GOODERHAM - HISTORY

Gooderham>Phillips >Turner>Paul Turner

When I began this web site I had very little ancestry information on the Gooderham family; other than they were from England and that they were of the Gooderham & Worts of Toronto. Over the years, through research and cousins, I was able to trace the family back to Scole, Norfolk, England. My first big break came from Robert (Bob)/(Harp) Phillips Wright who gave me a copy of a Gooderham Tree. This 'tree' was a single 8^1/2 by 14" page and was copy of a copy to the ⁿth time. It was a reasonably completed tree and thus a great help. From this, I was able to make more headway with the family members. Two email cousins; Donna Weppler and Elaine Hultquist, found this site and provided me with more material.

Recently, in March, 2004, I found a reference to a book that covered the descendants of John Gooderham and Elizabeth Cobb. Through my search I had found this union; but, had really no extra proof that they were the originals. I ordered a copy of the book through the Inter-Library Loan system and found that it was researched, compiled and published by Edward Enright. Edward Enright's book is titled: "THE COLLATERAL DESCENDANTS OF: JOHN GOODERHAM 1712-1787 AND ELIZABETH COBB 1718-1798 OF SCOLE, NORFOLK, ENGLAND" As of, May 2005, this book is out of print and no longer available from the author but you should be able to obtain a copy through the library.

After contacting Edward, he told me that he had spent about 5 years doing the research and finally produced the book of 110+ pages in a very detailed descendant narrative form in Dec, 2004. Edward has followed many of the descendants and their families and associated families. Reference to Edward Enright and his book are referred as 'Enright' or ^* on these pages. There are many descendant lines in the book that are not included on this site. I have only included the descendants which I knew about or have been given to me by cousins.

ENGLAND

An article that was sent to me by Gay Gooderham, appears to have been prepared by a descendent - perhaps. the last name or a descendant of the Gooderham/Beatty lineage - and was issued to a possible reunion of the family in 1984 (Does anyone know who prepared this essay?)

'JUST AN ORDINARY FAMILY'
excerpts

According this essay, the Gooderham and Worts families were located on farms on the Waveney River which separates the Norfolk and Suffolk borders of England. The Gooderham family was in the Scole, Suffolk locale and the Worts family was of Bungay, Norfolk. (Another email friend who is researching her Worts connection has mentioned that the borders of Norfolk and Suffolk have changed from time to time and that Bungay may have been in Sufrfolk. The Wortses are known to have been in Bungay, Norfolk. No exact connection has been made at this time between the two Worts families). They had, like others of the area, constructed windmills for the milling of grain. William Gooderham and his good friend, James Worts, were farming and at one point both were in the Royal York Ranger unit which helped in the capture of the islands of Martinique and Guadalups during the Napoleonic Wars. William maintained his relationship with the military and apparently made considerable money with the job of recruiting.

In the early 1830s the two families heard that the town of York (now Toronto), Canada had no mills in the town and so because of this and other reasons some of the family members decided to immigrated to Canada. James Worts, in1831, was the first to leave. The others followed in 1832.

From the Gooderham Tree, the first known was James Gooderham [1757-1820] of Scole. Since Enright's book and my search both point to John Gooderham and Elizabeth Cobb then I fully believe that our James Gooderham is one of their sons. John & Elizabeth's issues were: Elizabeth, Thomas, Mary, John, William, James, Charles and Sarah. From these children their following children are known to have immigrated to Canada in 1832.

Of Thomas's family; issues, Thomas, settled in Middlesex Co., Ontario
Of James's family;    issues, William, settled in York Co., Ontario
                                                  Ezekiel, settled in Scarborough, Ontario
                                                  Elizabeth, settled in Toronto, Ontario

James and his son James Worts scouted ahead and arrived in 1831. He took lodging on Ontario St, Toronto and constructed a stone grist-mill using wind power at the mouth of the Don River. Then in 1832, Ezekiel arrived at Toronto with the the remainder of the families possibly quarantined at the cities of Quebec or Montreal due to the 1832 cholera epidemic. When the final party arrived they had with them 11 additional children whose parents had died on board the ship Anne. The family assumed responsibility for the children but not adopted. What became of these 11 children is unknown. The firm of Worts & Gooderham, millers, began in July, 1832. Thomas, William, Ezekiel and Elizabeth emigrated from England to Canada and of these immigrants William, Ezekiel and Elizabeth were married prior to their departure from England. William, according to Enright, had married Elizabeth Thrift and then married Harriet Tovell Herring of which second marriage we knew. Ezekiel had married Harriet Juby and Elizabeth was married to James Worts.

All but Ezekiel became involved with the milling business and soon they used the excess grain in the making of whiskeys. Ezekiel decided to maintain the farming aspect of the family and he had farmed in Scarborough, Ontario on the eastern boundary of Toronto. The distillers had their business at the mouth of the Don River on the eastern edge of Toronto. They had at one time their own windmill and distillery, wharf and a small fleet of schooners. Through various deaths the distillery business became the Gooderham & Worts Company, c.1845. There are numerous web sites where information about the business and family may be found. I have just provided the overviiew.

The Gooderham & Worts families are the originators of the Gooderham & Worts Distillery at Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

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Gerry Gooderham - Website: - http://grg.www2.onlink.net/GOODERHAM%20HISTORY.htm