| Notes |
This is one of the few undocumented Eliots in the line of ancestry connecting the Earls of St. Germans to Sir John Eliot. William's parents were both native to Cornwall, his father from St. Juliot, his mother St. Erth. It's likely that William himself was also born in the area, but many of the local churches have lost their earliest parish registers, so a baptism record for William (and his three siblings) has not turned up.
Based on documents viewed at Port Eliot during the 19th century, William was listed in the 1868 Genealogical Record as an Officer in the Royal Navy, living at Cuddenbeak (a leased house on the Port Eliot estate) by leave of his cousin and owner of the estate, Daniel Eliot. Surviving mortgages and legal documents record his name as "William Eliot, gentleman of Lewannick", Lewannick being a neighboring parish whose tithes were vested in the Eliot family.
At some point before 1693, William married Ann Williams, the daughter of Lawrence Williams of Ireland; they were blessed with four sons and two daughters. Since records have yet to turn up for their marriage or the births of their first four children, it may be that they were married in Ireland and lived there for a time. As an officer in the Royal Navy, it is very likely that William spent some time in Ireland. Sadly, the Admiralty records were very poor at that time and do not even offer a complete list of officers, let alone any clues as to their times and places of service.
By the summer of 1693, William and his wife were back in Cornwall, their fifth child being baptised at St. Germans in June and buried in September. They were still there, living at Cuddenbeak, when their last child, Richard, was born in September of the following year. Eight years later, in 1702, their oldest son, Edward, inherited the Port Eliot estate from William's cousin, Daniel Eliot. It seems likely that the whole family would have lived at Port Eliot, but if there is any surviving evidence of that, it's hidden in an attic or unmarked trunk.
The date and place of William's death and burial, like his birth and baptism, are a total mystery at this time. The best clues available come from a handful of legal documents, the first pair of which (dated January 1687) shows William Eliot securing the tithes and messuages in "churchtown" in Lewannick for his heirs forever. According to a documented lawsuit dating from January-March 1702/03, William's wife was a widow, and his son's estate was being handled by the trustees appointed in Daniel Eliot's will. This narrows the time of William's death to the years between the writing of Daniel's will in 1694 and the beginning of 1702/03. He was not buried at St. German's, either in the churchyard or the Eliot family vault. His wife was buried there in April 1723, and a large stone slab on the floor of the church is dedicated to "Ann, relict of William Eliot, Esq.". This is the only memorial remaining for this grandfather of Edward, 1st Lord Eliot, through whom all of the Earls of St. Germans descend.
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Bef 1668 - Bef 1705 (< 36 years)
, d. 18 Sep 1722 (Age 39 years)