bristol according to a source. Her name is sometimes given as Eliza. She was baptised on 24th August 1752 at Titchfield, Hampshire, a location presumably related to William's service in the Royal Navy at that time.

Anne Harriet Gough was born in 1754 and died on 12th February 1821, unmarried. She is remembered on the gravestone in Saint Cynog's Church, Ystradgynlais. Church records at Saint Briavels, Gloucestershire, record her baptised as Anne Henrietta, on August 1st 1754. Her place of death is given as Yniscedwin House, though she is recorded on the grave as having been living at Briton Ferry.

The wills of their uncle Hezekiah Fleming (1781) and their mother Christiana Gough, nee Fleming (1794) both make bequests to Elizabeth and (Anne) Harriet, showing that neither of the sisters married, both bearing the surname 'Gough' until their deaths.

William's widow, Christiana Gough's will was proved in 1794. This will at the National Archives calls her "of Brecon", implying that she was living there, but she is listed as dying in Briton Ferry between February and March 1793, being buried on the 5th March. It is quite probable that she was living with, or staying with, her son Fleming Gough at this time. It appears that her grave, together with that of Fleming Gough's young son who died, had decayed so much by the early 2010s that their inscriptions were now unreadable, and they were apparently among the stones placed flat under a newly gravelled area outside Saint Mary's.

Hezekiah Fleming died in 1783 and was buried in Monmouth, as 'Eziakiah Fleming', in the same grave as his wife, Lady Ann Hope Fleming who had died in November 1763. Very few gravestones from this period survive, and a survey of the churchyard confirms that no sight can be had today of any grave that would match theirs.

1738 - 1760

William Gough made a career in the Royal Navy. The information in this section is compiled from ThreeDecks.org, from the book Royal Navy Officers in the Seven Years War by Cy Harrison from the records within the Ynyscedwyn estate papers at West Glamorgan Archive Service with the identifier D/D Yc 1203/1-6, and from documents held at the National Archives.

William Gough's first known service was on the 16th February 1738 when he would have been 15 or 16 years of age, in which he served as the Captain's Servant aboard the Falmouth, a 50-gun 4th rate dating from 1730. Her captain in this period would have been William Douglas, who died aboard in 1741. William Gough held the rank of Midshipman after August 1740, and would have participated in the operations against Cartagena in 1740-1741.

In December 1741, William Gough was transferred to the Sutherland, another 50-gun 4th rate ship, newly acquired in October of that year. Between 27th November 1743 and 7th June 1744 he served as Midshipman aboard the 50 gun 4th rate Hampshire, based in the Channel.

On 7th June 1744, at around the age of 22, he passed the Lieutenant's Examination and was initially posted to the 8-gun sloop Swift on 7th July 1744. On the 11th January 1745 (our style) he became 3rd Lieutenant and Lieutenant at Arms upon the Torrington. This was the 44-gun 5th rate newly acquired by the Royal Navy in 1742-43, rather than the previous vessel, broken up in 1744. At the time of his appointment, the Captain of the Torrington would have been William Boys, though he was soon replaced by John Hardy. He was promoted to 2nd Lieutenant aboard the Torrington in March 1745 (our style) and served in that role until February 1747 (our style).

William Gough then served aboard the Fougueux, first as 3rd Lieutenant from December 1748, then was appointed 2nd Lieutenant of this ship on 8th May 1751. The Fougueux was a 64-gun French 3rd rate ship of the line, captured at the 2nd Battle of Cape Finisterre in October 1747 and subsequently inducted into the Royal Navy.

The next step in William Gough's career was to be appointed to the Kingston first as 2nd Lieutenant from February 1755, then on 30th September 1755 as 1st Lieutenant. The Kingston was a 60-gun 4th rate ship of the line. Wikipedia records her as originally constructed in 1697, but rebuilt in 1719 and in 1740. However ThreeDecks.org records the 1740 ship as being purpose-built, with her keel laid down in 1736/7 and being first commissioned in September 1740. The answer most likely lies between the two - her rebuild in 1740 being from the bottom up, using the same timbers but having totally deconstructed the ship.

At the National Archives is a record with reference HCA 32/176A/10. These are papers, partly from the Admiralty Prize Court, recording that on 11th September 1755, off Portland, two ships described as tenders of the ship of the line Royal George captured the French merchant ship La Conception. The two tenders are listed as the Elizabeth commanded by Lieutenant William Burr, and the Tasker commanded by Lieutenant William Gough.

William Gough is then reported on the 7th October 1755 to have been appointed 1st Lieutenant aboard the Ramilies (Ramillies, but then often spelt with only one L), a 90-gun ship of the line. This was Admiral Byng's flagship, under Captain Arthur Gardiner, and sailed for the Mediterranean in April 1756 and was then present at the Battle of Minorca on 20th May 1756.

William Gough achieved the rank of Commander in June 1756, at the age of 32. The Ynyscedwyn estate papers record him appointed to the Fortune, an 18 gun sloop recaptured from the French in 1746, between the dates of 6th to the 26th June 1756.

William Gough was then appointed Captain and commanding officer of the Experiment, a 24-gun sixth rate, although ThreeDecks.org list that this was only for the period the 26th June 1756 to 4th July 1756. His appointment was by Admiral John Byng, commander of the British fleet in the Mediterranean, whilst that of the succeeding captain was by Edward Hawke, who took over command of the Mediterranean fleet from Byng after June 1756, when the latter was called home in disgrace for failing to relieve the garrison on Minorca.

William Gough's last appointment was as Captain of the Penzance in 1758. The Penzance was a 44-gun 5th rate completed in 1747. ThreeDecks.org record his length of service in this role as being from 31st August 1758. His death aboard the Penzance is recorded in the Ynyscedwyn estate papers (D/D Yc 1213/1-2) as 2nd July 1760, at Quebec.

William Gough's Naval Career

In March 1756, Admiral John Byng began gathering a fleet at Spithead to head into the Mediterranean and effect the relief of the garrison at Minorca from French attack. This fleet sailed on the 5th April, and engaged the French fleet under La Galissoniere at the Battle of Minorca on the 20th May 1756. The battle was inconclusive, and Byng did not land the troops he was carrying but retired upon Gibraltar. Here he would learn of the furore that his failure to raise the siege of Minorca had caused back in Britain, and soon find himself recalled, and replaced by Admiral Edward Hawke. Back home, he found himself on trial for his life, in a court martial that would play out across January 1757, and lead to his eventual execution by firing squad.

William Gough was 1st Lieutenant of the Ramillies, Admiral Byng's flagship. The excerpts below cover the events of this period as far as possible from his perspective.

From the Derby Mercury, Friday 19th March 1756:-

Since my last, arrived at Spithead the Culloden, Captain Ward, Defiance, Captain Andrews, and Kingston, Captain Parry, to join Admiral Byng's Squadron for the Mediterranean.

From the Caledonia Mercury, Tuesday 23rd March 1756 comes a list of the ships appointed to sail under Admiral Byng's command:-

By Letters from Spithead, dated on Tuesday last, we are told the following Ships are appointed to sail for the Mediterranean under the Command of the Admirals Byng and West; Ramillies, Admiral Byng; Buckingham, Admiral West; Culloden, Intrepide, Captain, Trident, Revenge, Kingston, Lancaster, and Defiance, all Ships of the Line

From the Ipswich Journal, Saturday 27th March 1756 comes news that Byng has hoisted the blue flag and that Lord Robert Bertie (here misnamed George) has arrived with troops to be transported for the relief of Minorca:-

Extract of a Letter from Portsmouth, March 21
Since my last, arrived here Admiral Byng, and hoisted the Blue Flag at the Main-top mast Head of the Ramillies, Captain Gardiner, and is preparing the fleet to sail as soon as possible.
Saturday arrived three Companies of Lord George [sic] Bertie's Regiment of Welch Fusiliers, and will this Day be followed by the Remainder. It is strongly insisted on here that this Regiment is to embark on board Admiral Byng's Fleet.

From the Ipswich Journal, Saturday 8th May 1756 we learn that Byng sailed on the 5th April 1756:-

N.B. We are sorry to find, upon looking back into old Papers, that Admiral Byng did not sail from Spithead before the 5th of last Month, and that he was obliged to come again to an Anchor at St. Helen's on the 7th.

From Cy Harrison's book "Royal Navy Officers of the Seven Years War" comes a listing of the ships under Byng's command. This list includes the ships that we see William Gough going on to command briefly after the Battle of Minorca:-

Royal Navy Deployment - May 1st 1756
The Mediterranean

2nd Rate Ships of the Line - Ramillies (90), Flag of Admiral Byng
3rd Rate Ships of the Line - Buckingham (70), Flag of Rear Admiral West; Culloden (74), Captain (70), Revenge (70), Trident (64), Lancaster (66), Intrepid (64)
4th Rate Ships of the Line - Kingston (60), Defiance (60), Princess Louisa (60), Deptford (50), Portland (50)
5th Rate Ships of the Line - Chesterfield (44)
6th Rate Ships of the Line - Dolphin (24), Phoenix (24), Experiment (24)
Sloops - Fortune (14)
Fire Ships - Blast, Proserpine

Of these, the Deptford, Portland, Princess Louisa, Chesterfield, Proserpine and Dolphin were already in the Mediterranean under Edgecumbe, and rendezvoused with him at Gibraltar, whilst the Phoenix was at Leghorn getting information, and similarly would rendezvous with Byng.

The following account of the Battle of Minorca comes from Wikipedia's page on Admiral John Byng and is reproduced under the Commons license:-

Byng sailed from Gibraltar on 8 May 1756. On 19 May, Byng's fleet appeared off of Port Mahon and he endeavoured to open communications with the fort. The French squadron, however, appeared before he could open up a line of communication with any fort officer.

The Battle of Minorca was fought on the following day. Byng had gained the weather gage, which both forces had attempted to gain. However, the two fleets were not parallel with one another. Byng called for a lasking manoeuvre, meaning that all his ships would turn in unison and, with the wind behind them, sail straight toward the enemy bow first. But Captain Thomas Andrews of the Defiance, the lead ship due to the angled approach, did not steer directly for the first French ship in the enemy's line but, instead, steered a parallel course. The Portland, Buckingham, Lancaster and one other followed the example set by the Defiance. It took two cannon shots from Byng's flagship, the Ramillies, and some ten to fifteen minutes for the Admiral to redirect the lasking. But by this time, the French Admiral ordered his ships to pull more sail and lead away from Byng's attempted lasking. This delay cost Byng the element of surprise, but it also allowed the French to make the rest of the battle a "running fight", as Captain Augustus Hervey of the Phoenix later called it.

Because of the angle, the leading van took the brunt of the damage. The last ship in that squadron, the Intrepid, was heavily damaged, losing three of its masts including the main. The next three ships, the Revenge, Princess Louisa and Trident, did not pass the now listing Intrepid to keep the sanctity of the battle line. Instead, those ships nearly collided with one another, with Captain Frederick Cornwall of the Revenge eventually navigating his ship between the Intrepid and the enemy.

Byng's battle line was broken. It cost Byng twenty to thirty minutes to reform the line and once the line was reformed, the French pulled full sail and expediently pulled away. Byng was told by Captain Arthur Gardiner, his flag captain, that he could set full sail for the enemy, thus providing an example to the three bottled-up ships on what to do. Byng declined, recalling that Admiral Thomas Mathews had been dismissed for doing so at the Battle of Toulon in 1744. After four to four and a half hours, neither side lost a ship in the engagement, and casualties were roughly even, with 43 British sailors killed and 168 wounded, against French losses of 38 killed and 175 wounded.

Byng remained near Minorca for four days without establishing communication with the fort or sighting the French. On 24 May, he called a War Council of his own where, by unanimous voting, Byng's fleet would return to Gibraltar for repairs, succours, sailors and more marines for the garrison. The fleet arrived at Gibraltar on 19 June, where they were reinforced with four more ships of the line and a 50-gun frigate. Repairs were effected to the damaged vessels and additional water and provisions were loaded aboard. But, before his fleet could return to sea, another ship arrived from England with further instructions, relieving Byng, Fowke and several others of their command and ordering a return to home.

On arrival in England, Byng was placed in custody. The garrison resisted the Siege of Fort St Philip until 29 June, when it was forced to capitulate.

1) Baltic Convoys: August 1758 - December 1759

The Penzance was a 44-gun 5th rate completed in 1747. She was a 1745 Establishment 44-gunner, constructed to that pattern, and was built at Chichester, Sussex, by Vernon Chitty. Her captain immediately prior to William Gough was Thomas Ward, who commanded her from the 19th January to the 31st August 1758.

The Ipswich Journal for Saturday 12th August 1758 records the arrival of the Penzance at Hull, bringing in ships from the Baltic Convoy. This important duty of trade protection was to be Captain William Gough's assignment also, lasting into the early part of 1760.

The Isis and Penzance, Men of War, are arrived at Hull with several ships under their Convoy from the Baltick.
The Dolphin Man of War arrived at Hull last Saturday, to take under Convoy the Hamburgh Fleet.

Whilst William Gough took over the captaincy of the Penzance on 31st August 1758, it is not clear how long it was before she sailed again. The next newspaper reports I have been able to find on her, has her arriving in the Sound on 12th May 1759 with the outward-bound convoy of trade to the Baltic. The newspaper reports imply that she returned home, then went out again to pick up the homeward-bound convoy of trade from the Baltic, sailing with them back to England on the 31st July 1759.

From the Newcastle Courant, 2nd June 1759:-

They write from the Sound, that the Baltick Fleet, outward-bound, under Convoy of the Penzance and Dolphin Men of War, arrived there the 12th instant. The Men of War were to return home in seven Days.

From the Newcastle Courant, 18th August 1759:-

Letters from the Sound of the 31st past say, that the British homeward-bound Fleet, consisting of 64 Sail, under the Convoy of His Majesty's Ships Dolphin and Penzance, sailed from thence that Day early in the Morning with a fair Wind.

His Majesty's Ship Penzance with the trade from the Baltic is arrived at St. Helen's.

St. Helen's were the outer roads from Spithead, implying that the Baltic traders were on the Southern coast, near Southampton. Whether these are the same ones that departed the Sound on 31st July, I am uncertain, and whether perhaps if they were, they went to someplace else first?

The Sussex Advertiser 24th September 1759 reports that the above ships arrived at Plymouth on the 11th September,

On the 11th instant the Penzance Man of War arrived at Plymouth, with the Trade under her Convoy from the Downs.

2) Across the Atlantic to Quebec: March to July 1760

Piecing the story of the Penzance's crossing of the Atlantic together requires posting some of the following newspaper articles out of sequence.

From the Derby Mercury 27th June 1760:-

Extract of a Letter from an Officer at Quebec, to his Friend in London, dated May 25, 1760.
I am commanded by my Father to acquaint you, that he have had a very bad passage to this Place. The Day after we sailed from St. Helen's the Ships from Plymouth joined us, and as the Wind was fair, we went to Sea directly (March 12) and got out of the Channel. In a few Days the Penzance was leaky; we lost Company with her and the Repulse in a very hard Gale of Wind, but hope they got safe to Newfoundland or Halifax.
On the 1st May we saw the North Part of Cape Breton, and forced our Way through Leagues of loose Ice in the Gulph of St. Lawrence. On the 4th we met a Schooner, Express from Quebec, who acquainted us that a French Army of 14,000 Regulars, Indians, and Canadians, and four French Frigates, were going to retake that Place, and that Governor Murray had been beat by the French and more than 1000 of the Garrison killed and wounded. We were at that time 130 Leagues from Quebec; Commodore Swanton made all possible haste to get up the River, but had a very Gale at N.W. On the 4th we met another Express at the Island of Bice, who informed us that we had not 3000 Men left at Quebec. that the French General had threatened to storm the Town, and put all to the Sword, if they did not surrender, but that General Murray was determined to defend the Place to the last Extremity. On the 15th at Three in the Morning, we left the Island of Bice, and tho' we were 150 Miles from Quebec, we came to anchor before the City by Eight at Night.

As the above article makes clear, the Penzance was not with the squadron when it arrived at Quebec. What had become of her?

From the Leeds Intelligencer 8th July 1760

Boston, May 19th - His Majesty's ship Penzance which was bound to join Commodore Lord Colville's fleet up the river St. Lawrence, having sprung a leak, was obliged to go into Halifax.

Julian to Gregorian

Prior to 1752, the New Year began on March 25th meaning that, for those living then, the year 1750, for example, consisted of March 25th-31st, then April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December, then January, February, and March 1st to 24th.

Thus, when looking at original documents it needs to be understood that January 1744, for example, comes 6 months AFTER July 1744. In William Gough's case, this explains why he passed his lieutenant's examination in June 1744, and was later created 3rd lieutenant in January 1744. January was towards the end of the year.

When reporting dates prior to 1752, I have kept them as is for March 25th to December 31st, but changed the year to how it would now be seen in the Gregorian calendar for dates January 1st to March 24th. Thus, although the Warrant of Appointment for William Gough as 3rd Lieutenant to the Torrington says on the document "11th January 1744", I have recorded it in his service record as being January 1745. From time to time, I note this with (our style), where the year in question would have been the one previous, as people at the time would have seen it.

It should be noted, that to be 100% accurate a Julian calendar date should have 11 days added onto it to give a Gregorian calendar date. I have not adopted this above, and if a date is given as, for example, 8th May 1751, then I have kept it as 8th May 1751. Partly, this is because I do not know whether dates from other websites have been amended or not, so have kept all dates as I found them. Only years have been altered, as described above.

Online Resources for Historians & Genealogists

Ynyscedwyn Estate Papers (held at West Glamorgan Archive Service)
https://archiveshub.jisc.ac.uk/search/archives/95dd982a-7943-30b7-83bc-e615e82f6ba5

Clergy of the Church of England Database (Up to 1835)
https://theclergydatabase.org.uk/

Forest of Dean Family History Trust (Free Registration)
https://forest-of-dean.net

ThreeDecks.org
https://threedecks.org

British Newspaper Archive, from the British Library (subscription necessary):- https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk