I have traced the Gooding family back to two small villages near Oxford, Toot Baldon and Marsh Baldon (sometimes March Baldon). Both villages are ancient and have remained fairly unchanged in terms of population size for many centuries. The following websites give a good overview of the history of these villages.
https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/oxon/vol5/pp47-56
https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/oxon/vol5/pp30-47
Our branch of the Gooding family lived in the area from at least the 1740s, and probably earlier, however I have been unable as yet to trace our direct Gooding ancestors any further than the 1740s from the parish registers.
The earliest Gooding ancestor is John Gooding (?1740 – 1810). I have not been able to find John’s baptism in the village registers but he married Elizabeth Simmonds (1742 – 1803) on 23 October 1762 (Marsh Baldon) at which point the parish register gave his address as Toot Baldon. Elizabeth was baptised in 1742 in Marsh Baldon so it is likely that John was born around this time but may have been baptised elsewhere (or not at all). John and Elizabeth had two children baptised at Marsh Baldon, John Gooding (1769 – 1823) and Joyce (1772 – 1838). Elizabeth died in 1803, whilst John senior died in 1810 and was buried at Marsh Baldon on 21 October 1810.
John Gooding junior was baptised in Marsh Baldon in December 1769. He appears to have lived in Marsh Baldon all his life, marrying Sarah Polley (1774 – 1863) at St Peter’s church on 13 October 1796 and being buried there on 10 December 1823 aged 54. We know from Sarah’s death certificate that John had worked as an Agricultural Labourer. The Polley family also have a long local history. John and Sarah had eleven children between 1797 and 1817 (six sons and five daughters), of whom at least seven survived into adulthood (one child died in infancy, and I have not yet been able to trace the lives of the remaining three). Most of the surviving children remained in Oxfordshire however two, William and Martha, moved to London and another, Joseph, moved to Berkshire.
Sarah was buried in Marsh Baldon on 10 April 1863, having lived to the age of 88, and survived her husband by 40 years.
The eighth child (and third son) of John and Sarah was George Jubilee Gooding (1809 – 1887). Baptised on 7th January 1810, it is likely that he was born in December 1809 as his middle name reflects the jubilee of King George III which was celebrated in 1809. He married Susanna West (1811 – 1887) on 16 December 1834, possibly in Nuneham Courtenay, the neighbouring village where Susanna was born. It has been possible to find out a bit more about George Jubilee than his ancestors due to the census records which began in 1841. Between 1841 – 1861, George Jubilee was recorded as being an Agricultural Labourer, a very common occupation for village men. There were several farms in the area. In 1871 he became Assistant Gamekeeper, and was subsequently recorded as Gamekeeper in 1881. The place of work is not noted but there was a large estate at Nuneham Courtenay which is a likely location.
Although none of the census records give the exact address where George Jubilee lived, he is listed in the electoral records for the Dorchester Polling District in 1885, with his address given as “Cottage 20 on the Green”. Marsh Baldon Green remains the centre of the village and has changed little over the years. George Jubilee and Susanna’s house can still be seen, though it has been extended in more recent times.
The 1885 register of voters also shows that five of the other houses on the Green were occupied by members of the extended Gooding family. This included three nephews, one of whom, Alfred, lived in the building that had been the old School House. Number 25 was lived in by George Jubilee’s brother Joseph, while number 47 was lived in by John Gooding who was either George Jubilee’s brother or his son, both of whom were still living in the area around this time. Thomas Gooding, who lived in The Lane just off the Green, would have been either George Jubilee’s brother or his nephew. A further three houses on The Green were lived in by members of the Polly (Polley) family.
George Jubilee and Susanna had twelve children, eight sons and four daughters; all but one survived into adulthood, and most lived to a good age. Six of the ten surviving children remained in Oxfordshire, the rest moved to London, presumably for better work prospects.
George Jubilee lived to the age of 77, and was buried on Christmas Eve 1887 in Marsh Baldon having passed away on 20 December at Stanton St John in Oxfordshire. It is not clear why he was there and I have not been able to find a family connection with the person who registered his death. George Jubilee’s death certificate gives his age as 74 which is incorrect, he was also noted to be a General Labourer rather than a Gamekeeper, so it may be that the registrar was not someone close to him. His cause of death was “enlarged prostate, surgical kidney urinaemia”, i.e. uraemia, the end stage of chronic kidney disease. Unfortunately no headstone is visible in St Peter’s churchyard, it may be that the grave was unmarked. Susanna had died not long before (12 May 1887) aged 76. Her death certificate states that George Jubilee was present and he signed the certificate with his mark. He is recorded as being an Under Gamekeeper at this time so may have still been working up to his last few months of life.
After George Jubilee and Susanna’s deaths, 20 Marsh Baldon was lived in by George Jubilee’s younger brother Herbert (Ellis) Gooding and his family. George Jubilee and Susanna had 49 grandchildren so it is perhaps not surprising that some of them married each other. In 1908, Sidney Arthur Gooding (son of their son Richard Albert) married Beatrice Magdalen Gooding (daughter of their son John).
Butland Gooding Family Tree 