goninan

The Goninan Family of Cornwall

Although there are earlier references in the Breage Church records to Goninans it's not until the 1690's that it is possible to begin to make sense of the family tree.

At that time there were two main families living in the Parish of Breage –

Edward and Annie who were married on the 18^th November 1695 (Annie's maiden name was Stephens) and John and Thomasin who were married on the 1^st August 1699 (Thomasin's maiden name was Williams). It seems likely that Edward and John were brothers. It seems almost certain that, regardless of the spelling, all Goninans alive today are descended from these two families.

Breage Parish Church

These two families produced the four main branches of the family, referred to for convenience as the Helston, St Just, Gwithian and Perranuthnoe branches.

Edward and Annie had the following children baptised at Breage Church :–

For the Helston line please follow this link - Helston Branch.

Members of the Perranuthnoe Branch are descended from John and Thomasin Goninan. For this line please follow this link - Perranuthnoe Branch

The St Just and Gwithian branches start with Richard, baptised 6^th January 1707. Richard married Ann Rawlings at St Just Parish Church on the 6^th July 1733. St Just is only a few miles from Breage and is on the rugged Atlantic coast. With the advent of steam power, St Just was then emerging as one of Cornwall's major tin mining areas. We think that Richard and Ann had eight children. They were all baptised at St Just except their son Richard who was baptised at Helston. The children and baptism dates are as follows:-

The St Just branch continues with the Richard born 1737 – please follow this link:- St Just Branch.

Remains of the Crown engine houses at Botallack near St Just

The Gwithian branch continues with Edward born 1749. He married Elizabeth Osborne on the 28^th Feb 1772 at St Just. Edward and Elizabeth had a son, Edward but Elizabeth died and probably the child also. Edward then married Margaret Rodda, again at St Just, on the 2^nd May 1774. Shortly after they must have moved to the Parish of Crowan because all of their children were baptised there. Crowan is near Camborne and was an important mining parish.

They had a least eight children but the first four of these died young:-

We are fortunate that in the case of the last child, Richard, the date of birth is recorded in the baptism register, which is unusual. Richard was the only surviving son and he married Mary Ann Tellam on the 17^th July 1810 at Camborne Parish Church. They both made their mark. Richard's occupation is given as miner. The witnesses were a Mary Richards and a John Gribbell.

Carn Brea Castle and the Monument. The Castle was not really a castle but at one time a hunting lodge for the local gentry. The Carn overlooks both Redruth and Camborne

Richard and Mary Ann Goninan had the following children:-

Gwinear Church

Edward - Edward married Catherine Williams at Camborne Church on the 24^th Feb 1834. Both were of Camborne Parish and both made their mark. Edward and Catherine had thirteen children (Edward, Elizabeth, Richard, John, John William, Elizabeth, William Henry, Matthew, Catherine, Catherine Jane, Eliza Ann, Emily and Mary Anna). They raised their family in Connor Downs. Edward was a miner. Sometime after 1861 they moved to Crane in Camborne. Catherine died on the 15^th Oct 1875. Edward remarried to Elizabeth Edwards at the Redruth Registry Office on the 13^th Nov 1878. Elizabeth was a spinster, age 51 of North Parade, Camborne. The witnesses were Emma and Eliza Edwards. Edward died on the 23rd July 1882 and was buried in Camborne Churchyard on the 27^th July. There is a headstone and remembered with him are Catherine, his daughter Emily and granddaughter Emily Hosking and also Elizabeth his second wife who died in 1885. Edward had a grandson, also Edward, who migrated to the USA. Gwinear Church.

Edward’s headstone in Camborne Churchyard was vandalised a few years ago but thanks to contributions from family members worldwide we were able to get it repaired and cleaned.

Richard-

Richard married Betsy Cock at Gwithian on the 12^th June 1834. They were both of Gwithian Parish and both made their mark. They had five children, Elizabeth, Mary Ann, two sons named Richard and another daughter, Jane. In 1841 the family was living at Connor Downs. Betsy died in 1844 and Richard married Maria Garterel at Phillack Church on the 28^th March 1845 (note the marriage cert reads Carterel but it is believed that Maria was a Gartrell and sister to Belinda who married Richard's brother, Matthew). Richard gave his age as 33 and he was a miner living at Connor Downs. Maria was a spinster, age 33, living in Hayle. Both made their mark. Her father's name was Benjamin. They had two children Richard and Louisa. In 1861 Richard , Maria and Louisa were living in Camborne (East Charles St) and Richard's occupation is given as a baker. Richard died on the 1^st July 1871 and was buried in Camborne Churchyard on the 4^th July.

Matthew -

In 1841 Matthew was living in Connor Downs. He married Belinda Gartrell on the 2^nd Nov 1845 at Gwithian Church. He gave his occupation as a farmer. Belinda was 30 and a spinster living in Connor Downs. Her father was Benjamin Gartrell, also a farmer. They had two children in Cornwall (Matthew Henry & John Gartrell) before they migrated in 1849 to the United States. They sailed on the ship 'Bark Marquis of Chandos' and arrived in New York on the 5^th May 1849. They had three more children (Matthew Henry, Benjamin and Louise).They built a house at Vinegar Hill in Iowa (deed dated 11^th May 1852) and then on the 21^st May 1855 bought 80 acres in Benton, Wisconsin. They subsequently moved to Iowa County in Wisconsin. The first Matthew Henry died in 1853 and is buried at Old Vinegar Hill cemetery just across the state border in Iowa. John also died at a young age, possibly on the voyage over. Matthew applied for US citizenship on the 15^th Jan 1856. Belinda died in 1868 and Matthew in 1883. Both are buried at the Providence Cemetery, near Hazel Green in Lafayette County, Wisconsin

Family members at the Wisconsin Gathering visit the grave of Matthew & Belinda.

Ann -

Ann was baptised at Crowan Parish Church on the 16^th Feb 1817. She married Thomas Williams at Gwithian Parish Church on the 17^th Nov 1835. They were both of Gwithian Parish and both made their mark. Children found to date are Elizabeth, Henry, Richard, William, Charles, Mary Anna, Grace and John.

William –

William married Grace Hosking on the 18^th July,1842 at St Just Parish Church. Grace was a spinster, age 21 living in Churchtown, St Just. Her father was John Hosking, a husbandman. William was also living in Churchtown, St Just and both made their mark. They settled with their family in Gwithian Parish and William was a miner all his life. He died in 1884 and was buried at Gwithian Church on the 20^th February. William and Grace had eleven children, one boy (William) and ten girls - Grace, Mary Jane, Ann, Elizabeth, Alice, Catherine Francis, Jennifer, Martha, Frances Hosking and Louisa. William jnr migrated to North America.

Godrevy Lighthouse off the Parish of Gwithian

Mary -

Mary married John Noble on the 6^th March 1840 at Gwithian Parish Church. Mary gave her age as 19 so she was probably born in 1820. John was a bachelor, aged 27 and a miner. His father was William Noble also a miner. Two children identified to date, John and Jane.

John -

In 1841 John was living at Connor Downs and in 1851 he was in Calstock as a copper miner. He married Elizabeth Thomas at Gwithian Parish Church on the 15^th Feb 1853. They were both living in Connor Downs. Elizabeth was 23, a spinster and her father, Thomas Thomas, was a miner. John and Elizabeth had four children, Elizabeth Mary, John, Amelia Martha and Richard. They migrated to Australia in 1857 with their first three children but John died there the following year. Elizabeth returned home to Cornwall. She would have been pregnant at the time and their last child, Richard, was born on the 25^th Jan 1859 in Camborne.

Henry -

Henry married Mary Ellis on the 12^th October, 1850 at St Ives Parish Church. Mary was a spinster living in St Ives and her father, Thomas Ellis, was a miner. Having tried America first, sometime around 1857 Henry went to Australia. Mary followed with their children in 1863 aboard the sailing ship 'Golden South' which arrived at Melbourne on the 26^th Feb 1863. They lived in Victoria and South Australia before settling in Tasmania. They had ten children, Henry, Richard, Mary, William and John Thomas born in Cornwall and Robert Richards, Edgar, Edward Francis, Robert Matthew and Wesley born in Australia. Henry died of T.B. on the 11^th Feb 1886 in Beaconsfield, Tasmania

Henry and Mary Goninan with four of their sons, Robert Matthew, Wesley, Edward Francis and front right, William

Jennifer -

Jennifer married John Chegwin, a miner of Angarrack on the 20^th August 1853 at Phillack Parish Church. John was 22 and a bachelor. They had a daughter Charity. They migrated to Moorhead, Minnesota where they homesteaded for a year or so. They found farming was not, as they had always thought, an easier occupation than mining, so they decided to move eastward to Hancock, Michigan where John found work at the Quincy Mine. Jennifer died there in 1884. Charity married Matthew Charles Kendall, a mine captain at the Quincy mine. They had 14 children.

For more information on the Goninan Family Tree contact John Saunders email:- lanner1970@outlook.com

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