When I first started tracing my family tree I wasn’t sure how easy it would be. I figured with names like Jupp and Gooch to search for it shouldn’t be too bad. On my mother’s side, Jupp didn’t prove too difficult in the early stages, especially as my Grandfather had always been a family man and provided much of the information. This wasn’t the case on my father’s side, as my grandfather died before I was born. My father died at a young age and didn’t talk much about his family. All I had was a few names and so I began on a journey of discovery.
I quickly found my grandfather’s marriage to a Lily Mawson and delved into the Mawsons’ a bit. The 1881 and 1891 census quickly put some leaves on the tree too. I soon discovered that my grandfather Joseph Gooch was the youngest of 8 children. He had 5 brothers and 2 sisters. The census also revealed the names of my great grandparents, John and Susannah Gooch. From there I traced their marriage and the certificate provided what I thought was the stepping-stones leading back to another generation. The information seemed pretty good, her maiden name was Silver with her father Edward having the occupation of Gardner. John’s father, my great, great grandfather was given as James Gooch with occupation as Porter. Although their ages were not given at the time of the marriage, just full age, I had this information from the census. I had worked Susannah’s birthdate out and once again soon found out quite a lot about the Silvers’. However John Gooch remained a mystery for many years….
We returned to this ‘brick wall’ a few times but couldn’t get past it. John Gooch had always given Norfolk as his birthplace with the village of Blofield mentioned in 1881. The dates suggested a birth year of about 1847 but all attempts to trace his birth in Norfolk failed. Something was wrong, either his age or birthplace must be the reason why we couldn’t find him.
With much of the census returns now available on the Internet, I decided one weekend that I would try and fill in a few gaps that might provide a few clues. I hadn’t prepared myself for what would turn into a series of important discoveries that would finally allow me to solve the mystery of JOHN GOOCH….
The first job was to find John on the 1871 census. At this time there would only be his wife Susannah and first-born Edward. His age, birth county and occupation of bricklayer were all confirmed. And the address in Kensington was no surprise after their marriage at St Martins in the fields in 1868.
So, I moved on to the 1861 census. This would at least throw up some interesting facts and so begin the detective work.
This is what I found:
Address: 43 Duke Street, St. Giles???
Sealam Gooch, 40, Lodger (married), Labourer, Born Hempell Norfolk
Ann Gooch, 38, Wife, Born Norfolk
John Gooch, 14, Son, Labourer, Born Blowfield Norfolk
Maryann Gooch, 5, Daughter, Born St Pancras
George Baleer(??), 21, Nephew, Born Blowfield Norfolk
Was this our John? The age, birthplace and address were all okay, but Sealam as father? And where did the Nephew George Baleer fit in? I decided first to concentrate on this Sealam with James (from the marriage certificate) in mind as well. Back in the 1871 census I found them as:
Address: 56a Drury Lane, St. Martins.
Salem Gooch, 50, Head, Warehouseman, Born Hampnett Norfolk
Ann Gooch, 48, Wife, Born Blofield Norfolk
Mary Ann Gooch, 15, Daughter, Book Folder, Born Camden
This is when I knew I was on to something. On John’s marriage certificate he gave his address as Drury Lane. At this point I was also drawn to a name of a witness to that marriage, Edward Balier. Having looked again at George Baleer it could well have been Balier? It was also interesting to see Ann giving her birthplace now as Blofield, was she a Balier/Baleer?
I pushed on to try and find Sealam/Salem in 1851 and 1881 where he would be 60. Sure enough I found in 1881:
Address: No.1 Strickland Jail, St. Giles (This is an address, not a prison)
Selan Gooch, 61, Head, PORTER, Born Norfolk
Anne Gooch, 59, Wife, Born Norfolk
Yet another spelling for him, but a mention of his occupation as ‘Porter’. I was starting to believe that Salem and James were the same person. In 1851 things started to get a bit vague. I found a Salme Gooch as a servant to the Roberts family in Hempnall, Norfolk. His age of 32 was slightly out and he was an agricultural Labourer. If he was our man, where was his wife and son John aged 4?
I could find no matches for Ann or John elsewhere, and began to feel the bricks being cemented in place once more.
I slept on it and awoke with fresh enthusiasm. I had an idea to search for Salem in the marriages and deaths. There was a death in St. Giles (June 1890) aged 70. A birthdate of 1820 indicates it could be our man. But it was a marriage entry in September 1852 that would leave me with a shiver running down my spine. The marriage was to Ann Baker.
Suddenly it hit me. It wasn’t Balier or Baleer, it was Baker!!!
I also found a death of Ann Gooch in St. Giles. March 1902 aged 80 fitted with my birth for Ann in 1822. I then found her as a widow on the 1891 census. On the 1901 census I found her living in St. Giles with her daughter Mary Ann Gooch. She gave her birthplace as Strumpshaw, which is close to Blofield.
This brought me back to 1851 and the whereabouts of Ann and John?
I found an Ann Baker as a servant to the Cooper family in Hempnall just around the corner from Salem. Again she gives her birthplace as Strumpshaw. This could fit if the 1852 marriage is them. But what about John? If he was born in 1847 then this was out of wedlock so perhaps he was not born a Gooch. I went straight to the births and found a Blofield entry for Sept 1846, John Fryer Baker!
I had all but cracked the case. I went back to the 1851 census and found a John Baker (born in Blofield) grandson aged 4 living with a large Baker family. Among them were George from the 1861 census and Edward, our witness on John’s marriage certificate.
Once the dust had settled certain questions remained. On John’s birth certificate no father was given. I guess I will never know for sure if Salem was the father and John and subsequent generations, including myself were Goochs’. From the 1851 census it is clear that Salem and Ann lived fairly close and indeed married in 1852. They later had Mary Ann in 1856. However it is also a strong possibility that John was an illegitimate child born to Ann in 1846 and I will never know the true identity of my great, great grandfather. From Salem and Ann’s marriage onwards John took the name Gooch. Why John gave his father’s name as James on his marriage certificate, remains a mystery.
I went on to find a few more Bakers’ and believe Salem’s father was also a John. I found myself wondering just who I was. Perhaps my name should really be Baker, or something else completely, or maybe Salem played an important part in Ann’s life and I can think of myself as a GOOCH.
