The Origin of the Gossett Name
History relates explicitly that simple armorial bearings were employed before surnames were established and that, in the tenth century, knights assumed their names which were suggested by their symbols. For combat, in battle, or at tournament a knight presented himself with closed visor and no one knew him except by the symbol he wore. When once some glorious achievement had been associated with his symbol, that sign became a true surname and it became permanent and hereditary.
It is obvious the symbol, goussé, in the Gossett coat-of-arms was the only armorial device worn by the first knight it represented, and the heraldic significance of this symbol is evidence that the ancient family of Gossett lived in Normandy, France, before their surname was established. The French word, Goussé (pronounced Goo say´), was the early form of the Gossett name. The name and the symbol were identical. Therefore, the goussé symbol designated a chivalrous knight in the very early history of the family and, subsequently, inspired the Goussé name. Goussé became Goussét; finally, Gosset or Gossett.
Some families continued to use the name Goussé, as found in French volumes among names of nobles of ancient France. And, several soldiers by the name of Goussé served with La Fayette's troops in the American Revolution. At least for some time, other families used Goussét. (See two biographies in Part III of this book, which deals with "Other Gossetts.") However, in France, England, and America the name is Gosset or Gossett. "Gossett, or Gosset" is the title occurring in The Genealogist's Guide by George W. Marshall, L.L.D., Rouge Croix Pursuivant of Arms (1903), I, 348. Fairbairn's Book of Crests of the Families of Great Britain and Ireland, revised 1905, describes the crest under "Gosset" or "Gossett".
Goussé is the French word meaning pod, and the phrase, goussé de fèves, means literally pod of beans, or bean-pod. "Pod" and "beans" are word pictures and are of very early date. They have literal significance. Therefore, the goussé symbol, representing a product of the soil, indicates the Gossetts possessed land. Consequently, they were feudal lords.
The lords of France owned all the land, which was the only form of wealth, and they were rich and great in power. Only they and their sons were admitted to knighthood, and they had complete political independence of the French king. The lords possessed an exalted rank in that golden age for the upper class, when feudalism was at its height from the 9th to the 14th century. Feudalism was a localized lord-vassal arrangement in a time when there was no effective national government. Feudalism was based on hereditary authority. In later history, the lords were called feudal barons, and the feudal barons were the nobles of France.
Two other facts concerning the early Gossett family in Normandy are disclosed in the description of the bean-pods:
1. Feuill-ées et tigées, meaning literally 'furnished with leaves and stalked', or 'growing and prospering', signify the Gossett family had great prosperity and authority through the possession of land.
2. Since beans thrive in the moist air of coastal regions, the bean symbol implies that the location of the Gosset estates was in proximity to the foggy climate of the English Channel.
The Gosset estates were located in western Normandy on the Cherbourg peninsula in the neighborhood of St. Sauveur, which was about eight miles from the west coast. (See Henry A. G. Driscoll, Genealogical Sketches of the Families of Driscoll, Etc. N. Y., 1918, under "Gosset," pp. 34-36.)
The symbol of the bean-pod is most unusual and interesting because it is definitely historical of the ancient family of Gossett and because it does not appear, as many emblems do, on other shields. Usually the symbols, or emblems, of heraldry denote the deeds or characteristics of the first bearer; frequently, they express elevated sentiments and their meanings are involved; sometimes they are mystical, for the old knights were secretive and often only the family knew the significance of the emblems. The symbols are animals, birds, trees, flowers, fruits, and inanimate objects.
The Early Gossett Family:
The Gossett coat-of-arms relates the history of the early Gossett family and casts light on past events as steps in human progress. The symbols, or emblems, on the Gossett shield are of very early date and they have literal significance. These symbols indicate the origin of the family name, Goussé. They reveal that the Goussés were very rich and powerful feudal lords and that their estates were in the coastal region of Normandy, France. The symbols illustrate three Goussé knights who possessed vast dominion and authority and who won great distinction and honor as gallant commanders in the earliest Crusades.
The arms which the family bore in France are described in Burke, The Landed Gentry, periodically published in London; and, the British translation is included, as follows:
D'àgur, à un annulet d'or, et trois Goussés de fèves feuillées et tigées, et rangées, en pairle de même; au chef d'argent, chargé d'une aiglette de sable.
British translation:
Az., an annulet and three bean-pods (gousses) leaved and stalked, proceeding therefrom and ranged en paille, or; on a chief arg., an eagle displayed sa.
Crest: A greyhound's head erased arg., collared gu., ringed and garnished or.
Also, in Burke's volumes, facts are recorded concerning the early Gossett family and concerning Jean Gosset under the title of the family of Gosset in the following succinct phrases:
The Gossets are of "Norman Extraction". For centuries the family of Gosset lived in Normandy, France, and was included in the ranks of the nobility. Owing to their adoption of the Protestant faith in 1555, their name was removed from the roll of nobles. After the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, in 1685, Jean Gosset, a Huguenot, moved to the Island of Jersey, one of the English Channel islands, and died in 1712. The Gossets resided in Jersey for many years in the manor of Bagot. Some of Jean Gosset's family settled in England. The lineage of his descendants to the present representatives in England appears regularly in the publications of Burke, The Landed Gentry.
Information on Jean Gosset and on some of his descendants is found in the following references:
1. Burke, The Landed Gentry, pub. in London; vols. 4,5,6,7,8, etc., under "Gosset".
2. Burke, The Landed Gentry, Including American Families With British Ancestry, pub. periodically in London; "Gossett".
3. Burke, General Armory, p. 414.
4. J. B. Payne, An Armorial of Jersey, Its Chief Native Families, 1862, pp. 170-173.
5. Henry Alexander Graham Driscoll, Genealogical Sketches of The Families of Driscoll, Etc., pub. New York, 1918; pp. 34-36, "Gosset".
6. Gordon W. J. Gyll, History of the Parish of Wraysbury (1862), p. 230.
7. John O'Hart, Irish Pedigrees; or, The Origin or Stem of the Irish Nation, 1915; "The Huguenots", ch. 1, p. 471, also, "Gosset" in footnote.
8. Dictionary of National Biography by Glover-Harziott, London, 1908, VIII, 261-2.
9. Agnew, French Protestant Exiles, pp. 73, 214, 252-3, 290, 230.
10. Foster, Our Noble and Gentle Families, pp. 789, 790-791; "The Descent of Rev. Isaac Henry Gosset, M.A."
11. Who's Who (London). Since the first regular issue beginning 1901, biographies of Gossets, descendants of Jean Gosset, have appeared.
12. Who Was Who 1929-1940. (London).
13. Who's Who in America.
From records published in England, it is learned that John Gosset, b. 1699, and Peter Gosset, b. 1705, (brothers) who came to America and settled in Pennsylvania were grandsons of Jean Gosset. Consult "Pedigree of Gosset", which is reproduced at the end of this volume.
"Pedigree of Gosset" and the Gosset coat-of-arms are reproductions from J. B. Payne, An Armorial of Jersey, Its Chief Native Families, pub. 1862.
The symbols on the Gossett shield will be literally interpreted in this family history. Frequent references will be made to Payne's illustrations.
Part I: Chapter Five
The Gossetts Were Nobles In France
Burke's The Landed Gentry states the Gossetts were of "Norman extraction". It is quite certain that the Gossetts came from Norway in one of the minor, early invasions of France, much earlier than the eighth century and before the invasion under Rollo, the Viking chief, who took possession of the region of the lower Seine River about 911.
Deriving its name from the Normans, the region was called "Normandy". These invaders from Norway promptly turned Christian and mingled with the former inhabitants, the Romanized Gauls. They assimilated knowledge and refinement, adopted French customs, but retained their own fine qualities of chivalry and honour. They were tall and strongly built with fair hair and complexion and blue eyes-whose characteristics are even nowadays to be found in individuals living in Normandy, particularly in the area near the sea. "They became wise administrators and guardians of law and order. .They improved modes and principles of fighting. . . They developed an impressive style of architecture, and built churches and monasteries."'
1 The Norman race does not exist today.
In The History of England, Lord Macaulay portrays the Normans, "then the foremost race of Christendom . . . they abandoned their native speech and adopted the French tongue, in which the Latin was the predominant element. They speedily raised their new language to a dignity and importance which it had never possessed. That chivalrous spirit, which has exercised so powerful an influence on the politics, the morals, and manners of the European nations was found in the highest exaltation amongst the Norman nobles. These nobles were distinguished by their graceful bearing .by their skill in negotiation and by a natural eloquence, which they assiduously cultivated..But their chief fame was derived from their military exploits".
2The Normans played an important part during the Middle Ages in the development of French civilization. Their courage, their intellect, and their extraordinary energy have left a permanent and profound influence on the world. The achievements and the wealth of the Normans in Normandy were amazing. Their increased population demanded new territory and, in 1066, Normans from Normandy under William the Conqueror invaded and conquered England. "Everyone habitually regards the Normans of England as an aristocracy. To say that a family is Norman is nearly equivalent to saying it is amongst the oldest of the old and the noblest of the noble".3
A passage of Henry Adams about the Normans is interesting:
"A great age it was, and a great people our Norman ancestors. Rather hard and grasping, and with no outward show of grace; little love for the exterior magnificence of Amiens, Chartres and Rouen; given to use of the sword and plough rather than the chisel, and apparently little or none of the brush, and with no sense of color comparable to that of other races; still our Norman grandpapas did great things in art, or at least in the narrow art that reflected their lives. I have rarely felt New England at its highest ideal power as it appeared to me, beautified, and glorified, in the Cathedral of Coutances." (Letter to Brooks Adams, September 8, 1895, in Letters, II, p. 80.)
The Nobility Of France.
Nobility was a distinction based on ancient heritage, having been acquired through virtues and merit. A most noteworthy article on nobility appears in the Spanish Encyclopaedia. It shows the degree of valor required of the nobility. The article affirms that it was by glorious victories and brilliant deeds of arms and heroic sacrifices and virtues and merits by which individuals became noble. As the personal glory of an illustrious warrior was transmitted to his descendants, noble families were born. Therefore, wealth does not produce nobility; however, except in union with wealth, nobility can not last. The article refers to Aristotle's definition of nobility as 'the antiquity of wealth and merit'. The nobles of France formed the upper class of society. The clergy and the peasants formed the second and third classes. Occupying the coveted, highest rank in society, the nobles had a multitude of exclusive privileges. The nobles owned all the land, which was the basis of wealth, and they controlled their great estates or manors and the laboring peasants from fortified castles, which were built on high, formidable locations. Their castles were scattered several miles apart, rising above forests from the top of a steep hill or a precipitous rock. The feudal castle was surrounded by walls eight feet thick and was separated from the surrounding country by a wide moat, which could be crossed only by a drawbridge. The entrance gate was safeguarded by turrets overlooking the entire area. The keep was the tallest part of the castle, where the lord and his family lived. The walls of the large entrance hall were decorated with armour and with portraits and other treasures, including tapestries. Feudalism had its form of culture. The chateaux became palaces stored with rare, precious works of art.
Within the fortified walls of the castle there were living quarters for the attendants and vast storehouses for supplies. There were annexes and enclosures in which the peasants gathered with their belongings, when the frequent wars occurred.
To confirm the assertion that the Gossetts were nobles of France, it is necessary only to remember that the Gossett arms vividly describe the Gossetts as powerful feudal barons and knights in the crusades. Subsequently, they were nobles of France. Burke elucidates in volume IV, etc., stating: "As early as 1463 the Gossets were included among the nobles of Normandy."
The meaning of that statement is, the Gossets were feudal barons who were admitted to an order, called "The Nobility of France", which was formed in 1463 by King Louis XI (King of France 1461-1483). The order was composed only of feudal barons whose ancestors were the knights in the crusades. In other words, the nobles of France were possessors of feudal estates and they were the descendants of feudal lords who were the knights of the crusades. "The Nobility of France" had ancient heritage and was referred to as the nobility of the ancient regime. King Louis XI, endeavoring to increase his power and to destroy the political independence of the feudal barons, made his court brilliant, attractive, entertaining. The social life centered in the royal palace. The king tried to allure the barons from their castles and to induce them to devote themselves to court life. The barons paid no taxes and the best places in the government were reserved for them. The barons, or nobles, lost some of their power but kept their wealth and privileges.
The nobles continued to supersede the royal ruler in power in France until the end of the fifteenth century. The nobles were exempt from taxation and they minted their own money as late as the French Revolution (1789). These gentlemen conformed to- the style of existence required of their rank. They had high moral standards. They were too proud to violate their code of ethics. The French nobility was distinguished by its privileges, power, leisure, and wealth. Supported by peasantry, it was a closed privileged class and represented a mark of high birth. (Reference: The Growth of the French Nation (1926) by George Burton Adams, professor of history at Yale University.)
Like their ancestors (the feudal lords and the knights) the nobles were careful, devoted parents. They arranged the marriages of their children, who were permitted to marry only in their own class. Their children were taught politeness, grace, good morals, and religion. They took no important step without paternal counsel and consent. The daughters married young or entered a convent. The eldest son inherited the estate. Equally noble, the younger sons were given professional training for commissioned officers in the army and navy. With an application for a commission in the army and navy of France, a candidate was obliged to file his papers with the royal herald, to give definite proofs of generations of nobility on his father's side. He was required to prove that his ancestors were feudal barons, the landowners for generations, and were warriors of the crusades. Nobility was of the sword and dated back to the knights of the crusades.
In France, every man who achieved eminence through education or acquired great wealth through trade strove to enter the ranks of nobility, which could be purchased to an extent under the reign of Louis XII, King of France 1498-1515. The resources of the treasury were depleted and the government accepted sums of money in exchange for titles and offices. At that time, Louis XII formed another class called the nobles of the gown or robe. This class was between the bourgeois and the nobles. Its members were never regarded equal in position and dignity to the nobles of the ancient regime.
The newly created nobles tried to mingle with the families of the old nobility. They assumed coats-of-arms and bought estates which had belonged to ancient nobles. They were very rich and prosperous and reared their sons like gentlemen, but they had never thought of shedding their blood for a noble cause. They attained through their wealth their titles. The nobles of the gown or robe were called "robins" and were despised by the nobles of ancient lineage. (Ref. - Edward J. Lowell, The Eve of the French Revolution, 1892.)
During the revolution that began in France in 1789, the populace destroyed the records of the nobles. Records of the Gossett family, therefore, have been preserved only through English records. The Gossetts were Norman nobles. They were nobles of the ancient regime. The volumes of Burke, The Landed Gentry, reiterate: "For centuries the family of Gosset lived in Normandy, France, and was included in the ranks of the nobility." "Before 1555 the Gossets were included among the nobles." This Gossett history gives data on descendants of Jean Gosset, who was of a Norman noble family and who lived on his estates in the neighborhood of St. Sauveur, a town in department Manche on the Douve River, about 18 miles south of Cherbourg, France. St. Sauveur is surrounded by pleasant, hilly scenery. Its description for the tourist, found in Muirhead's The Blue Guides (1940), is, "St. Sauveur is another small town with a castle (now a hospital), given by Edward III to Sir John Chandos who built one of the gateways. The keep is of earlier date. Of the old abbey, founded in 1080, nothing remains but a 17th century abbot's lodge. The Norman church has been very largely rebuilt. . .. A little farther south there are two old castles on the Taute River".
When the Allies of World War II landed on the Normandy coast in June 1944 and pushed up the Cherbourg peninsula, the little town of St. Sauveur was suddenly torn from its obscurity to become for time the most important military position in western Europe.
There has always been a John Gossett, it has been said, and many a John Gossett engaged in great events of history with a memorable record. A John Gosset lived in Normandy in the early part of the 14th century, during the Hundred Years War. (Under "Gossets" in Norman People, pub. by Hugh S. King and Co., 1874, p. 264, in London.) Apparently he spelled the family name as it is spelled today. It was a John Gosset who was the original emigrant to America. In America in every succeeding generation to the present day there have been men by the name of John Gossett.
The activities of Jean (John) Gosset of Normandy during the Huguenot period of history left a permanent influence upon the lives of his descendants. The following chapter discusses the Huguenot Movement and the cause of the expulsion from France of Jean Gosset and many other citizens.
1. Sisley Huddleston, Normandy (1929),
2. Thomas Babington Macaulay
3. The Norman People, op. cit.,
The Gossetts Were Huguenots
The pursuit of education and other influences were introducing a change in the social structure in western Europe. The study of literature, art, science, and architecture was available. Before 1500, about eighty universities, including the University of Paris, were founded. Education became obtainable and important. The degrees of Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts originated in the latter part of the Middle Ages. Europeans were desiring progress, which was impossible under medieval restraint. People of all nations were beginning to explore and to develop far-away places. For instance, the Spanish built San Lorenzo in Panama, of which Margaret Newcomer Barbour (a Gossett descendant) wrote in a letter from Curundu, Canal Zone, June 21, 1949, the following description:
" . . . We also visited the ruins of San Lorenzo, situated near Colon on the Atlantic side of the Panama Canal. The Fort was built by the Spanish in 1565 and later captured by Morgan. The original cannon and cannon balls are still in evidence, Also officers' quarters, storehouses, and the chapel."
In the medieval period all European countries were controlled by the Roman Catholic Church. But, about 1555, many families in France turned away from Catholicism, which was to them nothing more than idolatry and superstition, and they embraced the Protestant faith. They united and formed a group called "The Huguenots" - the name of the French Protestants. Religion played the most important part in the Reformed Movement. In addition it was a political, social and economic revolution, dominated by the aristocracy and the upper middle class. Wishing to retain their power, the nobles were leaders in the Huguenot Party. The university became a center for the Reformation. The Rebellion between the government and the Huguenots continued approximately one hundred years, from about 1572 to 1685. The details are fully recorded in history. Literature and music also deal with the subject. For example, the opera "Les Huguenots", which is considered Meyerbeer's greatest work, is written around the profoundly pathetic subject of the massacre of the Huguenots by the Catholics on St. Bartholomew's Day in Paris, August 24, 1572.
Outstanding party leaders were outlawed and stripped of their honors and offices, including titles of nobility. The Gossets, leaders in the movement, were denied in 1555 their rank of nobility. Then, in 1685, the Gosset estates at St. Sauveur were confiscated by the government and Jean Gosset, a Huguenot, fled from Normandy and took refuge in Jersey Island, England. "The French Government offered to restore the Gosset estates, about 1846, to the descendants of Jean Gosset, but Matthew Gosset, Viscount of Jersey, then the head of the family, refused to pursue the claim." (Driscoll, Genealogical Sketches, Etc.) The Edict of Nantes (1598), giving tolerance to the Protestants, was repealed in 1685, and the Huguenots were deprived of all security and rights. The Huguenots fled from France in great numbers to other countries of Europe. Great lords established themselves in Geneva, Switzerland; tradespeople and artisans fled to the Netherlands; vintners crossed into Germany. Large groups joined expeditions to America and settled in parts of the country owned by Holland and England, where they could enjoy independence and self-government. Among those settlements was the present city of New York. The Huguenot refugees found congenial conditions in the southern colonies-Virginia, Maryland, South Carolina.
France lost through religious expatriation more than half a million of her finest citizens. They were the moral, the intelligent, the industrious. Wherever they settled, the Huguenots preserved the amenities of life. They brought French refinement and love of beauty and the noble courage of their ancestors. "The name Huguenot . . . is the synonym of integrity, of deathless courage, fealty personified, loyalty unquestioned; reputation unsullied; character unsmirched, coupled with keen intelligence and a sense of justice unsurpassed." ("The Influence of the Huguenots", an address by the Honorable E. E. Patton before the National Huguenot Society, Knoxville, Tenn., May 1, 1941; pub. in The Huguenot, 1939-1941, p. 39.)
Jean Gosset, A Huguenot
Jean Gosset, a Huguenot, fled from Normandy, France, and settled in Jersey Island, England, in 1685 (after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes), when his estates near St. Sauveur were seized by the French government. Belonging to England and situated in the English Channel, Jersey Island is about fifteen miles from the west coast of Normandy. It is the largest, most important, and most southerly of the group of the Channel islands, which Victor Hugo called, "those lovely gardens of the sea". Jersey Island is an attractive summer resort with fine, rocky scenery and a pleasant climate. In Jersey, Jean Gosset with his family resided in the Manor House of Bagot, where the Gossets lived for many years. Gossets are buried in St. Saviours - St. Saviours Church is near St. Helier, which is the capital of Jersey. The Gossets acquired the Bagot manor through a marriage into the Bagot family. A descendant of Jean Gosset was named George Bagot Gosset.
The Bagot family was a peerage family recorded in Domesday Book. The Bagots had been among the greatest nobles of Normandy, and they went to England at the conquest. Since Jersey Island was brought to the Crown of England with the Norman conquest, the Bagot estate in Jersey was, no doubt, bestowed by William the Conqueror on the Bagots, in 1066, as part of their vast territorial possessions. Their family estates in various localities in England cover many thousand acres. The baronial family of Bagot founded the great, old feudal house of Stafford, Earls and Dukes of Buckingham, so renowned in the history of England.
The following quotations summarize the history of the family of Gosset in Jersey and England, and disclose that many members of the family of Jean Gosset became prominent citizens. They were eminent scholars, artists, and clergymen; they were officials in the British government; they were high-ranking officers in the army and navy of England; and, the Rev. Isaac Gosset, born 1783, was married into the royal family of England.
Quotation from J. B. Payne, An Armorial of Jersey
"John Gosset, a member of an influential French family, settled in Jersey, shortly after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, and founded a family now existing in various branches, both in that island and in England. Among its many noteworthy members may be mentioned Matthew Gosset, Esq., of Bagot, who, during the first French Revolution, was conspicuously active in his efforts to ameliorate the sufferings of the many noble and other refugees who sought an asylum in Jersey. The exiles were so sensible of his disinterested kindness, that they presented him as a token of their grateful appreciation of his services, with a gold snuff-box, now in the possession of his descendants. Another eminent member of the family the late Major-General Sir William Gosset, K.C.B., was for some years Sergeant-at-Arms of the House of Commons, at whose death the members of which passed a resolution expressive of the high sense the House entertained of his services.
The Rev. Isaac Gosset, D.D., F.R.S., of Exeter College, Oxford, was a well-known Greek scholar, and was especially famous as a collector and judge of books. His son, the Rev. Isaac Gosset, M.A., also of Exeter College, was for thirty-eight years Rector of Datchet, and for thirty-four years Vicar of New Windsor, both in Buckinghamshire. In May, 1818, he was appointed Chaplain at Windsor Castle, an appointment which he held during four reigns, until his death. The family is represented by Rear Admiral Henry Gosset; by Philip Gosset, Esq., of Bagot, Jersey; and the Rev. Isaac Henry Gosset, M.A., of Northam, Devonshire. Arms (as borne by Rear Admiral Henry Gosset): azure, a bean-wreath, or leaved and fruited; on a chief, argent, an eagle, displayed, sable.
Crest: A greyhound's head, erased, argent, collared gules, zinged and garnished, or. A Biography appearing in Who's Who (1908) follows:
GOSSETT:
Major-Gen. Sir Matthew William Edward Gosset.
K.C.B., cr.1907; C.B. 1887; F.R.G.S., F.H.S., M.R.A.S., M.R.N.S.; b 6 July 1939 [should read 1839]; 2nd. son of Major Arthur Gosset, R.H.A. of Town Court, Orpington, Kent. Entered Army, 1856; Instructor in Tactics, R.M.C., 1873-77; Brig.-Major, Aldershot, 1877-78; A.D.C. to G.O.C., S. Africa, 1878-79; D.A.A.G. and Commandant, Durban, 1881; commanding lst Dorset Regt., 1887-90; A.A.G. Egypt, 1891; commanding 2nd Class District Burmah and Bangalore, 1891-96; served Indian Mutiny, 1857-59 (Medal); Kaffir War, 1878 (despatches, brevet of Major); Zulu War, 1879 (despatches, brevet Lieut-Col. medal with clasp); Boer War, 1881; Burmah 1891-92 (medal with 2 clasps); commanded Dublin District, 1897-1901; reward for distinguished service, 1897; Major-General, 1896; retired pay, 1901; Col. Dorsetshire Regt, 1903. Address: Westgate House, Dedham, Essex. Clubs: United Service, Arts, Burlington Fine Arts.
Quotation from John O'Hart, Irish Pedigree, 1915, P. 471:
Gosset: A Huguenot family, originally from Normandy, which first settled in Jersey, whence some of the younger branches passed over into England. Among the members of the elder branch of the family was Matthew, for many years Vicomte of Jersey, who died in 1842; Major-General Sir William Gosset, who held the office of Under-Secretary of State for Ireland, was some time M.P. for Truro, and for several years Sergeant-at-Arms to the English House of Commons, and who died in 1848.
Quotation from Henry Driscoll, Genealogical Sketches, New York, 1918, p. 34:
GOSSETT: The Gossets are of Bagot, Jersey, Eng.; Seats: Eltham House, Eltham, Kent; Town Court, Orpington, Kent; Burston Road; Putney Hill, S. W. Clubs: Junior; United Service; Junior Conservative; Present head of the house is Matthew William Edward Gosset C B Brig General; late of Dorset Regt; born 1839. He is the second son of Arthur J P D L Major Royal Horse Artillery who is the son of Matthew Gosset, Viscount of Jersey; eldest son of Matthew Gosset. The family is of a noble Norman family who early adopted the Protestant religion, and eventually took refuge in the Island of Jersey at the revocation of the Edict of Nantes (Agnew's French Protestant Exiles). In France their names were stricken off the nobility list, on account of their religion, about 1555.
Jean was the first refugee and came over from the neighborhood of St. Sauveur. About the year 1845 the French Government offered to restore the Gosset estates to the descendants of the refugee, but Matthew Gosset, Viscount of Jersey, then the head of the family, refused to pursue the claim. Jean Gosset died in England in 1712. He had three sons, John, Matthew, and Abraham. (Consult the chart, S. B. Payne, "Pedigree of Gossett".)
Descendants Of Jean Gosset
The third son, Abraham, was born about the time his father moved to Jersey (1685), since Matthew, the second son, was born in 1683. The name of Abraham was carried down in succeeding generations, both in England and in America. It is apparent that Abraham departed from Jersey, since there is no information of him given by J. B. Payne. Upon their departure from Jersey other members of the family, thereafter, were excluded from Payne's chart. Abraham Gosset is found in London in 1709.
The names of Matthew and Abraham Gosset appear (1709) in the following Huguenot record, published in London:
Publications of the Huguenot Society of London; (1701-1800) Vol. XXVII-1922, 1923. Naturalization Act for foreign Protestants. On the Oath Rolls; English rolls. People naturalized in London and Westminster. Queen Anne.
P. 85, 1709
Skin 6-Mathieu Gosset.
P. 87, 1709
Skin 8-Abraham Gosset.
p. 85, 1709
Daniel Gosset.
Melchisedech Gosset.
Matthew, the second son of Jean Gosset, died March 27, 1744, at the age of 61. He was an artist, a modeler of portraits in wax. He lived in Horton House, Wraysbury, London, and was distinguished by the honorary appointment as one of the Gentlemen of the Band of Pensioners to King George II. He was a member of the Spalding Society. An account of him is found in Dictionary of National Biography, P. 261, with numerous references, including:
Gent. Mag. 1799, vol. IXIX., pt. 2, pp. 1088-9; Hawkin's Medallic Illustr. (ed. Franks and Grueber), II, 621, 706, 726; Patrick's Cat. of the Medals of Scotland, pp. 105, 268; Redgrave's' Dict. of Artists of Eng. School. About 1704 Matthew Gosset was married to Jane Esther (Ester), who died May 28, 1748, aged 73. They had no children. He is buried in the old Marylebone Cemetery, on the south side of Paddington Street in London. A description and the inscription of his tomb are given in Notes and Queries, 2nd ser. VII., pp. 36-45, London, 1859. Matthew, his wife, three of his nephews, and Ann Gosset, the wife of one of his nephews, are buried in his substantial marble tomb, which is surrounded by massive iron rails.
Matthew Gosset's epitaph reads, he was "well-known for his superior skill in some of the polite arts". This inscription testifies that the Gossets were highly cultivated. In the seventeenth century the Fine Arts were available only to the aristocrats.John, the oldest son and the heir of Jean Gosset, was married to Susan D'Allain in Jersey Island. An Armorial of Jersey (1862) by J. B. Payne has the following paragraph concerning the family of D'Allain in Jersey Island: "This family is a branch of the Norman one of that name settled for so long a period near Cerisy, whence its then representative retired to Jersey, in consequence of his religious opinions, circa 1680. It is now represented by Alphonsus Frank D'Allain, Esq., of S. Laurence. Arms: Argent, three martles gules; on a chief azure, three estoiles or."
The D'Allain family, of noble Norman ancestry, were Huguenots and fled to Jersey Island about 1680. From early Norman days the family lived near Cerisy, Normandy, about fifty miles south of Cherbourg. Cerisy was the seat of an important monastery, founded in 1030 by Robert, Duke of Normandy, and completed by his son, William the Conqueror. The church is described in 1908 by C. B. Black in Normandy and Picardy (London):otherwise the whole of the edifice is of the original date, 11th cent., and is as plain and grand in its simplicity as St. Etienne of Caen."
The D'Allain coat-of-arms is described and illustrated in Riepstap's Armorial Général.
D'Allain Coat-of-Arms
The symbols are three red martlets on a silver shield; on a blue chief are three gold stars. The meaning is as follows: the martlet (or martle), a bird, was originally a martin or swallow which is never represented with feet. Its legs terminate in the feathers which cover the upper part of the legs. In heraldry, the martlet was carried by the fourth son of a nobleman and indicated that he had no land upon which he could settle and that he must, perforce, fly away and support himself by his wings; that is, by his sword or his brains. The eldest son succeeded to his father's lands. During his father's lifetime, the eldest son was represented by the Label. The second son was always represented by the Crescent; the third son, the Mullet; the fourth son, the Martlet; the fifth son, the Annulet; the sixth son, a fleur-de-lis.1. On the chief of the D'Allain arms are three stars. The star, the crescent, and the annulet definitely indicate the Crusades. Three stars mean the third crusade, or three of the crusades. Then, the interpretation of the D'Allain arms is, the fourth son (Martlet) gained distinction and leadership with his sons, three knights in all. Having power and authority (chief), they engaged brilliantly in the third crusade, or in three of the crusades. Silver, red, blue, and gold are the colors in the shield. (See chapter 3 of this volume on Heraldry, Knights and the Crusades; also, chapter 4.)
John and Susan Gosset had six sons. They resided in the Manor House of Bagot in Jersey, where their sons grew to manhood. None of the sons remained in Jersey Island except Abraham, the second son, who became the heir. Their sons were (see Payne's chart):
1. John Gosset, born 1699, came to America. He took up land in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, in 1735, and he is found in the records to have settled on the frontier before 1735. His activities will be discussed after data on his five brothers have been presented.
2. Abraham, the second son, was the heir. He was born 1701; died 1785; was married to Jane White. The illustrious descendants (high officials in the British government and high-ranking officers in the British army and navy) of Abraham and Jane White Gosset are enrolled in "Pedigree of Gosset" in J. B. Payne's An Armorial of Jersey, and their records are found in other references. The lineage of this landed gentry family to the present representative appears regularly in the publications of Burke, The Landed Gentry. Burke (1952) lists the Rev. George Allen Gosset, Curate of St. Luke, Parkstone, Dorsetshire, as the present representative.
3. Jacob, the third son of John and Susan D'Allain Gosset, was born 1703; died 1788. Gyll's History of Wraysbury refers to his burial place in London, "M. I. Hampstead", meaning his name occurs in the Manuscript Index of the Register of Deaths in Hampstead, which is a parish in Middlesex, London.
4. Peter, the fourth son, was born 1705. He was married to Catherine Du Four, and they had five children. Catherine Du Four was a member of a very ancient, noble family of France. There were many Du Four branches with different coats-of-arms. They were Huguenots, and Du Four families fled to England and to America and settled in Boston and other localities in the earliest period of the Huguenot settlements. Peter Gosset with his family came to America between 1750-1760, therefore the references to this family will be cited in Part II of this Gossett history.
5. Gideon, the fifth son, was born 1707; died Aug. 6, 1785; married Ann _______, who died March 26, 1761, aged 56. Gideon and Ann Gosset are buried in Matthew Gosset's tomb at St. Marylebone, London.
6. Isaac, the sixth son of John and Susan D'Allain Gosset, was born 1713; died 1799; married dau. of _____Bosquet. He settled in London. Like his uncle, Matthew Gosset, Isaac Gosset was an artist and a modeler of portraits in wax. He was closely associated with his uncle at Horton in London, and he and his only son, the learned Rev. Dr. Isaac Gosset, are buried in Matthew Gosset's tomb at St. Marylebone. Concerning Isaac Gosset, the artist, the following extract is quoted from Rev. David C. A. Agnew, Protestant Exiles from France, London, 1871, V. II, p. 230: "John Gosset, who married Susan D'Allain ... their youngest son, Isaac Gosset, Esq., died at Kensington, 28th Nov. 1799, having nearly completed his 88th year. He invented a composition of wax in which he modeled portraits in the most exquisite manner. His works were numerous, and included the royal family, and many of the nobility and gentry from the time of George II down to 1780. In the line of his art he may be said to have been unique as the inventor of the inimitable materials with which he worked, the secret of which was confided only to his son, the learned and Rev. Dr. Isaac Gosset."
Dictionary of National Biography, London, 1908, VIII, 261-2, gives further information, mentioning numerous portraits made by Isaac Gosset, in the excerpt as follows:
". . . He contributed to the first artists' exhibition in 1760 and was a member of the Incorporated Society of Artists, contributing twenty-four portraits to their exhibition between 1760 and 1778. Several of his wax models are still in Windsor Castle, and some in Lady Charlotte Schreiber's collection in South Kensington Museum. Among these are cameo portraits of George II and the Princess Dowager of Wales. He made numerous portraits in wax of the royal family and of distinguished gentlemen ... One of his portraits was of Lady Mary Coke, to whom Horace Walpole (1717-1797) dedicated The Castle of Otrano. Walpole owned several of Gosset's portraits... "
Isaac Gosset is described as a man of amiable character.
An account of his son, Isaac Gosset (1744-1812), D.D., F.R.S., of Exeter College, Oxford, bibliographer, a well-known Greek scholar and famous as a collector and judge of books, is found in M'Clintock and Strong, Cyclopaedia of Biblical Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. II, 1887. He is referred to as, " a Church of England divine, well-known in London as a most intelligent purchaser and collector of books, conspicuous at all public sales ... He was of a refugee French noble family, and was the son of a modeler in wax who settled in London. He displayed from his childhood an extraordinary passion for rare books, and was educated at Exeter College, Oxford. He became eminent as a preacher, was a good scriptural critic, and excelled as a bibliographer. . .
The National Biography gives with references a complete biography of the Rev. Dr. Isaac Gosset, including these facts:
1. As a student of Hebrew and Arabic, of Greek and Latin, he matriculated at Exeter College, Oxford, in 1764; graduated B.A. in 1767; M.A. in 1770; was elected F.R.S. (Fellow of the Royal Society) on 18 June 1772; and, he went out grand compounder for the degrees in divinity 7 November 1782. (Foster, Alumni Oxon. 1715-1886, col. 543; Oxford graduates, 1851, p. 267.) He died in Newman Street, London, 16th December 1812, in his 68th year.
2. He was married to Catherine, daughter of Haydock Hill. She was a philanthropist in Horton, London. They had two sons and a daughter. The elder son was Isaac Gosset III, of whom presently. The younger son, Thomas Stephen Gosset (1791-1847), a senior fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge (B.A. 1812, M.A. 1815, ninth wrangler and senior chancellor's medallist), became vicar of Old Windsor in 1824 He never married....
3. Isaac Gosset, the Third (1782-1855), was the Rev. Isaac Gosset, M.A. of Exeter College, Oxford. He was vicar of Datchet, Bucks, 1814-52, Windsor, 1821-55, and was chaplain to the royal household at Windsor under four sovereigns, from 1818 until his death Feb. 11, 1855. He was married into the British royal family, April 21, 1814, to Dorothea Sophia Banks Lind (who d. 1863), daughter of James Lind, M.D., cousin and physician to George IV. The descent of the Rev. Isaac Gosset appears in Foster, Our Noble and Gentle Families, pp, 789; 790-91. Also, records appear in Payne and in Burke.
