NEW ! August 2017. This page is devoted to some of the family stories that I have gathered.
In the spirit of the American series Mythbusters I attempt to get to the truth. Please revisit this page when you can - it's been fun putting together - see the mysteries unravel.
In the spirit of the American series Mythbusters I attempt to get to the truth. Please revisit this page when you can - it's been fun putting together - see the mysteries unravel.
My father sailed to Canada on board the Titanic - aunt June about my grandfather Arthur
The SS Titanic struck an iceberg and sank on its maiden voyage in 1912. Had Arthur been on board he would never have lived and I wouldn't exist!
There was however a Goodwin family on board but they all perished. They came from London and had roots in Hertfordshire.
MYTH BUSTED!
There was however a Goodwin family on board but they all perished. They came from London and had roots in Hertfordshire.
MYTH BUSTED!
The Goodwin name came from settlers that were stranded on Goodwin Sands - aunt June
The Goodwin name came from settlers that were stranded on Goodwin Sands - aunt June
Goodwin Sands, as a placename, appeared during the first half of the 11th century when this piece of land was owned by Godwin, the Earl of Wessex. Appearing in the Domesday Book, the Godwin/Goodwin name was already established in Stafford prior to the existence of the Goodwin Sands name.
MYTH BUSTED!
MYTH BUSTED!
One of the Hancock family was 'involved' with a French baron who was executed during the French Revolution - aunt June
This was a story recounted by my aunt June for as long as I can remember. It was passed down by grandad Goodwin whose mother was a Hancock.
Since the French Revolution lasted from 1789 until 1799, at which time the Hancock family was living in rural Gloucestershire labouring in the woolen trade, it was necessary that I look elsewhere for the story's origin.
June's cousin Hilda remembered a wooden plaque hanging in the Goodwin home inscribed with a phrase written in French which ended "De lengie stref”. This has no meaning in French and June thought it was perhaps a surname.
The head of the Hancock household in the late 1700s was Abel and he had been married twice before my 3rd great grandmother (Sarah Parslow) - his first two wives came from the Longstretch family. Could this be the surname written on the plaque?
In 2014, I was contacted by 2nd and 4th cousins from the Hancock line. They had also heard stories about a French connection in the Longstretch line. Abel had a son with his second wife Olive Longstretch they called Lotan and he married Harriett Dangerfield. Their daughter, Matilda Hancock, married into the Russell family that has a connection to the Duke de Berry - the duke was was assassinated in 1820 (so he was neither executed nor a baron but close enough to be mistaken).
In 2017, I heard from another distant cousin about a Lady Longstreth who came from a French family and ran away with the coachman and therefore disowned.
The stories have similarities but are lacking in evidence. However, since my line has no hereditary connection with the Longstretch family, the story of the French aristocrat may simply have been 'borrowed' and its origin forgotten.
MYTH probably BUSTED!
Since the French Revolution lasted from 1789 until 1799, at which time the Hancock family was living in rural Gloucestershire labouring in the woolen trade, it was necessary that I look elsewhere for the story's origin.
June's cousin Hilda remembered a wooden plaque hanging in the Goodwin home inscribed with a phrase written in French which ended "De lengie stref”. This has no meaning in French and June thought it was perhaps a surname.
The head of the Hancock household in the late 1700s was Abel and he had been married twice before my 3rd great grandmother (Sarah Parslow) - his first two wives came from the Longstretch family. Could this be the surname written on the plaque?
In 2014, I was contacted by 2nd and 4th cousins from the Hancock line. They had also heard stories about a French connection in the Longstretch line. Abel had a son with his second wife Olive Longstretch they called Lotan and he married Harriett Dangerfield. Their daughter, Matilda Hancock, married into the Russell family that has a connection to the Duke de Berry - the duke was was assassinated in 1820 (so he was neither executed nor a baron but close enough to be mistaken).
In 2017, I heard from another distant cousin about a Lady Longstreth who came from a French family and ran away with the coachman and therefore disowned.
The stories have similarities but are lacking in evidence. However, since my line has no hereditary connection with the Longstretch family, the story of the French aristocrat may simply have been 'borrowed' and its origin forgotten.
MYTH probably BUSTED!
"My maternal grandmother was of Spanish descent" - aunt Clara about Isabella Scarborough
My aunt's grandmother was Isabella McWilliams (nee Scarborough). The Scarborough family was relatively itinerant and can be traced to Lincolnshire in the 17th century. They left Lincolnshire some time before 1790 and travelled to Lancashire, residing in Bolton-le-Moors and St Helens, ending up in Liverpool before 1823. Between 1857 and 1860 they left England and for Cork where they remained for about ten years before travelling north to Ballymena, where Isabella was born in 1873. Within three years, the family completed their journey and settled in Belfast by 1877.
Between 1680 and 1873, there is no evidence of a Spanish connection in the Scarborough line.
MYTH BUSTED!
Between 1680 and 1873, there is no evidence of a Spanish connection in the Scarborough line.
MYTH BUSTED!
"My grandfather was of Jewish descent" - aunt Clara about Robert McWilliams
There's a small amount of circumstantial evidence to support this story so I'll list it:
MYTH UNCONFIRMED!
- Robert's first son Bobbie married Fanny Cohen, the daughter of a Russian Jewish family
- Bobbie's marriage is documented under Jewish records
- Robert was seen in a family photo wearing a Star of David (equally it could have been a masonic medal)
- Robert was a member of the Falls masonic lodge, where Jews were known to form a large member base.
- Males in the family were circumcised (not unusual for the time).
- There were some Jewish ceremonies practiced in the home.
- Hardly conclusive but a neighbour to Clara commented on a photograph of my sisters, "what a lovely line up of Jewish girls" she said. Apparently, it was because of their noses !
MYTH UNCONFIRMED!
"Father left behind a lumber business in Canada with the intention of returning" - aunt June and my mother about Arthur Goodwin
Research in progress ...