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The earliest records of the Gooch family in the Tendring Hundred of north Essex are in Harwich where George Gouge is recorded as a mariner in 1634. Unfortunately the Harwich parish records are incomplete and it has not been possible to establish the line from George and his family to the 18th century.
However, from Richard & Thamar, whose first recorded child was born in 1695, an unbroken line can be traced to the present day. Richard was also a mariner and it is probable that he was George's grandson. Reflecting this, and to aid data presentation a “Hypothetical Gouge” has been used to link these two.
The line in Harwich died out towards the end of the 18th century but continued in the nearby villages of Bradfield, Wix and others. Early in the 19th century the name began to be recorded as “Gooch”, with a branch in Brightlingsea becoming “Googe” in about 1850. These two lines continue to the present day.
From the early 18th century the Goochs were employed in agriculture, most being labourers with one branch following the trade of thatcher. There are unfortunately very few independent records of the family; they did not own property or leave any wills There are however poor law settlement papers in existence recording the settlement of the brothers John & Daniel in Wix (1800) and the examination of Sarah in 1840, which resulted in her and two bastard children being a charge to the parish of Gt Bromley and residing in the Tendring Union House.
My own line decend directly from Daniel (Bradfield 1774- ) and the family continued as agricultural workers until my grandfather Artemas became a master baker. He opened a shop and bakehouse in Walton on Naze. In 2007 this shop is still trading under the name Lilley, but the name Gooch can still be seen on the wall of the premises.
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