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England (Counties as in 1851-1901) => England => Essex => Topic started by: Shizara on Tuesday 15 December 09 08:41 GMT (UK)
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I am in hunch_mode with this one. I have a few snippets of information provided by my grandmother many moons ago and the rest are about looking at options and possibles.
This is what I have found and includes bits of detail gleaned from my grandmother:
1. Ethel Phillips was born c1886, Bermondsey and the birth registered in St Olave, Surrey. Her parents are William Henry Phillips and Mary Phillips nee Howell.
2. William Henry Phillips died within about 3 years of the marriage and Mary Phillips nee Howell married again, having 2 more children.
3. The family moved to Walthamstow, Essex.
4. Ethel married a cinema worker (no one seemed to remember his name) and they lived in Saffron Walden, Essex. As far as I know they had only one child, a daughter known as Joyce.
Here is where the hunches come in and they may well be all a case of barking up a gum tree, but I thought the following details are worth looking at a bit more, even if only to eliminate.
I found a record for a marriage:
Sept quarter 1912
John F Goddard and Ethel Phillips, registered at W.Ham
I looked for a birth that might include the name Joyce, in Saffron Walden after the marriage:
June quarter 1914
Ethel J Goddard, maiden name of mother, Phillips, registered in Saffron Walden.
IF this is the right person, it could well be that she was named Ethel after her mother and the second Christian name showing as "J" might well be Joyce, the name she was known as.
So, moving along a bit I looked for a possible marriage for Ethel J Phillips:
1936 (not sure of the quarter)
Ethel J Goddard married Leonard A Rayment. Marriage registered at Epping.
I have one frail and elderly aunt still living who often remarked "I wonder what happened to Joyce." Joyce was her cousin. The family had lost contact just before the second world war. My grandmother tried to re-establish it but there was no reply from any of the family. I know my grandmother's other sister survived because I have traced her descendants down to the current generation. But Ethel and her daughter Joyce have so far been able to elude me.
To find Joyce and or her descendants and understand what happened to them would give my aunt a spark of interest and clear up one of the family brick walls.
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Hi,
From parish registers Ethel Joyce Goddard was born 22 Feb 1914 and baptised 14 Jun in St Mary's, Saffron Walden. Daughter of John Felix and Ethel of Pleasant Valley, Saffron Walden. John was an electrician.
Tempsford. :)
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Goddard is a well known name in the Saffron Walden Area to this day. I also believe that Saffron Walden has an active Family History Society, (a branch of the Essex FHS). As your query is within living memory you could try contacting them to see if any one knows anything. Even if its only, 'that Ethel J Goddard was the daughter of so and so Goddard and she married so and so'.
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Oooh.. You really are on the ball. I am not deterred by the fact that he was an electrician, but what is of interest is that Ethel J Goddard is Ethel Joyce Goddard and that the mother is just referred to as Ethel. My understanding is that she only had one Christian name.
I will indeed try the family history society. It would be something short of a miracle if Joyce was still living, but think it is well worth pursuing.
I followed a similar pattern of hunches when looking for the descendant's of of Joyce's aunt which took me to the generation of today. No guarantees it will work a second time but nothing ventured, nothing gained.
Thank you ever so much!
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Looks like the first step would be to get the Goddard/Philips marriage cert to check that you are on the right track to start with.
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You are right of course. I hadn't got that far as I have been on a roll this morning following up many things before I whizzy off to work.
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I finally received the marriage certificate and it would seem my hunches are correct:
10 August, 1912
The Parish Church, Walthamstow, Essex.
JOHN FELIX GODDARD, aged 24, Bachelor, Cinematographer of 28 Miltose Road, son of JOHN WILLIAM GODDARD, Decorator
married
ETHEL PHILLIPS, aged 26, Spinster, of 16 Newbury Road, daughter of WILLIAM PHILLIPS, Labourer.
Witnesses:
WINIFRED PURCHASE
VICTOR GODDARD
Winifred Purchase is my grandmother.
William Phillips is William Henry Phillips who died when Ethel was very small.
My grandmother had said her sister's husband was a cinema worker and the certificate says he was a cinematographer.
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Further to the above I now have a birth certificate for the daughter of Leonard Arnold Rayment and his wife Ethel Joyce.
Sheila Joyce Rayment, born 1937, Chingford, Epping, Essex.
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I am researching film studios in Walthamstow and I think I have found John Felix Goddard in the 1910/1911 census.
Although he is not involved in the cinema. The street name Miltose Road you have would see, to be wrong
Address: 28 Milton Road Walthamstow - 1901
GODDARD
John W Head Married M 40 1861 House Decorator Hastings Sussex
Ellen Wife Married F 40 1861 Hastings Sussex
Ivan C Son Single M 16 1885 Printers Cropper Boy Hastings Sussex
William Rd Son Single M 15 1886 Printers Layer 0n Hastings Sussex
John F Son M 12 1889 Hastings Sussex
Victor S Son M 8 1893 Lower Tooting London
Dorothy L Daughter F 5 1896
Address: 28 Milton Road Walthamstow - 1901
GODDARD
Ellen Wife Married F 50 1861 Sussex Hastings
Ivan Son Single M 26 1885 Printers Machine Minster Sussex Hastings
John Son Single M 22 1889 Stationary Engineman Sussex Hastings
Victor Son Single M 18 1893 Decorator Surrey Tooting
Dorothy Daughter Single F 15 1896 Surrey Tooting
Lilian Daughter F 14 1897 Assistant Teacher Surrey Balham
Charles Son M 13 1898 School Boy Essex Walthamstow
In 1891 they are living in Wandsworth Streatham
John Wm Goddard 30
Ellen Goddard 30
Ivan Ch Goddard 6
William R Goddard 5
John F Goddard 2
Hope this helps you. If you do find that John was involved as a cinema worker / cinematographer perhaps you could let me know
Regards
Bob
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I have the marriage certificate for John Felix Goddard and Ethel Phillips. Here it states that his Rank/Profession is that of a Cinematographer and his father a Decorator. The marriage was in 1912.
In 1914 when daughter, Ethel Joyce (known as Joyce) was born his occupation is stated as being an Electrician (Journeyman).
I am happy to send you copies of these.
Prior to finding the marriage certificate the only information I had on John Felix was by word of mouth from two sources. The first being my grandmother who had said he was a "cinema worker" and the other, was from the daughter-in-law of Ethel's sister, who, when I visited her some 13 years ago had remembered them living in Saffron Walden and that John Felix had worked in a cinema.
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.. and yes, the census information is very helpful. Thank you.
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Reflecting on all of this, I have no idea why the occupations are different for him, but, even in today's world people change direction later in life. The rest of the information seems to match up.
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For all those who have helped or taken an interest in this search, my grateful thanks. I have had my first meeting and am pleased to say it was a very positive encounter for us.