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is anyone able to tell me how i can find my ancestors dating back to c 1650 i have a marriage but no birth or death so cant find his parents i have an idea because of a book that was written but cant be 100% sure please help .

I assume you've looked on familysearch ?

Google for parish records for the area - but going that far back isn't easy and you could never be 100% sure. Marriage records don't give fathers' names and baptisms rarely give MMN and a lot don't even have the mothers' first name.

care to give us details in case we can find something for you?

thank you the gentleman i am trying to trace is William Gostwick they are from Willington in Bedfordshire area he married Joanna Wolfe on the 17/08/1674 i know he has a son called william born 1675 he married a Mary Sadler, if the book on the Gosticks / Gostwicks is true he was born 1650 died 1702 but i am not 100% it is him thank you for any help its hard this far back x
maria Gostick-McMahon

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Name: Thomas Gostick
Gender: Male
Christening Date: 01 Oct 1717
Christening Place: PUDDINGTON,BEDFORD,ENGLAND
Father's Name: William Gostick
Mother's Name: Mary
Indexing Project (Batch) Number: C14879-1
System Origin: England-ODM
GS Film number: 1279175

He was succeeded by his son Thomas Duke of Norfolk in 1524, (fn. 24) who sold Willington in 1529 (fn. 25) to Sir John Gostwick, whose ancestors in Willington can be traced back to 1209. (fn. 26) Gostwick's letters to Cromwell show that he made use of court influence to his own advantage by appropriating to himself adjacent lands and properties belonging to dissolved priories. Two of these letters are dated at Willington. (fn. 27) After the death of Sir John Gostwick in 1545 the manor of Willington passed first to his son William, who died in the same year, and then to his brother William, who died in 1549. (fn. 28) Both left directions that their bodies were to be buried in Willington Church; that of the former in the chancel, that of the latter 'in the aisle of the Chapel lately builded.' William especially bequeathed 'one Turkey Carpet to Robert, my son, to have after the death of Anne, my Wife.' To another son he left certain feather beds. (fn. 29) An inquisition was taken in 1581 on the estates of John Gostwick, the son of William. (fn. 30) His son William, who was sheriff for the county of Bedford in 1595 and was created a baronet by James I in 1611, died in 1615, leaving a son and heir Edward. (fn. 31) There is an account of a visit paid by Archbishop Williams, when Bishop of Lincoln, 'to the mansionplace of Sir Gostwick in Bedfordshire' for the purpose of hallowing a chapel there. (fn. 32) This Sir Edward Gostwick died in 1630, (fn. 33) and there is a laudatory inscription to him and his wife on a conspicuous monument in Willington Church. His son and heir Edward is mentioned by Archbishop Williams as having been born deaf and dumb but yet able 'to enter into the marriage state with a young lady of a great and prudent family.' (fn. 34)
Gostwick of Willington. Argent a bend cotised gules between six Cornish choughs.
Edward Gostwick was succeeded, probably about 1665, by his second son William, who was Sheriff of Bedfordshire 1679–80 and member for the county from 1698 to 1713. (fn. 35) He was succeeded in 1719–20 by his grandson William, who sold the manor of Willington in 1731 to Sarah Duchess of Marlborough. (fn. 36) In 1779 it was purchased by the Duke of Bedford, and remained in the possession of the Dukes of Bedford until 1902, when it was sold to George and James Keeble of Peterborough. (fn. 37) Further alienation has since taken place and the property has been broken up, Colonel Frank Shuttleworth of Old Warden and Messrs. Mark Young of Sandy being now the principal landowners in Willington.

From: 'Parishes: Willington', A History of the County of Bedford: Volume 3 (1912), pp. 262-266. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=42427&strquery=Gostwick Date accessed: 21 July 2013.

are themselves in some cases old.
In the north chapel is a fine Jacobean tomb of alabaster and black marble, with an alabaster effigy in plate-armour lying on a mattress under a wooden hearse-canopy painted to represent marble; the figure is coloured and gilt in perfect condition. On the pedestal is an inscription to Sir William Gostwick, bart., who married Jane Owen, daughter of Henry Owen, and died 1615. There is a shield of the baronet at the west end; at the opposite end are his arms impaling Owen. In the north-east angle is a late Gothic altar-tomb of stone, on which is a marble slab with the indent of a brass and inscription; a modern painting of the Gostwick arms is on the south side of the tomb.
On the north wall is a Renaissance monument to Sir Edward Gostwick, kt. and bt., 1630, and his wife Anne, eldest daughter of John Wentworth of Gosfield, Essex, 1635. There are two kneeling figures under canopies, and beneath these the figures of five girls and two boys, also a cradle with an anchor of hope.
Under the arch between the chancel and chapel is an altar-tomb to Sir John Gostwick, kt., of Willington, and on the east wall of the chapel are two helmets, one of which was worn by him at the Field of the Cloth of Gold.
Under the communion table is an altar-slab with five crosses. In the nave is a slab to Robert Howgill, vicar, 1643. In the floor of the chancel are several gravestones of the Gostwick family and one slab and brass plate with a forged inscription to Robert Gostwick, 1315, evidently of 19th-century date, and on the south wall of the chancel another old helmet. On a bracket attached to the east respond of the nave arcade is an iron hour-glass stand, and in the west doorway of the tower, which is now blocked up, are a 13th-century coffin lid and part of a 13th-century capital. There are in the north chapel a number of mediaeval tiles, the earliest being some incised tiles probably of early 14th-century date.
There are six bells, five of which were recast by Mears & Thompson in 1898, and a new treble added.
The plate consists of a flagon given by Charles Gostwick, 1697, crest a griffin displayed, date mark 1691; a communion cup, silver gilt, presented by William Gostwick, 1686; a paten lid, date mark 1685; and a large foot-paten, presented by Sir William Gostwick, kt. and bart., 1685, date letter illegible. Arms: Gostwick impaling Boteler.

Simon de Beauchamp, grandson of Hugh de Beauchamp, granted the advowson of Willington Church to Newnham Priory as part of his endowment of that foundation in 1166. (fn. 46) Its value in 1291 was £2 13s. 4d. (fn. 47) It remained in the hands of the priory until the Dissolution, when it was valued at £12. (fn. 48) It was granted in 1539–40 to Sir John Gostwick and Joan his wife. (fn. 49) From that time the history of the advowson is the same as that of the manor (q.v.) until the present Duke of Bedford sold it in 1902 to Mr. G. Keeble of Peterborough, who is the present owner.

From: 'Parishes: Willington', A History of the County of Bedford: Volume 3 (1912), pp. 262-266. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=42427&strquery=Gostwick Date accessed: 21 July 2013.

William Gostwick

Adams first book was dedicated to his patrons, Lord and Lady Gostwick, in 1612. Monuments to the Gostwick family can be found in the church at Willington, Bedfordshire, St Lawrence's, where Adams served 1612-1614. The earliest is a brass to Robert Gostwick esq. 1315. There is also a 13th century stone coffin lid.
Sir William Gostwick (1565-1615) was the son of John and Elizabeth Gostwick. Sir John once entertained Henry VIII at his seat in Willington. William married Jane (d c 1615), daughter of Henry Owen of Wotton, Beds, before 1588. They had as many as 11 children, including Ann and (from 1607 Sir) Edward (1588-1630 2nd Bt). William held the office of Sheriff of Bedfordshire 1595, 1596. He was created first Baronet Gostwick of Willington in 1611. A black letter Bible from this same year can be found in the church. Sir William died intestate and was buried in the Willington church. The tomb for him and his family has been described as “a fine canoThomas Adams Puritan Shakespeare: William Gostwick
Monuments to the Gostwick family can be found in the church at Willington, Bedfordshire, St Lawrence's, ...

Sir William Gostwick (1565-1615) ...
puritanshakespeare.blogspot.com/?...william-gostwick.html - Cached

back to the 13th century on this site

gostwick1 - Stirnet
'Gostwick1' Families covered: Gostwike of Shefford, Gostwick (Gostwyke) of Willington William de Gostwyke of Willington, Bedfordshire (a 1214) ...
stirnet.com/HTML/genie/british/gg/?gostwick1.htm - Cached

the whole tree from 1539 is on this site


Bedford Eng. 1539-1608 Gostwick - RootsWeb: Freepages
... Death of William G. of Willington ... location Bedfordshire,Eng. 1781, Jul. 17, William ... It is stated in early records that William Gostwick was first ...
freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com?/~keuttah/1539... - Cached

ConstituencyDatesBEDFORDSHIRE11539Family and Education
b. by 1493, 1st s. of John Gostwick of Willington by a da. of one Leventhorpe. m. by 1524, Joan, 1s. Kntd. Aug./Dec. 1540.2

Offices Held

Servant of Wolsey by 1514-29, ?master of horse in 1520, comptroller of household by 1527-9, auditor lordships of Middleham, Richmond and Wakefield, Yorks. 1523; j.p. Beds. 1532-d., Hunts. 1536-?d.; gent. usher extraordinary, privy chamber by 1533, commr. for tenths of spiritualities, Beds., Bucks. and Hunts. 1535, to dissolve monasteries, Beds. 1538, 1539, benevolence 1544/45; treasurer and receiver-gen. first fruits and tenths by May 1535-Jan. 1541; treasurer, ct. first fruits and tenths 21 Jan. 1541-d.; sheriff, Beds. and Bucks. 1541-2; high steward, St. Bartholomew’s hospital by d.3

Biography
Gostwicks had been settled at Willington since the reign of Henry III, but although they furnished many local officers no member of the family achieved national importance until the 16th century. John Gostwick was educated at Potton on the borders with Cambridgeshire and entered the service of Thomas Wolsey, perhaps on the recommendation of his kinsman Sir William Gascoigne who later joined him there. As ‘gentleman with my lord cardinal’ he was admitted gratis, in March 1516, to membership of the Merchant Adventurers and a year later was named with several London wax chandlers in a commission to search out abuses in the making of torches, candles and images. There seems no direct evidence for the statement that he accompanied Wolsey, as his master of horse, to the Field of Cloth of Gold, but it is quite likely that he was there in some capacity.4

In 1523 the grant of an auditorship by the King acting on Wolsey’s advice set Gostwick on the road he was thenceforth to follow, that of a financial officer. During the next few years he worked closely with Cromwell, and he shared Cromwell’s advancement following the fall of Wolsey. The pair became friends, and Gostwick was to invite Cromwell to his house at Willington, bought in 1529 from the 3rd Duke of Norfolk. Perhaps in emulation of Wolsey he set about the rebuilding of Willington, which Leland described as ‘a sumptuous new building of brick and timber, a fundamentis, with a conduit of water derived in lead pipes’: Henry VIII was to stay at Willington, on one occasion holding a Council meeting there. Gostwick also built a new chapel in the parish church. By the Dissolution he was wealthy and in a position to speculate on the land market, but unlike some in crown service he seems to have paid market prices for most of his property. From 1526 he had made regular purchases, buying part of the barony of Bedford with property in the borough and elsewhere in the county, amounting to almost acres. At his death he also owned lands in Hampshire, Hertfordshire, Staffordshire and Yorkshire. The money for these purchases must have come largely from his treasurership of first fruits and tenths. His original annual salary was £100, raised to £120 when his department was reorganized as a court of record in 1540, but supplemented from 1536 by an additional £200 to cover expenses. The post provided large opportunities for perquisites, and Gostwick was no less corrupt than other officials of the time. However, he was a hardworking and apparently efficient treasurer. He was not harmed by Cromwell’s fall: when he realized that Cromwell was irretrievably discredited he wrote to the King in July 1540 to assure him of his loyalty. By the end of the year he had been knighted and on the reorganization of the first fruits and tenths he was to retain his post as treasurer.5

Gostwick is known to have sat in one Parliament but he may have done so in others. Either he or Sir John St. John was probably by-elected in place of George Acworth who died in 1530: their names appear against Bedfordshire on the list of vacancies of late 1532 or early 1533 with preference being given by Cromwell to St. John. If Gostwick was not returned then he could have been found another seat later in this Parliament and so have been re-selected in 1536 in compliance with the request for the return of the previous Members. The private Act (28 Hen. VIII, c.47) confirming his title to the manor of Willington passed during the Parliament of 1536 is a pointer to his having been a Member of it. In 1539 he was to be returned with St. John. It was presumably during the passage of the bill of Six Articles in the first session that Gostwick (whom Foxe rated a ‘man of contrary religion’, that is, a conservative) summarized one of Cranmer’s sermons and accused the archbishop of heresy. Henry VIII insisted upon an apology to Cranmer and at their meeting at Lambeth Cranmer assured Gostwick of his orthodoxy and promised to intercede on his behalf with the King. After the dissolution he and St. John were sent a letter about the collection of the subsidy they had helped to grant. Although not re-elected in 1542, when he had just ceased to be sheriff, he was returned again in December 1544 but died on 15 Apr. 1545 before the delayed opening of that Parliament.6

By his will of 16 May 1543 Gostwick asked for burial beside his wife near the high altar at Willington. After leaving the remainder of a lease to his maternal uncle Thomas Leventhorpe, he remembered two Londoners as well as his brother William and his son of the same name whom he named executor. His son survived him by only half a year, his daughter-in-law afterwards marrying Francis Russell. His brother succeeded to the inheritance.7

GOSTWICK, John (by 1493-1545), of Wakefield, Yorks ...
... 1st s. of John Gostwick of Willington by ... their names appear against Bedfordshire on the ... he remembered two Londoners as well as his brother William and ...
www.historyofparliamentonline.org/.../?member/gostwick...1545 - Cached

as you can see - mentioned in 1298 on this site - there is a shedload of mentions of Gostwicks on here

[no title] R 6/62/12/120 [29 Sep 1382 - 28 Sep 1383]
Contents:
Willington manor, Robert Gostwick, bailiff
Including, arrears, rents of free tenants, rents of half-virgates formerly held in bondage, rents of acremen and cottars, rent in Bereford, rents in kind, rents, sale of underwood, perquisites of view with court, sheriff's aid, customary payments, tithes paid, care of the mill, steward's expenses, forester's wages, and money payments.


[no title] R 6/62/12/139 Easter Week, 1298
Seal: (broken in half, edges chipped), green wax, design visible
Language: Latin
Contents:
Exchange
(1) Thomas Peyse of Cople
(2) Walter Aybrith of Willington
1 acre (1)'s land in the fields of Cople, with appurtenances, lying between the land of Simon le Rous and Simon, son of Richard, extending from the pasture of Walter Wygem, as far as the tenement of the canon of Newnham
For 1 acre land in the same field with appurtenances, lying between the land of William Picot and extending from the land of Walter Wygem, as far as le grenedich
Witnesses: William Picot, Roger de Gostwik, Walter Wygem, Henry Gomelot, Robert de Bretaun and others
Dated at Cople, in Easter week, 26 Edward I [1298]
Dorse: inscribed 'Cople'


The National Archives | Access to Archives
John Miton, firstly the aforesaid Robert, in the county of Bedfordshire. Witnesses: John Gostwick, John [V?]ereweye, ... Sir William Gostwick of Willington
www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/a2a/?records.aspx?cat=004-r&... - Cached
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thank you so much Ann all i can say is wow that information was brilliant i will work through it and check out the site the book i have does say some of what you have told me, i cant believe how much information you have found i am so happy thank you so much any time if i can help i will
maria x