Maurice Vile

My father thought, probably wrongly, that our family was descended from Huguenots. This seemed to be supported by the fact that he and I bore the name Maurice which was undoubtedly French. However, I quickly found that the name Maurice went back no more than two generations, to my grandfather, and before that there was no hint of a French connection.

My grandfather was Maurice William Vile, my father was Edward Maurice Vile and presumably I was named after my grandfather. However, the puzzle is where my grandfather’s first name came from, because I can find no other Maurice in our family, all the Viles were strictly English, William, George, John, Robert, or Richard, with the odd Samuel or Ephraim.

The best line of enquiry seemed to be the family of my great grandmother – why did she name her son Maurice, not a common English name? My great grandfather was Ephraim Vile who married Martha Annie Cooper in 1875 at Bedminster, Bristol. In 1876 their son Maurice William Vile was born. Martha’s parents were George and Rebecca Cooper, who were married at Malmesbury, Wilttshire, in 1850. Rebecca’s maiden name was Garlick.

A Maurice Garlick was born at Malmesbury in 1874, two years before my grandfather; his parents were James and Caroline Garlick. Caroline’s maiden name was Woodward. In 1873 Maurice Woodward had been born at Malmesbury.  Maurice seems to have been a family name of the Woodwards, going back to Maurice Woodward who married Joane Loveday at Cam, Gloucestershire in 1596.

The Viles, the Garlicks and the Woodwards were all related, and the conclusion seems to be that Maurice Garlick was named after Maurice Woodward, and that Maurice William Vile was, in turn, named after Maurice Garlick.