Questions re surname Goosney

[amazon510]

Hi,

I am researching the name Goosney.  Family tradition is that the family immigrated from the Channel Islands to Newfoundland, Canada.  Problem is Goosney does not seem to be a traditional Channel Island name.  I think it's probably a corruption of something else. 

Based on my research they probably were involved in the migratory fishery in the late 18th century, and settled permanently in the first quarter of the 19th century, so they probably spoke Jerriais.  Newfoundland was and is primarily English speaking (with west country and Irish accents), so lots of opportunity for mangling of the name.

My top two candidates for the original name are

Gosney - but this does not seem to be a Channel Island name.  Or is it?  Does anyone know?

Gasnier - a more typical Channel Island name which could possibly be mispronounced as Goosney.  However initial research in the St. Ouen/St. Mary parishes of Jersey does not seem to link up with my Newfoundland records.  There may be some families on Guernsey but I haven't been able to do much research. Has anyone conducted any research on Gasnier in Guernsey?

I'm open to comment as to which theory seems more plausible.  Also, can anyone suggest any other Channel Island surname that might possibly be corrupted so that it is pronounced Goosney?  (hard "G" - oo as in goose-"z"-nee).

Thanks,
Jennifer.

[Ruskie]

Welcome to rootschat Jennifer. 

I can't help with your specific enquiry but this site may help a little:
http://www.nationaltrustnames.org.uk/
I find it OK as a rough guide. There are no goosneys but there are gosneys.

I see you have already added your names to our surname interests table. You should try to contact the other gosney Channel Islands researcher but you need to make 3 posts before you can send Personal Messages.

Are you researching the name as a one name study or trying to find out the origins of your family with the surname Goosey?

Have you tried tracing family members by the usual means rather than basing your research on family heresay?

The rumour may be true of course but people moved around a lot and the surname may have originated from elsewhere before the Channel Islands. You really should trace backwards from facts you already know. The search may then lead you to the Channel Islands or not  .

Good luck with it.

[Hill]

Hi Jennifer

This web-site may help although it's in Canadian French!

http://tonylesauteur.com/arbre11.htm

It's a list drawn from many sources of CI people who emigrated to Gaspe in Newfoundland.

If you look under Godfray/Gunhall you will see that there is a S. Gooseney.

This won't give you any answers but at least it gives you a name.

Stewart

[amazon510]

Hi Stewart, thank you for this link! Lots of great information here, just wish my French was a little better.

I believe S. Goosney is Sarah Goosney married in 1862 to Philip Blampied originally of Jersey (of Shecatica at time of marriage).  I had found their marriage record with some Quebec Lower North Shore parish records.  This link provides confirmation, and also seems to imply that Philip later became the light keeper in Forteau.  I'm not sure how Sarah relates to my line, but I will follow up on the Forteau lead. 

How can I find out what the original sources are for these references?  The note re Philip Blampied says "Marcel R. Garnier, L'Estuaire généalogique", but that doesn't ring any bells with me.

Minor detail - Gaspe is actually part of Quebec, not Newfoundland, but many Jersey firms operated in both areas as well as on the Labrador/Quebec North Shore.

Jennifer.

[amazon510]

Hi Ruskie, thank you for the welcome!

To answer your question, I am researching my family of Goosney, but it is such an unusual name I tend to record any Goosney records I come across in case they match up later (for example in my reply to Stewart).  I have traced the family using all available Newfoundland records, and worked the line back to a marriage in 1827, in Newfoundland.  The records in Newfoundland are a bit scanty in this period and earlier, but as far as I can tell there are no other Goosneys in the Newfoundland parish records prior to this date.  I have found a handful of earlier court documents with very minimal detail.  Bascially I'm stuck in the 1820s in Newfoundland and have been for years.  I think this must be when the family settled in Newfoundland (as many families did around in the early 19th century), and to go back further I have to look for a link overseas.

When I look in the UK, I have the same experience as you - Gosneys, but no Goosneys.  There are Goosneys in the rest of North America, but mainly in places where Newfoundlanders moved, and I know for sure that many of them link back to Newfoundland.  Hence my theory that the name Goosney is a corruption of something else.  This of course complicates my search.

I have the advantage that my grandfather was also interested in genealogy.  Sadly he is dead now, but I have his research notes, and the stories he told me about his family.  My grandfather was the one who told me the family was from the Channel Islands - he used to say "We weren't French and we weren't English and didn't give a d*mn about either", which I think was a quote from his own father, born 1878. 

Other than my Grandfather, the only other Channel Island link is a letter dated 1759 regarding a Sam Gasnoy (?  Not exactly sure of the spelling, the letter is very hard to read), who was convicted in absentia by a court in Newfoundland while he was in Jersey.  Not sure if Sam is related to my line or not.
 
My grandfather's story does fit with local immigration patterns, as the area the Goosney's were from in Newfoundland was a known area of Channel Island activity and settlement.  However an origin in Devon or Dorset would be just as likely - more likely really, except for the family lore.

Ayway, I'm really stuck so I'm hoping RootsChat will be able to give me some new clues.

Jennifer.

[Hill]

Hi Jennifer

I'm afraid I can't help you with any details of the site. The address was given to me by the Societe Jersiaise as a source of information.

What I can do next week is visit the Societe library and see what I can find about the Goosney's.

Stewart

[amazon510]

Hi Stewart,

Thank you, that would be great!  I did have a couple of hours of research conducted by the Channel Island Family History Society, which turned up the Gasniers I mentioned above, however no obvious link to my family.  I'm looking for a marriage record of James and Sarah Goosney, circa 1830, and/or birth records for James and/or John Goosney who were probably born about 1800 +/- 10 years.  James and John's father might be Robert.

Jennifer.

[Ruskie]

A few ideas/suggestions from someone who knows nothing about Newfoundland or the Channel Islands  :

Are there any searchable records of immigration?

Do birth, marriage or death records for family members give details about parentage or origins?

Do obituaries give any information?

[amazon510]

Hi Ruskie,

The BMD records are pretty scant, not much additional information for the time period I'm searching.  There is a local collection of obituaries assembled from various early newspapers, but no Goosneys in it for the time I'm interested in.  In any case, during this period I'm interested in (pre 1830), there were very few newspapers and only prominent citizens were likely to have an obituary published. 

As for immigration records, people didn't really "immigrate" to Newfoundland in any formal sense until the late 19th or 20th century.  Pre-1800, most people were involved one way or another in the migratory fishery.  People would sign on as crew or servants with a merchant, come for the fishing season, or for two summers and winter, and then go back. 

Various economic and political changes in the late 18th/early 19th century led to the gradual development of a domestic fishery and permanent settlement, but pinpointing when people arrived and left is difficult.  People just showed up, or opted not to return.  You only know they've decided to stay because they start appearing in Newfoundland parish records, or they purchase land, etc.  Even once they were established here, they might still opt to go back to their point of origin to get married, for instance, especially since there weren't a lot of clergy in some areas.  Getting a reference to where they came from is usually only a fluke. 

I've waded through customs records, legal records, merchants ledgers and registry of crown land records, and found some detail on the people I'm interested in, but no firm leads.

Jennifer.