Leigh, I meant to quote you, but it seems I'm continuing my post of last night. Anyhooo....
The UK Millennium File allows me to trace one side of my paternal line back to my 20th (!) great grandfather, Roger Prideaux and his wife (my 20th g.gmother) Elizabeth Treverbyn, but I don't have birth or death dates for them. However, their son, my 19th g.gfthr, was Sir John Prideaux, born in 1330 at Adeston, Devon. He married Joan Adeston of Adeston Manor, and they had two listed sons, Giles and Gilbert. I am descended from Giles. There were then several John Prideauxs, one of whom produced Juliann (spelling often differs) who became a Somaster upon her marriage. I am also descended from her. It seems the ancient Prideaux family inhabited both Devon and Cornwall. Sir Peter of Prideaux Place, Padstow is from a younger line of the family, according to my research. I certainly did find during my research this morning your William Prideaux of Girbrand (1522-1564) (that spelling also differs occasionally) and his wife Johanna Munday (1512-1564) they also produced a John Prideaux who married Joan Scampe. According to some historians, in the 12th and 13th centuries, the family name seems to have been Pridias or Priddis, and became "a French affectation" altered to a form based on the French pres d'eaux or pre d'eaux meaning "near waters or meadow of waters". One of my ancient Sir Johns was a Member of Parliament, so presumably literate (or perhaps not, as I think at least one of our present MPs could do with the services of a scribe🙄).
I will need to do a lot more searching and combing of public family trees to see if I can fit your William as a sibling of one of my ancestors. If we could go back far enough, I'm sure that would be the answer.
Genealogy is one of my passions, but it is so time-consuming, and frustrating, when some records duplicate or contradict others. My warm familial regards to your husband 🙂
Linda
