How many women are there in the Goddard family called Priscilla? Well I can tell you - loads!
Sadly few of them left us any evidence of their lives bar an entry in the parish registers, except for the woman I think of as Priscilla the First.
The name originated with Priscilla D'Oyley who married Edward Goddard on August 13, 1611, in the parish church of Stadhampton, five miles north of Wallingford in South Oxfordshire.
Priscilla was born in 1593, the daughter of John D'Oyley and his wife Ursula.
Edward and Priscilla lived at homes in Inglesham and Box where Priscilla died in 1681. There is a memorial to the Goddard couple in St Thomas a Becket Church, Box.
The Goddard family weathered the turmoil of the Civil War but like the St John family at Lydiard Park, they struggled with split loyalties. Edward was a Parliamentarian while his elder brother Thomas, Lord of the Manor of Swindon, was a Royalist and like the St Johns the war both divided yet protected the family and their assets.
Priscilla probably left a will, she might even have left letters, a diary, a book of recipes (as did Lady Johanna St John), but as yet I haven't been able to find anything. Like most women then, and even now, Priscilla is defined by her father, her husband and her children, especially the sons.
Priscilla had at least twelve children, three daughters (including one named Priscilla) and nine sons. Her seventh son, William, is described as a citizen of London and a member of the Worshipful Company of Grocers. However in 1665 business was not going well for William and some sources say he lost everything in the Great Fire of London.
The upshot of this was that William decided to set sail for New England to collect a debt owed to his mother-in-law. A sum of money had been loaned to Ephraim Childs, an early settler in Massachusetts, but had not been repaid. However, when William arrived at Watertown he discovered that Childs had died three years previously, so William decided to settle on the mortgaged lands belonging to Childs and so sent for his wife and three sons.
William and his wife Elizabeth raised a family of several sons and if we trace the family line through four generations we come to a marriage between Abigail Howe (Priscilla's 3 x great granddaughter) and John Hayden Young. John and Abigail lived in Whitingham, Vermont where they too raised a large family, but their son Brigham Young went even larger.
Brigham Young became the second President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (the Mormons). He married 55 times and had 56 children by 16 of his wives.
So even today Priscilla is defined not by her own life and achievements, but by her descendants, which makes me a little sad. I would like to know more about Priscilla Goddard, but meanwhile there are several women bearing her name that I have been able to find a little more about.
Brigham Young - second President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
Sadly few of them left us any evidence of their lives bar an entry in the parish registers, except for the woman I think of as Priscilla the First.
The name originated with Priscilla D'Oyley who married Edward Goddard on August 13, 1611, in the parish church of Stadhampton, five miles north of Wallingford in South Oxfordshire.
Priscilla was born in 1593, the daughter of John D'Oyley and his wife Ursula.
Edward and Priscilla lived at homes in Inglesham and Box where Priscilla died in 1681. There is a memorial to the Goddard couple in St Thomas a Becket Church, Box.
The Goddard family weathered the turmoil of the Civil War but like the St John family at Lydiard Park, they struggled with split loyalties. Edward was a Parliamentarian while his elder brother Thomas, Lord of the Manor of Swindon, was a Royalist and like the St Johns the war both divided yet protected the family and their assets.
Priscilla probably left a will, she might even have left letters, a diary, a book of recipes (as did Lady Johanna St John), but as yet I haven't been able to find anything. Like most women then, and even now, Priscilla is defined by her father, her husband and her children, especially the sons.
Priscilla had at least twelve children, three daughters (including one named Priscilla) and nine sons. Her seventh son, William, is described as a citizen of London and a member of the Worshipful Company of Grocers. However in 1665 business was not going well for William and some sources say he lost everything in the Great Fire of London.
The upshot of this was that William decided to set sail for New England to collect a debt owed to his mother-in-law. A sum of money had been loaned to Ephraim Childs, an early settler in Massachusetts, but had not been repaid. However, when William arrived at Watertown he discovered that Childs had died three years previously, so William decided to settle on the mortgaged lands belonging to Childs and so sent for his wife and three sons.
William and his wife Elizabeth raised a family of several sons and if we trace the family line through four generations we come to a marriage between Abigail Howe (Priscilla's 3 x great granddaughter) and John Hayden Young. John and Abigail lived in Whitingham, Vermont where they too raised a large family, but their son Brigham Young went even larger.
Brigham Young became the second President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (the Mormons). He married 55 times and had 56 children by 16 of his wives.
So even today Priscilla is defined not by her own life and achievements, but by her descendants, which makes me a little sad. I would like to know more about Priscilla Goddard, but meanwhile there are several women bearing her name that I have been able to find a little more about.
Brigham Young - second President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
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