The first of the Goddard family who is of interest in this study is James Goddard who was the maternal grandfather of Juliana Coward my paternal great grandmother.
James Goddard 1821 – 1892 and Rosella Pitmer 1821 - 1874
James Goddard was born about 1821. The earliest census records currently available are for 1841 in which James is living with his mother and brothers in Kington Magna
James Goddard 1821 – 1892 and Rosella Pitmer 1821 - 1874
James Goddard was born about 1821. The earliest census records currently available are for 1841 in which James is living with his mother and brothers in Kington Magna
James married Rosilla Pitmer in Wincanton Q4 1842 vol 10 page 809.
In 1851 James is living in Kington Magna with his wife Rosella and children. Elisha and James are no longer in the family home.
The 1851 census record is shown under Grace Goddard 1842 – 1925 and indicates that James is 32 and therefore would have been born about 1818.
In 1861 James and Rosella have added 2 more daughters to the family
In 1851 James is living in Kington Magna with his wife Rosella and children. Elisha and James are no longer in the family home.
The 1851 census record is shown under Grace Goddard 1842 – 1925 and indicates that James is 32 and therefore would have been born about 1818.
In 1861 James and Rosella have added 2 more daughters to the family
In 1871 James Goddard father and son were both staying as Boarders with the Mead family in South Brewham Somerset while his wife Rosella is at home which is now in Kington Magna with their two remaining daughters Ellen and Isabella. It is interesting that there is no record of Isabella Lavinia in 1861 when she would have been 6 years old. Instead the 1861 census shows us a Laura Goddard aged 6. I suspect that this is the same person and that she was called Laura by the family when she was young. This means that there were only three children in the family.
It appears that Rosella Goddard died in Wincanton Q4 1874 Vol 5c page 356
According to the 1881 census, following the death of his wife Rosalie in 1874 James is living in Kington Magna with his daughter Isabella Lavinia and a grand-daughter Lily. Isabella Lavinia does not marry until 1888 and so it is unlikely that Lily is her child unless she is illegitimate. There is no trace of Isabella Lavinia (Laura) Goddard in any 1891 census when Lily would have been 15 years old. Even without this there is no certainty that Lily would have been living with her parents or grandparents as it was not unusual at that time for 15 year old children to be working.
If as is shown Lily is a grand-daughter of James then one of her parents would have to be James Goddard jr, Ellen Mary or Isabella Lavinia (Laura). If her mother was Ellen then this would have meant she was born at about the same time Ellen married Robert Parsons. As her surname is given as Goddard the most likely candidate is James Goddard jr but he is not to be found in any census records after 1871. It is possible that he is Lily’s father but there is nothing to point in that direction any more than either of the other possibilities. There are no birth records of any girls called Lily in the Kington Magna area around 1876 although if she were illegitimate then she would probably have been born away from the local area.
It is unfortunate that I have not been able to find any subsequent record for Lily in either 1891 or 1901. I think this is a mystery that will remain such.
In 1891 James is now living alone in South Street.
James Goddard died aged 78 in Wincanton Q1 1892 vol 5c page 386.
There are discrepancies for James’s age between all the census records. 1841 census age 20, 1851 census age 32 1861 census 47, 1871 age 58, 1881 age 68. James appears to be getting progressively older by more than 10 years each decade until 1881 when his age is consistent with the 1871 census. In 1891 he is 77. In view of this I am taking his probable birth year as 1815 which matches the most consistent age calculation and also the death register entry from 1892.