RootsChat.Com

I took a slightly different tack on this. What if he attended university (Oxford or Cambridge), graduated and then west to work for the Duke of Somerset. Later in life the Duke mislays his head on Tower Hill and the household disperses. Our man then looks for work and as he is a graduate he is automatically qualified as a vicar. I am not sure how it worked but you became a vicar at graduation. You could repudiate it and/or not apply for a parish but it was a part of graduation back then. He then gets a parish and later still starts to suffer with dementia and can no longer recall his Latin. If he is a priest in a parish he owns the freehold and cannot be ousted; I then would see the attempt to get the Bishop charged with nepotism as a means of trying to get him to take responsibility for him and to pay for a pension. As nepotism was then part of the way of life-it ensured you got loyal people working for you-it is not a charge involving a hint of corruption, just bad judgement by the person appointing to the post and a blow to their reputation.

It would mean that he may well have operated as an effective cator for the Duke of Somerset. I would also see if records exist for the Dukedom/Seymour family back then. They may have been destroyed as I understand Berry Pomeroy castle was burnt in the Civil War, but you never know. Then when yo have a name you could see if here is a record at the universities.

I think as well that there was considerable reluctance by some people to register anything in the early years. I recall reading that there was the same reluctance with the early censuses. There was suspicion that it gave too much information to government. Come to think of it, there are some people who have the same attitude nowadays!