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Inside St. Augustine's...
>> Saturday, January 23, 2010
Charles Edward "C.E." Banks implies in his Topographical Dictionary of 2885 English Emigrants to New England, 1620-1650 that John and Samuel were born in the West Monkton area of Somerset, where there was a significant Gatchell family presence at the correct time. A fire in the West Monkton parsonage destroyed the parish's records, therefore no definitive birth records exist proving the birth locality or parentage of John or Samuel. Consequently, their presumed births in the West Monkton area is based largely on circumstantial evidence.
High on a wall inside St. Augustine's (left) in West Monkton is a Gatchell family monument. Its location denotes they were prominent members of the community, although not titled.
In fact, the monument is so high on the wall that on my visit there in 2003, I couldn't make out what it said, even by (shhh...don't tell anyone) standing on the back of a pew.
