2:1 Golding of Suffolk
Thomas “of Grey’s Cavendish” Golding
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Thomas, the son of Robert "of Glemsford" Golding, was born about 1450 and he died February 13, 1504 in Cavendish, Suffolk, England. He married twice and his first wife was Agnes Letton, born about 1438 and died in an unknown year, probably in Cavendish, Suffolk although that is not certain. Agnes Letton and Thomas Golding were married about 1450 but the only source is the U.S. and International Marriage Records and that only gives their names and no date. They had two children that I am aware of and their names were Joanne and Roger.
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Joanne, the daughter of Thomas Golding and Agnes Letton married into the Coe family and she moved to Gestingthorpe where that family was centered. Roger Golding, the son of Thomas Golding and Agnes Letton married Alice Upcher and their son was Thomas "of Poslingford" Golding. It was through him that the connection through marriage was established with the Gosnold family, who were to be so instrumental in the establishment of Jamestown in Virginia.
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The Visitation of Essex 1558
The family of Thomas Golding is listed in the 1558 Visitations of Essex. The visitation outlined the ancestry of Thomas's second wife, Elizabeth Worthey who was the daughter of John Worthy of Halsted and Elizabeth Warner, the heiress of John Warner of Halsted in Essex
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The children of Thomas "of Cavendish" Gouldinge were:
1. John Goldinge m his first (1st) wife Ursula Merston. Their children were:
a. Henry Goldinge m Alice Clovyll
b. Arthur
c. George
d. Edmund
e. Mary m Unk Roche or Rocke of Barkshire
f. Frances m Mathew Bacon
g. Dorothy m Dawcra
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John Goldinge m as his (2nd) second wife Elizabeth Stowe (or Towe). Their children were:
a. Sir Thomas Golding m Elizabeth Roydon
b. William - the second son
c. Elizabeth m Roger Wingfield
d. Margery m John Vere Earl of Oxford
2. Roger - Misc Essex Pedigrees
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The will of Thomas Golding of Grey’s Cavendish
Thomas Golding left a will and it was published in Louis Thorn Golding's book An Elizabethan Puritan on page 229.
In the name of God Amen the 5th day of January in the year of our Lord 1504 and the 20th year of the Reign of King Henry the VIIth THOMAS GOLDING of Cavendish in the Diocese of NORWICH whole in mind and in good and perfect remembrance being thanked be Almighty God make and ordein this my present testament and last will in manner and form hereafter following:
First I bequeath my soul unto the blissful Tent of our lady Saint Mary and to all the holy company of heaven. My body to be buried in the churchyard of Cavendish. Which doon I will that all my debts in the which to any manner person or persons of right I am bound be faithfully and wholly paid into discharge of my soul.
Also I bequeath unto the high altar of the same church into recompense for my tithes or offerings by me negligently withdrawn or forgotten.
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The above will of Thomas Golding was dated at Cavendish, Suffolk on 5 Jan 1504/05 and was probated on 13 February 1504/05. It mentions Agnes "that was my wife" and in addition makes mention of seven daughters: Joane Coe, Alice Barker, Margery Strut, Johane Crisale, Agnes Smyth, Kateryn Golding and Johane Goldyng to each of whom was left 20 pounds as well as three sons named Roger Golding, John Golding, and Thomas Golding. It is of course to be assumed from this information that Agnes Letton was dead and Elizabeth Worthy survived him because he refers to her as "my present wife, Elizabeth."
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The Coe Family and their connection to the Golding family
Joane Golding is named in her father’s will and she is referred to as Joane Coe. At a later date in the will of John Coe, it is apparent that his wife Joane (nee Golding) had been previously married, either, to one Sewall by whom she had a son Thomas Sewall, or to, some other person by whom she had a daughter Rose married to Thomas Sewall. Some features of the will of John Coo, suggest that his wife Joane (nee Golding) was a second wife of John Coo but it is certain that Joane Golding was the mother of the children of John Coo: John Coo and Joane Golding Coo. John the Elder was born about 1490.
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Robert Coe the Puritan was a descendant of Joanne Golding
One of the descendants of this line of the Coe family was Robert Coe the Puritan. Like many of his generation he was part of the Great Migration of immigrants from England who were fleeing from religious persecution. He sought that freedom in New England, and the causes that led up to the mass exodus to that place have their origins in the Reformation and it's eventual aftermath. The Act of Supremacy that terminated Papal authority in England and established the Protestant Church lasted until the time of Philip and Mary (1554-1558) when the Papal authority was temporarily restored and attempts were made to crush out Protestantism. The dungeons were crowded with victims and nearly three hundred martyrs, among them Roger Coe of Suffolk, were burned at the stake for their beliefs.
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During the reign of Elizabeth I there grew and spread among some Protestants a desire for a simpler form of religion with independent congregations and even a separation of church and state. These dissenters became known as the Puritans and Separatists and in spite of persecutions to enforce conformity to the established church they increased rapidly in numbers, principally among the middle class and particularly in Essex and Suffolk. Under King James I and Charles I the persecution of the Puritans became so oppressive that it induced an emigration between 1620 and 1643 as some twenty-five thousand went to New England where they could practice their religion unmolested. Of these colonists, nearly two thirds were from Essex and Suffolk. Robert Coe became the Puritan ancestor of most of the Coes in America. In 1643 the Puritan party secured control of the English government, the persecutions ended and emigration to New England virtually ceased. (Bartlett, 1911)
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It has been recorded that Rev. Thomas Goulding was one of them, but to date I have found no real evidence to support the various references that state he came to New England in 1635 to establish the town of Worchester, Massachusetts. That of course does not mean it isn’t true; it just means I have not found his name on any of the ship’s records going to that particular destination. Robert Coe on the other hand was traveling with several families on the Francis that have a known connection to the Golding family of Suffolk, namely the Hammonds.
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Traveling on the ship “Francis” (This source is from The Founders of New England, n.d.)
Last Name First Name Age
Coe Robert Head 38
Coe Anna Wife of Robert 43
Coe John Child of Robert 8
Coe Robert Child of Robert 7
Coe Benjamin Child of Robert 5
Hammond Elizabeth 47
Hammond Elizabeth Child of Elizabeth 15
Hammond Sarah Child of Elizabeth 10
Hammond John Child of Elizabeth 7
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The Francis departed Ipswich, Suffolk, England bound for New England on the last day of April 1634.
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The full list of passengers:
John Beetes, William Haulton, Nicholas Hennings, William Westwoode and Bridgett his wife, Cleare Drap, Robert Rose and Margaret his wife, John Bernard and Mary his wife, William Shrebourne and Mary his wife, Anthony White, Edward Bugbee and Rebecca his wife, Abraham and Frances Newell, Just Houlding, John Pease, Robert Winge and Judith his wife, John Greene, Robert Pease, HUGH MASON (28) and Hester his wife, Rowland and Sarah Stebing, Thomas and Alice Sherwood, Thomas King, John Mapes, Mary Blosse, ROBERT AND ANNA COE, Mary Onge, Thomas Boyden, Richard Wattlin, John Lyuermore, RICHARD AND MARY PEPY, Richard Houlding, Judeth Garnett, ELIZABETH HAMOND and Thurston Clearke. (This source is from The Founders of New England, n.d.)
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Several families are so interconnected with the Golding family of Suffolk and Essex that they warrant separate chapters. In addition to the Coe family are the Bacon family of Suffolk, the Ripleys of Yorkshire and others.
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Of the daughters Margery, Alice, Joan, Agnes and Katherine Golding, little is known.
i. Alice married a man named Barker. The Barker family are connected by marriage to the Bacon and the Hill families but I have as yet been unable to find out exactly who this man named Barker was.
ii. Margery married an Unknown Strutt. This name is not unknown in the lineage of the Golding family.
iii. Johane married a man named Crisale.
iv. Agnes married a man named Smyth. Essex Wills, The Archdeaconry Courts, 1577-1584 by F.G. Emmison, 1987 gives some information about Agnes Golding, who was born in an unknown year and died in 1578 in Aveley, Thurrock, Essex, England. She is buried in St Michael Churchyard in Aveley. The following is from page 15:"Agnes Smyth of Aveley widow [gave a nuncupative will] 15 Sep., 20 Eliz. [1578].
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“Being demanded by goodwife Doonne who should have her goods, whether Pecocke her son or her daughter Beamonde, she answered 'No'; then being demanded again whether Katherine wife of Henry Creswell should have her goods, she answered 'No'; being further asked who should have the same, she answered 'This girl should have them', who stood then by her, being daughter of Henry Creswell. Witnesses: goodwife Joyceson, the wife of William Donne, goodwife Langley in the house of Henry Creswell. [No probate clause]." (Agnes Smyth, n.d.)
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This gives the name of her sister Katherine’s husband as Henry Creswell and makes the statement that she left all of her worldly goods to the daughter of her sister Katherine. It is to be assumed that Agnes and her husband Smythe did not have any children, or that her children were all dead by the time of her death.
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The Poslingford and the Essex lines of the Golding family
Thomas “of Grey’s Cavendish” and his wife Agnes Letton had a son named Roger “of Grey’s Cavendish”. He married Alice Upcher and had two sons named Thomas and John. Thomas went to Poslingford in Essex and John was of Belchamp. These two sons both married daughters of the Gosnold family and it is through them that the direct connection to the settlement of Jamestown, Virginia is established.
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Thomas “of Grey’s Cavendish” married a second time to Elizabeth Worthy, the daughter of John Worthy and Elizabeth Warner and they had a son named John “of Essex” Golding. It is through him that the line leading to Arthur Golding the Translator was established.
Each of these two distinct family lines are explored in separate chapters.
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References
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Agnes Smyth. (n.d.). Retrieved from Find a Grave: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/66226743/agnes-smyth
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Bartlett, J. G. (1911). Robert Coe, puritan; his ancestors and descendants, 1340-1910. Published in Boston: https://archive.org/details/robertcoepuritan00bart. Retrieved from https://archive.org/details/robertcoepuritan00bart
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The Founders of New England, p. 5. (n.d.). Passenger list of the Ship Francis (1634). Retrieved from WikiTree: https://www.wikitree.com/photo/jpg/Freeborn-13