Birth and Christening
Our limited knowledge of the life of Thomas Good starts with his christening in 1810 at Saint Peters Daniel Street Wesleyan church in Portsea. He was christened at the same time as his brother William and was almost five years old at the time. The christening record has his birth date of November 10, 1810., else we should not likely know it. Not evident here is the fact that he and William were born in Plymouth and the christening indicates that the family moved to Portsea sometime between May of 1812 and August of 1815. It is possible that the time of the move was closer to the latter date as one of the activities a new couple in a community does is to join a church as a way of entering the community. Interestingly, the church joined was the Wesleyan Church. Thomas' parents, Moses and Elizabeth [nee Brown] had been married in the established church but Moses had been christened, and presumably raised in the non-conformist church.
Marriage to Martha Barnes
IGI
| Thomas GOOD | |||
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Sex: | M | |
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| Marriage(s): | ||
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Spouse: | Martha BARNES |
| Marriage: | 24 Aug 1833 | |
| Saint Marys, Portsea, Hampshire, England | ||
There is an IGI listing for the christening of a Martha Barnes on 10 April, 1805, the daughter of Charles Barnes. The listing does not include a mother's name. It appears likely that this listing is for the future wife of Thomas. We will see in the 1861 census that his wife Martha was born in Portsea and is 55 years old; the census was taken just before 10 April, so the age and the location match. Given that Martha was married in this church and that there are no other Martha Barnes christenings at this time, it is highly likely that this is the correct entry. I have not seen the original document and can only speculate as to the reason no mother is listed -- perhaps she died in childbirth?
1861 Census
The Thomas Good family was living at 5 Union Street at the time of the 1861 census. An excerpt from the census roles, for the family, appears below:
Name |
Age |
Occupation |
Where Born |
Thomas Good |
50 |
Registry(?) to Town Office |
Devon, Plymouth |
Martha do. |
55 |
Wife |
Hants, Portsea |
Sarah do. |
22 |
School Mistress |
do. |
Martha do. |
20 |
School Mistress |
do. |
| Sophia do. | 18 | School Mistress | do. |
| Thomas do. | 15 | Dentist Ap | do. |
Children
A search of the IGI for christenings allows us to list the children of Thomas and Martha. In addition to those shown in the 1861 census there is one more daughter Sarah born in 1834 who presumably died before 1839 when the second Sarah was born. We do not see any christenings for children born between 1834 and 1839. It is quite likely that there were other pregnancies but perhaps no children were born.
Children of Thomas Good and Martha Barnes
| Name | Date/Place of christening[1] | Date/Place of Birth[2] | Married to | Date of Death | Place of Death |
| Sarah | 14 Dec 1834, High Street-Presbyterian Or Unitarian, Portsmouth, Hampshire, England | about 1834, Portsea | before 1839 | Portsea | |
| Sarah | 3 Jan 1841, High Street-Presbyterian Or Unitarian, Portsmouth, Hampshire, England | 1839, Portsea | Thomas Baker, 15 January 1862, Portsea, St. Marys[1] | ||
| Martha Jemima | 3 Jan 1841, High Street-Presbyterian Or Unitarian, Portsmouth, Hampshire, England | 1841, Portsea | Alfred Pope, 10 Mar 1863, Portsea[1] | aft 1881[2] | |
| Sophia | 10 Aug 1845, High Street-Presbyterian Or Unitarian, Portsmouth, Hampshire, England | 1843, Portsea | unmarried in 1881[2] | aft 1881[2] | |
| Thomas | 10 Aug 1845, High Street-Presbyterian Or Unitarian, Portsmouth, Hampshire, England | 1846, Portsea | Elizabeth ?, 1870[3] | June 18, 1901[4] | Portsea[4] |
Sources:
[1] IGI
[2] 1861 census
[3] FreeBMD
[4] Obituary, Hampshire Telegraph, 22 june 1901
| Sarah GOOD | |||
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Sex: | F | |
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| Event(s): | ||
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Christening: | 14 Dec 1834 |
| High Street-Presbyterian Or Unitarian, Portsmouth, Hampshire, England | ||
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| Parents: | |||
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Father: | Thomas GOOD | |
| Mother: | Martha | ||
| Sarah GOOD | |||
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Sex: | F | |
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| Event(s): | ||
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Christening: | 3 Jan 1841 |
| High Street-Presbyterian Or Unitarian, Portsmouth, Hampshire, England | ||
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| Parents: | |||
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Father: | Thomas GOOD | |
| Mother: | Martha | ||
| Martha Jemima GOOD | |||
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Sex: | F | |
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| Event(s): | ||
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Christening: | 3 Jan 1841 |
| High Street-Presbyterian Or Unitarian, Portsmouth, Hampshire, England | ||
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| Parents: | |||
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Father: | Thomas GOOD | |
| Mother: | Martha | ||
| Sophia GOOD | |||
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Sex: | F | |
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| Event(s): | ||
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Christening: | 10 Aug 1845 |
| High Street-Presbyterian Or Unitarian, Portsmouth, Hampshire, England | ||
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| Parents: | |||
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Father: | Thomas GOOD | |
| Mother: | Martha | ||
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Death
The FreeBMD website lists the death in Portsea, Jan- Mar of 1873, of a Thomas Good, age 62. This is very likely our Thomas Good. The age is correct and our Thomas Good does not appear in the 1881 census. We can fairly safely conclude (to be substantiated by examining the death record) that this entry records his death. The same source gives the death of a Martha Good, aged 68, in the first quarter of 1874. This age is correct for the wife of Thomas and she does not appear in the 1881 census.
last modified 29 January 2002