Goodridge Genealogy

THE Goodridge Genealogy A History of the Descendants of WILLIAM GOODRIDGE Who Came to America from Bury St. Edmunds, England, in 1636 and Settled in Watertown, Massachusetts With Some Inquiry into the History of the Family in England and the Origin of the Same BY EDWIN ALONZO GOODRIDGE, A.M., M.D. PRIVATELY PRINTED NEW YORK 1918 Revised and Edited, and Supervised in the Printing BY LYMAN HORACE WEEKS Author of "Prominent Families of New York," "Book of Bruce," "An Historical Digest of the Provincial Press," Etc,, Etc. Lenz & Riecker, Inc., Printers New York, N. Y. To THE MEMORY OF WILLIAM GOODRIDGE, ESQ., the American Pioneer of 1636, this book is reverently and affectionately dedicated. This work has been printed and published and is now offered to the Goodridge family and to all interested in American genealogy as a fitting memorial of its originator and compiler DR EDWIN ALONZO GOODRIDGE through whose tireless enthusiasm and loving labor its production has been made possible. THE GOODRIDGE GENEALOGY is privately printed and published in a special edition limited to 275 copies. CONTENTS PAGE DEDICATION 3 MEMORIAL 4 EXPLANATIONS 8 PREFACE 11 EDITORIAL NOTE 15 INTRODUCTION . 19 THE ANGLO-SAXON . 27 THE GOODRIDGE NAME . 29 THE FAMILY IN ENGLAND 41 GoDRic CASTLE 48 BURY ST. EDMUNDS 55 THE FAMILY IN AMERICA 59 WATERTOWN, MASS. 65 WILLIAM GooDRIDGE AND Hrs DESCENDANTS FrnsT GENERATION 71 SECOND GENERATION 77 THIRD GENERATION' 84 FOURTH GENERATION 92 FIFTH GENERATION 108 SIXTH GENERATION 137 SEVENTH GENERATION 183 EIGHTH GENERATION 244 NINTH GENERATION 279 ADDENDUM . 286 AUTHORITIES CONSULTED 289 INDEX ONE. 295 INDEX Two 305 ILLUSTRATIONS PAGE PORTRAIT OF DR. EDWIN ALONZO GOODRIDGE Frontispiece GOODRIDGE ARMS opposite 24 GOODRIDGE ARMS opposite 44 GoDRic ( GooDRICH) CASTLE opposite 54 EXPLANATIONS On the following pages the Goodridge spelling of the family name has been adhered to generally. In a few instances the spelling Goodrich, bracketed, has been used in deference to the expressed wishes of some who have adopted that form. Where the usage of a particular branch has not been specifically indicated, the historical form Goodridge has been retained. Customary genealogical abbreviations are: b,=born. d.=died. m.=married. bapt.=baptized. int. } =Publication of marriage intentions. pub. dau.=daughter. res.=residence. gr.=grand or great. PREFACE EDITORIAL NOTE INTRODUCTION PREFACE OR a long time there has been an ardent desire on the part of many members of the Goodridge fam ily for a definite and _ad~quate history of the cl~n, • _ from its meagre begmnmg, through a struggling growth, to the influential position in civic and religious life, which it now occupies. In the endeavor of the writer to satisfy this demand many obstacles have been met. The meagreness of the record, which our forefathers thought it necessary to keep of their doings, is amazing. Women and children were often unnoticed and fathers and mothers by no means adequately. They had no thought for a posterity eager to know every detail. They were struggling for exist ence, and had little time to make records. The work of collecting and tabulating the William Good ridge genealogy was begun by the writer some twenty-five years ago, but owing to pressure of other affairs it was not advanced rapidly. During the last five or six years a great amount of time has been given to it; especially in traveling over much of this country and England in pursuit of in formation. All the large libraries and many of those in the smaller New England towns have been visited. The labor has been considerable and the expense not small, but it has been a constant pleasure and, since this book is a love-off er ing, costing the family only for printing, binding and dis tribution, perhaps its errors and inadequate detail may not be regarded too severely. Many defects exist in it, some charge able to correspondents, some to the printer, but more, we fear, to the compiler. It would be difficult, perhaps, even for the most experienced gleaner to gather and tabulate such a mass of material without manual lapse or error of state ment. To this task the writer has given diligent, laborious, enthusiastic effort. If he has not succeeded to the satisfac- 12 GOODRIDGE GENEALOGY tion of all, his failure may be charged to fraility of judg ment and inadequate ability; certainly not to failure in hon est endeavor, unclouded by prejudice or preconception. It is only fair to ask that in estimating the value of the work that has been accomplished criticism may be tempered by for bearance and patience. On ensuing pages the controlling characteristics and national life of the Anglo-Saxon before the migration in 449 A. D. have been given in brief outline, with some notice of his progress and achievement, both antedating and subse quent to the establishment of the Plymouth Bay and Massa chusetts Bay colonies on our shores. The social life and position of the family over the sea are reviewed, followed by notice of the Goodridge name and how it came to have, out of a common source, various orthographies, and, lastly, an attempt at solution of some of the perplexing problems which surround the name in this country. It is a pleasant duty to mention here the hearty and responsive interest manifested in this work almost by the whole family, now of large proportions. Sense of obligation to many members for great favors is not easy to convey in a sentence. Responses from correspondents over the entire country, and in foreign lands as well, have been spontaneous and cordial, and the aggregation of knowledge thus acquired has been far beyond expectations. Not infrequently appeals have revealed information which had been supposed irre trievably lost. This cordial responsiveness has rendered it possible to make this history far more nearly complete than had been expected or even hoped. Where all have done so much, it may seem unappreciative not to mention all, but since this would be impossible, a general acknowledgment must suffice for each to accept as personal. Embarrassment and labor incident to the work have been greatly increased by confusion and errors resulting from the tendency of commentators to read into their writings forms of orthography that were never in original records. This may flatter family pride and seem to promote historic con tinuity of patronymic, but it is not the legitimate purpose of genealogy. On the following pages the constant aim has been to give names as used by the original possessor, or as PREFACE 13 found in original documents. This has necessitated frequent reference to the work of others and has brushed away or contradicted much unauthorized statement, or orthography employed by them. But truth rather than promotion of name orthography is the only safe course to pursue. Thus we ad vance historic accuracy and enlarge the volume of reliable knowledge. As a rule female lines have not been carried beyond the particular generation into which a woman was born. This method promotes clearness, as it is more desirable to classify women with families to which they become allied by marriage. Also it is impossible to avoid confusion or even inaccuracy, in multiplying, to any considerable extent, names foreign to the main family. Nevertheless some women have made such important contributions to this work that the presentation of at least a moderate exhibit of their individual lines has been no less a pleasure than a duty, for to have omitted all reference to their immediate descendants would have been manifestly unjust. The uniform orthography of Goodridge has been adopted, notwithstanding that we are descended from the great English family of Goodricke, and that some in this country have changed the spelling to Goodrich. We have been unable to find a single instance in the early records of 7 Watertown and Boston in which Goodridge, or some slight modification of this form, was not employed. The adoption of this one form seems necessary in order to avoid confusion and inaccuracy. The labor and prolonged research, often in volved in tracing broken lines and supplying connecting links is beyond belief. This labor is greatly increased by changed orthography. In some instances we have been unable to de cide whether a given name was of the Connecticut or the Massachusetts family and therefore, most regretfully, have been compelled to leave it out, for we attempt only the gene alogy of the descendants of William Goodridge of Water town. It must not be forgotten that these old records, widely scattered, are often faulty in some vital particulars, as in spelling or in the year or month or day, possibly all, or in the name itself. In cases where the records are conflicting 14 GOODRIDGE GENEALOGY as to some individual, we have adopted that which seemed to be most probably correct, sometimes, but not always, giv ing the one not employed. With all its imperfections, and omissions, it is hoped that this attempt to collect the family records under one cover may prove of interest to a wide circle of descendants of William Goodridge and helpful also to those who may wish to affiliate with societies based upon Colonial or Revo lutionary anct'!stry. EDWIN ALONZO GooDRIDGE. New York, 1915. EDITORIAL NOTE ■ EFORE Dr. Edwin Alonzo Goodridge died, in 1916, he had practically brought his labors upon the history of the descendants of William Goodridge to a successful conclusion-the culmination of an ambition that had largely engrossed his attention and com manded his talent for research during many years in the lat ter part of a busy professional life. The entire field within the limits of the undertaking, as projected by him, had been covered exhaustively, carefully and in a scholarly manner, and, on the whole, the result was as thorough, complete and sound as enthusiastic application, unwearying endeavor and historical acumen could make it.

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