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Mrs Hannah GOULD has joined the ranks of the Weston Worthies as the 13th one to be posted. Apart from GOULD she is connected with the following surnames: BEACHAM, BURGE, DRISSLE, GANE, JONES, LIGHT, NEATHWAY, TOOP, VOWLES, and WATTS Are you connected with Hannah in any way?

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Submitted by on Tue, 17/11/2020 - 18:09

I am not related to Weston Worthy No. 13 Hannah Gould (1761-1844) but I have carried out research for my friend John Gould whose paternal 4xgreat-grandfather, William Gould (c1757-1822), married Hannah Beacham at St John the Baptist church, Weston-super-Mare, on 22 February 1786. The couple had seven children, all born in Weston.

William featured in Ernest Baker's 1822 publication "Historical Notes about the Village of Weston” which included notes of interviews he conducted with various elderly Weston residents. The relevant piece states that "Every day at sunset old William Gould's geese, headed by the gander, would march in from the fields and enter the pen of their own accord. Gould lived in a nearby cottage, and he could often be seen sitting at the door, with his wooden leg thrust out, as he busily plucked geese, often causing a miniature snowstorm down the street"!

William was buried at St John's on 8th June 1822 and left a detailed will which was made on 20 May 1822, only two weeks before William was buried. It therefore seems likely that William decided to make a will because he knew that he was shortly going to die. The will was proven on 27 September 1822 with Hannah being one of the executors. Under the terms of the will, William's house was left to Hannah with the requirement that after her death it should be sold and the proceeds divided up and passed to several of their children. The latter did not include eldest son, William, to whom fishing rights, rods and other fishing materials were left on condition that he should pay £5 per year to his mother, Hannah, for the rest of her life. John Gould, of Milton, a brother of the deceased, was named as a trustee in the will.

The paintings of the Weston Worthies were produced after William's death and so Hannah was a widow when she was painted. She had been born in Worle, but was buried at St John's on 6th September 1844.

William and Hannah's first born son, William Gould (1793-1826), married Ann Vowles at St John's in 1812 and had a son, Edward/Edwin Gould (1816-87), who was the father of my friend's great-grandfather, James Henry Gould, born in Weston in 1845. Like so many people from Somerset in the nineteenth century, James moved to south Wales (in his case, via Bristol) in the 1870s. He died in 1908 in Cardiff where my friend is from and I, a Londoner, now live.

Another of William and Hannah's children - and another of the Weston Worthies - was Ann/Nancy Gould (1786-1861) who married James Burge in Weston in March 1809. Pat Hase's report on the Burge Family - Weston Worthies 04, 05 and 06 - provides much more information, as does an article in the February 2010 issue of Buckets & Spades.

I hasten to add that much of the information I obtained was supplied to me directly or indirectly by Pat Hase and also Society Life Member Brian Austin who were ever so helpful during my research.

Peter

Submitted by Pat Hase on Tue, 17/11/2020 - 23:43

Thank you Peter for the added information about the GOULD family. If anyone else can add to any of the Weston Worthy Profiles I would be happy to receive your comments. They can be seen at http://www.wsmfhs.org.uk/places_view.php?nID=69

Submitted by on Fri, 20/11/2020 - 0:54

I was delighted to read this latest article because Hannah GOULD (nee BEACHAM) and her husband William GOULD were my 5 x Great Grandparents :) So thank you so much for this wonderful research! It has been especially lovely to get such rich details about their life in their cottage which I just imagine what with all the feathers flying about and my 5 X Great Grandfather's wooden leg! I also loved reading on your article Pat, that after William GOULD's death, Hannah was living as a widow along with her granddaughter Maria JONES who, at the age of 13, was living with her as her servant, because Maria JONES was my 3 X Great Grandmother! You describe her as living next door to a tailor. This is interesting because when Maria JONES grew up, she married my 3 x Great Grandfather Sidney JONES who was also a tailor. He had been born in Nether Stowey but moved to Weston, I believe to take up an apprenticeship, so perhaps that's how they met :)

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