Many of us have grown up listening to the memories of family past.  Some may be true, some not.  If we are fortunate the family may also have some memorabilia, certificates and/or photos.  Whatever the source of information it must be verified.  Sometimes family do not have any memories of family members and there are few if any records to be found.  Surely someone must know something of the person but they also need to know we are searching for the person

Long ago I learned the value of Google search when researching people, locations, occupations etc. I search for information on my family tree members hoping to learn more of their story.  What we know can be found on this website.

The people and events we are seeking more information on are recorded here in the hope someone with that knowledge will find our query.  Maybe you have the information we seek or know where it can be found.  Any information, no matter how small, can potentially help our search and help us to resolve our queries.  If you can contribute any information on the following family we would welcome your contact.

STILL SEARCHING FOR EDWARD’S FAMILY

So little is known of Edward’s parents other than his father was Samuel of Timble Bridge according to his parish baptismal record. Edward did not name any of his sons Samuel, did he name any of his daughters after his mother ??  All we supposedly know of his mother is that she may have died when Edward was young, maybe late 1790’s to early 1800’s.  In those times boys were often working by age 12 and this may be the time and reason he went to live with his Quaker uncle.

WHO WAS EDWARD’S QUAKER UNCLE ??

The uncle who supposedly raised Edward and helped him gain employment is acknowledged but not named in son, Frederick Goodall’s “Reminiscences”.  He was from Yorkshire, a regular visitor to Edward and his family in London over the years.  It seems he helped Edward to gain an apprenticeship or employment in an engraving business.  That business would appear to be that of his future father in law, Joseph Le Petit, in his art repository, printing and engraving business in London, possibly in Great Shire Lane, London.

There was more than one Samuel Goodall in or near Leeds. There are several marriage possibilities but which one is our Samuel ?  The year range for the possible marriages reflects some family folklore which suggests there were few children to the marriage, maybe just Edward and Ann, maybe a couple more.  If Edward’s mother died when he was young there might not have been many younger siblings.  In the range 1786 to 1792 there are four possible marriages in and near to the Leeds area of West Yorkshire.  These marriages are :-

- 1786  to Elisabeth Pease in Aberford, Yorkshire.  (Elisabeth is also recorded as Elizabeth in some records);

- 1788  to  Agnes Atkinson at St John the Baptist, Halifax, Yorkshire. (Samuel was 40 and Agnes 30.  Agnes died in 1828);

- 1791  to Mary Powell in St Peters, the Leeds Parish Church, Yorkshire.  (Samuel and Mary were both 21. Samuel a butcher);

-  1792  to Betty Long in St Peters, the Leeds Parish Church (Samuel a husbandman).

Taking other records into consideration for Elisabeth/Elizabeth she is maybe not as likely as the others.  There may also be other marriages we are not aware of at this time.  Unfortunately few if any birth records have the mother’s name.  Do you know of other marriages that might be of interest in our search ?

CHILDREN POSSIBILITIES

Birth records with the father Samuel Goodall in West Yorkshire show a few district patterns, as in Leeds, Birstall and Aberford.  There were some records with the father’s name transcribed as “Samwell” and “Samewell” but the original records show Samuel. There appear to be at least two Samuels in or near Leeds area.

I have limited the birth year range in keeping with the marriage year range and folklore suggestions. There are more records for Aberford for Samuel whose wife is Elisabeth Pease whom I think is less likely as Edward’s mother.  The  pattern of most interest is the Leeds’ births and baptisms that present very similarly to Edward’s and Ann’s. The other places, however, are quite near to Leeds.

The births include :-

-  Sarah, born 22 May 1781 and baptized in Birstall, Yks;

-  Prissilla, born 12 April 1789 and baptized in Birstall, Yks.  Also recorded as Prescilla on some records:

- Richard, born 13 or 15 January 1790 and baptized at Farsely, St Johns on 7 February 1790.  One of the few records to have the mother’s name recorded as Elizabeth;

- John, born 18 April 1790 and baptized in Birstall, Yks. John’s record shows his mother’s name was Sarah;

-  Mary, born 13 April 1791 and baptized in St Peter’s, Birstall, Yks;

-  David, born 28 September 1791 in Hunslet and baptized at St. Peter’s, Leeds, on 6 November 1791;

-  Ann,  born 26 September 1792 in Leeds and baptized at St Peter’s, Leeds, on 4 November 1792.  Edward’s sister.

- Samuel, born on 20 January 1793 in Hartshead and baptized at St Peter’s, Leeds, on  20 July 1794;

- Samuel, born on 2 May 1794 in Hunslet and baptized at St Peter’s, Leeds, in July 1794;

-  Edward, born on 21 August 1794 in Leeds and baptized at St Peter’s, Leeds, on 21 September 1794;

-  Eliza, born on 22 September 1796 in Leeds and baptized at St Peter’s, Leeds, on 17 October 1796;

-  Elizabeth, born on 13 February  1801 in Leeds and baptized at St. Peter’s, Leeds, on 7 March 1801.

If we take the Leeds births and baptisms as possible siblings for Edward & Ann then David, Eliza and maybe Elizabeth could be their siblings.  Family folklore suggested Edward may have had brothers Richard and James.  There was no reference to them in the family journal which confirmed Ann as Edward’s sister but then there was no reference to any other family members either. There is a record for a Richard in Farsley in 1790 but none for James with a father Samuel.   Some of the above are obviously not connected to Edward (eg. Samuel also born 1794) but if you have any information to connect or disconnect any of the above your contact would be appreciated.

There are death records for a Samuel Goodall in the years 1801 to 1804 and for an Elizabeth and a Mary Goodall, both the wife of a Samuel Goodall, in the years 1797 to 1804.  Do they connect to our Goodall family ?  There is more follow up to be done on the possible deaths for Samuel, his wife and his children.

And another line still missing earlier history  . . . .

Joseph Le Petit (c.1740 – 1826) and brother Alexandre

Some family believe Joseph and his brother Alexandre fled from France during the French Revolution and first settled in Camden Town, London.  The story was that they “ran a small school in Paris, the school was for children of the French nobility and the School received a small subsidy from Louis XVI.  The French Revolution  began in 1789.  Joseph and Sarah had three or more children in England over the years 1764 – 1771 so they were well settled before the Revolution itself began.  Obviously there was still a connection for the family.  (Joseph and Sarah may have had other children of whom we are not presently aware.)

Brother Alexandre Le Petit is a mystery.  He supposedly remained in London when Joseph moved to Dublin, Ireland, but nothing else is known of him.  I have yet to find any definite records for Alexandre with various spellings of his names.

This information on their activity in France is from the recollections of Marianne Le Petit (1825 – 1907) and members of her family, courtesy of Marianne’s great great granddaughter, whose privacy I respect.  The information was generously shared and is greatly appreciated.  A precious gift for any family historian, thank you.

Can you add to Joseph & Alexandre Le Petit’s stories ?

A final note.  I had added a query on my great grandmother Mary Agnes Bridget Hinchin for whom I had no definite birth record and only her mother’s possible surname.  At the last moment I decided to do an Ancestry search as it was a little while since I had last checked for these records.  I was pleased to find new records and an Irish Catholic Parish Register record for Mary with her mother’s maiden name and her father’s name which we had not known.  Indeed another family query may have also just been resolved. 

So it is a timely reminder to keep checking online records as new records are being added all the time.