Research Notes:

A number of secondary sources identify William Gartrell who died in Illogan in 1703/4 as the son of Jeffrey Gartrell and his wife Wilmot, born in Phillack in 1642 (said Jeffery made a bequest of 20 shillings to his son William when he wrote his will in 1666). The same secondary sources indicate that William Gartrell married Charity (Stevens) about 1674, given they had a daughter Catherine born in that year in Phillack who went on to marry David Eddy in 1697 in Zennor. If this is the same William, then he must have married twice, given that his children who appear in the Illogan parish register from 1685 onward are identified in the will of his widow Anne (written 1727) as her children, noting that both William and Ann are named in the 1694 will of Thomas Carpenter of Illogan, Ann's father, at which time William's youngest three children—Cordelia, Elizabeth and Sidwell—had not yet been born, but Thomas Carpenter implies they had already had children when he wills that, after the death of his wife, what he had bequeathed to her will pass to William's children. Furthermore, the youngest daughter, Sidwell, who is not named in Anne's will and must therefore have died before 1727, was most likely named after Anne's paternal grandmother of the same name.

It seems likely the secondary sources are correct in connecting William to the Phillack Gartrells, given William's son John, while born and married in Illogan, was residing in Phillack when he wrote his Will in 1767. The beneficiaries of John's Will include his sisters Mary Gartrell (who also resided in Phillack) and Cordelia Vivian, both of whom are named in the Will of the said Anne Gartrell as her daughters. John also names his sister Elizabeth Richards (by then deceased) as the mother of four children to whom he made bequests, and Elizabeth Richards is likewise named in the Will of Anne Gartrell as one of her daughters.

The evidence as it stands does not support the claim that Charity was the mother of William's Illogan-born children. A Charity Gartrell was buried in Zennor in 1740 (the parish where Catherine Gartrell, daughter of William and Charity, was married). If this was the same Charity, then she would have been quite advanced in years (at the very least 85 years old when she died). Furthermore, if this was Charity widow of William Gartrell, then William Gartrell who married Anne Carpenter was not the same William who married Charity (Stevens), though they were most likely related.

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In 1691 William Gartrell was a witness to the Will of Gilbert Jacka of Illogan, tinner, and with Andrew Trounsen took inventory of Gilbert Jacka's goods and chattels.

In 1693 William Gartrell was a witness to the Will of William Robins of Illogan, tinner, and with Andrew Trounsen took inventory of William Robin's goods and chattels.

In May 1696 William Gartrell with Andrew Trounsen took inventory of the goods and chattels of Richard Cleather of Illogan, yeoman, deceased.

In 1696 William Gartrell was a witness to the Will of Thomas Fox of Illogan, yeoman, and in August of that year assisted in making an inventory of Thomas Fox's goods and chattels. ²

In May 1699 William Gartrell and John Tresedren took inventory of the goods and chattels of Francis Carpenter of Illogan, deceased.

In Dec 1700 William Gartrell witnessed the Will of Gilbert Coode of Illogan, Gent. In Jul 1701 William together with Emanuel Fox took inventory of Gilbert Coode's goods and chattels.