Abiah ‘Habiatha’ Gyllett

Abia/Abiah, the wife of William Gillett of Chaffcombe, has had her name published in a number of genealogical sources as "Habiathia Pye."

After researching those sources and then following their sources back to the most original documents, I have this to add: Her name is most likely Abia or Abiah and never was "Habiathia." The sources and explanations follow.

1609 Marriage License (image). Source: Somerset Records Office D/D/ol 18.

Names bride and groom, William Gillett and Abiah Pye [aka Tyes]; bondsman Roger Gillett; and rector of Donyatt, “wm pye” [aka William Tyes]..

Image obtained September, 2018 from the Somerset Records Office, England. License is written in Latin, where we find William abbreviated as “Wm,” while Abiah is written in first-declension accusative as “Habiaham.”

The issuance of a marriage license for William Gillett, was recorded 18 Sep 1609. The Somerset Record Office reference number is D/D/ol 18.

Notes about reference number D/D/ol 18.

D/D stands for the Bath & Wells Diocesan Collection; “o” (lower-case O as in orange) stands for office, as in office journals (day books); “l” (lower-case L as in lemon); “18” stands for volume eighteen in this collection of over 100 volumes.

In other words, the 1609 William Gillett marriage license is found in volume 18 of the license books recorded by the diocese of Bath & Wells, England. The county of Somerset, England is within the Bath & Wells diocese. PYE is the recorded surname in this license for both Abiah and William Tyes. We know the surname to be spelled TYES from William's 1623 will, his ecclesiastical records, and various records found in transcripts from Parish Registers for baptism, marriage and burials within this family group.

1623 William Tyes will (image). Source: England & Wales, Prerogative Court of Canterbury Wills, 1384-1858. ancestry.com. Accessed June, 2018.

Names son-in-law, William Gillett; daughter-in-law, Abia; and their son Jonathan Gillett.

We do not know why he calls Abia daughter-in-law; I would like to see more research before we conclude she is other than the biological daughter of William Tyes and his wife, Julian.

Her name is spelled "Abia" in the 1623 William Tyes will. It is spelled "Abiah" in her 1609 marriage license.

Abia and William Tyes are both given the surname "PYE" in the marriage license. In the 1623 William Tyes will, AND his ecclesiastical records, the surname is spelled TYES.