Joseph Merrett Goatman b 1817

[suek2075]

Thank you both - I went back and took another look this afternoon and it can't be the right one, all things considered.

I think for the moment I'll leave him as a question mark as he's not on my direct line (which is Samuel) and take another look - maybe in another ten years, who knows what may have been unearthed by then 

Having seen the number of threads on here that get resurrected years after they were completed by a relative who has just found it I'll live in hope

[rosie99]

Trying to look at this from a different angle - Where do you have evidence of Joseph Merrett Goatman.

[miriamkinga]

There's an entry in the Army Deserters for a Joseph Merritt b 1818 in "Chinchdown" Gloucestershire - 1st Battalion Rifle Brigade 17/06/1840, occupation carpenter.

[miriamkinga]

Baptisms for Goatmans in Ashleworth, Gloucestershire on FreeReg including Samuel 01/01/1792 son of Richard & Betty 

[suek2075]

Hi Rosie - I have no real evidence - the information was supplied to me years ago by someone who had been researching the Goatmans. She apparently got the information from a family in the US. Unfortunately I haven't looked at this for nearly 10 years, and I've lost touch with her, all I had was an email address, and get no replies on that.

All the other information she gave me I've managed to verify, I have the birth/baptism/census details for the other children, and the marriage of Samuel and Annbenjamin, and some of their death details in Utah.

More and more I think that Joseph Merritt is Annebenjamins' child from before she married Samuel (although of course Samuel could still be the father). Ann, Samuel and the other children are in Churchdown in the 1841 census, but no Joseph. But of course he would have been old enough to have left home by then. If he did join the army he probably left home much earlier than that. Stupid, stupid government that didn't do an 1831 census 

Miriamkinga - thanks for your help too - I saw the deserter record, and some other army records for Joseph.

What I really need is a baptism that connects Joseph with Annbenjamin, and that's what I can't find 

Rosie I'm trying at the moment to connect Joseph in a different way, by going through as much as I can find for him to see whether any of the Goatmans turn up anywhere, maybe visiting in a census? The slight problem with that is that most of them emigrated to Utah at some point (don't know exactly when yet) and stayed there, and as far as I know Joseph stayed in England, so there's a slim chance if any.

Still, where there's rootschat there's hope    Thanks everyone

[miriamkinga]

There's an entry on the familysearch website for a George Goatman b England - gives his immigration to Utah as 1866: -

https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MMRJ-HT1

[suek2075]

Oooh thank you for that  George was the second son (discounting Joseph) and died in Utah in 1903, so that looks likely. I'll take a look. His younger sister Hannah I also have as dying in Utah, so I would expect her to be with him. I believe (but don't know for sure) they went out as a family.

[Barrow Boy]

Hi..... Joseph Merrett ( 1817) Churchdown was my G,G Grandfather. He married Emma E Fenn and then Sarah Ann wright who was born in Woodbridge, suffolk. He was a sergeant in the first battalion rifle brigade based in Aldershot. I am descended from the Merrett / Wright marriage. Concur with your reasoning re Joseph's father... It seems likely that Samuel Goatman very kindly accepted Anne when she had already given birth to Joseph. He had three sons to Sarah. Joseph William, Alfred J and George Edward. Joseph William was my G Grandfather.... I think it very unlikely that the father of the 1817 Joseph will ever be established!!