The GOWDY Family
in Canada
Submitted by Ron Lee Goudy
The name spelling is of little consequence as
in my research I have found it spelled several ways. For my records I have settled on
GOUDY.
My information tends to focus on a Canadian branch, although it splintered and part moved
to Missouri in the late 1800's.
As for my Irish connection it goes back to Northern Ireland. Religion could be
significant. This branch were all protestant, which probably means that were from Scotland
at one time (1500's) and moved to Ireland at the time of Oliver Cromwell. I gather most of
the Goudys were from the north.
THE GOUDYS
The search of the Goudy (Gowdy) family in Ireland is hindered because civil registration
of all births, deaths and marriages did not begin until 1864, however, non-catholic
marriages were registered after 1845. Before that time the only records kept were in
churches.
Church records were kept in most parishes, the ones to our history ( along with most Irish
records) were destroyed by fire in Dublin in 1921, during the Irish rebellion, where all
church records had been gathered for copying and safe- keeping! A few churches did copy
their records before sending them to Dublin but they are the exception. Some civil and
land records do remain. For this reason it is not possible to extend our search back
beyond Warren Alexander Titus Goudy (44).
The early information about the Goudys in Ireland is taken from records in the
Kingston Ontario Public Library which relate the memories of an Arthur Goudy, the
great-great grandson of Alexander Warren Titus (44) as recalled in 1947, and a search of
available records by the Ulster Historical Foundation in 1997. ( A copy of this Ulster
report is in the files of R. Lee of Ottawa. ). Dates quoted in the two sources do not
always match, so the ones used here are those from the Official Ulster report,
as the ones in Kingston are from an oral history, more than a hundred years old, at the
time of writing. Memories do fade and stories change.
Alexander Warren Titus Goudy (44) was born in the County Down, Township of Bellymaghof,
Parish of Cumber, five miles from Belfast Ireland about 1760. His father may have been a
John Goudy, born about 1735, but this cannot be confirmed. He and a brother, William, were
both schoolmasters. Alexander Warren Titus Goudy married Mary McKibbon (45) from near
Belfast about 1808. They had five children: Mary, Jane, Margaret, John, and Alexander
(73). Alexander, the eventual connection to the Lee family, was also born in Cumber
Parish. Alexander Warren Titus, the father, died 6 January 1828, age 66, leaving Mary a
young widow. Considering he married Mary McKibbon about 1808, he must have married in his
late forties, while Mary would have been much younger,
considering their last child Jane (74) was born about 1820, well within Marys child
bearing age at the time of her husbands death.
Alexander Warren Titus Goudy is buried in Tullnakill graveyard, parish of Tullynakill,
which is a neighbouring parish to Comber. His sons John (72) and Alexander (73) erected a
gravestone, which still stands in 1997, and notes he died 6 January 1828 at the age of 66.
After Alexander's death, Mary McKibbon (Goudy) his widow, sailed to Canada with the
children except John, who stayed in Ireland. John would have been about 20 at the time.
This move may not have happened until 1834.
She crossed the Atlantic, in a sailing vessel from Belfast, which took six weeks to cross.
During the voyage daughter Jane died of smallpox and was buried at sea. A qualified guess
is that Jane was about ten when she died. The name of the ship they travelled on is not
known, nor is their port of arrival, as few records of immigrate passengers were kept at
the time. The infamous immigration facility at Gross Ile Quebec did not open until 1832,
but if Mary travelled after that date and passed through the facility she is not listed in
records available at Gross Ile. We do not know where Mary settled at first, but she
eventually moved to Moscow Ontario. (Moscow was settled in the early 1820's.) There is
some indication she may have at first moved to Portland Township near Wilton/Harrowsmith
Ontario as two of her sons settled in that area.
It is surprising that a widowed mother would immigrate to Canada on her own. Mary's
immigration was well before the potato famine, so she must have had other reasons to pick
up and leave Ireland. There are hints in the Ulster Research Report that the family may
have been reasonably well-off. However, adding to the puzzle, a Mary Goudy (McKibbon)
collected Poor Money from the church in Tullynakill from 1828 to 1834 after
which her name disappears, perhaps indicating her year of immigration.
The Tithe Applotment Books of about 1830 for Comber Parish, show that a John Goudy farmed
over 40 acres in the townland of Ballyrush.(It can not be proven that this was our John.
In fact, our John would have been only about 20 at the time) This was certainly not an
inconsiderable holding by the standards of the day.
Mary may have consolidated her assets after the death of her husband and immigrated so
that the children could obtain land in Canada, which was becoming scarce in Ireland. This
was a common practice in Ireland at the time. But Mary may not have been immigrating
blindly. There were many Irish settlements in Camden and Portland Townships north of
Kingston at the time she arrived.
Chain immigration, the practice of people following in the footsteps of relatives, or
friends, was common in those days and Mary could have been following this pattern. There
is no information on the death of Mary or other children.
John who followed, left Belfast the first week of March 1830 on the "Highlands of
Scotland", which took 13 weeks to cross. (The year 1830, as stated in the records
compiled from family oral history three generations later is probably incorrect if Mary
herself did not immigrate until as late as 1834). Lloyds of London ship records show one
docking of a ship called "Highlands of Scotland" in Quebec City, but the date
does not coincide with John's possible dates of immigration. John was 21 when he came to
Canada and resided in the Township of Portland, Frontenac county, where he was a farmer.
He married Mary Ashley (83) of Kingston on 12 January 1843. But John is of only secondary
interest. For a continuation of the Goudy link to the Lees we must turn our attention to
Mary's son Alexander.
Alexander Goudy (73), the son of Mary and Alexander Warren Titus Goudy, was born in
Belfast about 1815, give or take a couple of years. He married Emiline Mills (47) in
Canada, in the 1840's. Nothing is known of this couple except that they had seven
children: Mary Jane, Margaret, Didema, Emiline, Lavina, Alex, and Samuel (42).
Samuel, the youngest child was born in Moscow Ontario 9 December 1852. He married Mary
Letta Card (700) on 19 October 1873 in Newburgh Ontario. Sam and Mary Letta had two
children: William (150) and Hannah (49).
There is some confusion about Mary Letta's parents. Her death certificate issued in 1920,
based on information provided by her husband Samuel Goudy, states that her parents were
Joseph Mince and Sally Card. The spelling of Mince is wrong. It should be
Mintz. However, a Sally Card cannot be found in either the 1861, 1871 or 1881 census and
is probably a record keeping error, her name being Fanny. A Joseph Mintz (663) does appear
in the 1851 census and the 1861 census. In the 1861 census of Camden Township his wife is
shown as Sussanah Mintz. It does seem possible that Joseph was, however, Mary Lettas
father. The two families lived a couple of miles apart and the two were of similar age.
Joseph would have been 28 when Mary Letta was born, and Fanny 25. There is no record of
their marriage, and Fanny was unmarried in the 1861 census, age 28, and with Mary Letta
who was now six years old, and was living with her father. Her father was John Card (710)
and their mother was Hannah (730). As noted, it seems probable that Fanny never married,
as her will made in 1884 is signed Fanny Card. The last page of Fanny Cards will was
with Hannah Goudy's (Mary Letta's daughter) belongings and now, 1999, is in the possession
of great-grandson Ronald Lee). If Fanny was an unmarried mother it reflects well on her
parents, considering the morality of the time, that she was welcomed in the home of her
father
A entry in the ledger of VanLuven Bros. Business of Moscow Ontario 1912-1929; L&A
County Archives page 210 shows that Samuel and Mary L. Goudy paid $55.00 in Dec 1917 for
the undertaking of Fannie Card. Mary Letta Card was an energetic and interesting woman
that deserves mention in this family history. She was born at Moscow on 26 April 1854 of a
family who were one of the first settlers of the area in the 1824. She was a devout Quaker
to the point she became known as Sister Mary Letta, the evangelist. She set up many Quaker
churches in Camden Township at Hinchenbrooke, and the counties of Bedford and Frontenac.
She was a stout temperance believer.
CODE:
B - Born
D - Died
F. - Father
SR - Source reference
OCFA - Ontario Genealogical Society Cemetery Finding Aid (On internet)
The numbers in brackets are my own identification numbers.
GOUDY ? (127) B. FAIRFAX MISSOURI
USA 13 OCT 1929 .S. JOHN WILLIAM
GLENN. MARRIED ON 13 OCT 1946
IN
JOSEPH MISSOURI. SR
GOUDY
RECORDS IN KINGSTON, ONTARIO,
CANADA PUBLIC LIBRARY.
GOUDY ? (112) B. 26 MAY 1856, MAY HAVE BEEN SON
OF JOHN (72), SR KINGSTON LIBRARY.
GOUDY, ALEXANDER (84) B. MOSCOW ONT, SON OF JOHN
GOUDY (72).
GOUDY, ALEXANDER (100) B, 1848 IN PORTLAND TWP.
ONTARIO, CANADA. FATHER WAS
ALEXANDER GOUDY (73), SR. 1861
CENSUS OF PORTLAND TWP. ONT.
GOUDY, ALEXANDER (73) B. IRELAND IN 1815, D. MOSCOW
ONTARIO, S. EMILINE MILLS (47),
SR. GOUDY RECORDS IN KINGSTON
PUBLIC LIBRARY.1851 CENSUS PORTLAND
TWP.
ONT.
FARMED 50
ACRES ON
CONCESSI
ON
VI, LOT 15 OF PORTLAND TWP. ONT. IN 1851.
BY 1861 HE HAD MOVED TO CONCESSION 11
, LOT 16 AND INCREASED TO 100 ACRES. REF
1861 CENSUS OF PORTLAND TWP.
CHILDREN:
MARY J. (94),
MARGARET (108),
DIDADEMA (97), EMMELINE (98), ALEXANDER
(100), SAMUEL (92), LAVINA (99). IN 1861 SHOWN
AS LIVING IN A LOG CABIN.
GOUDY, ALEXANDER, (SANDY) (106) B. MOSCOW ONT 11 SEP
1843, D. 4 JULY 1928, S. MIZRA STORMS,
F. ALEXANDER GOUDY (73), MOTHER
EMYLINE MILLS (901),SR. GOUDY RECORDS
IN KINGSTON LIBRARY.
GOUDY, ALEXANDER (909) FATHER OF ALEXANDER TITUS (44)
GOUDY, ARCHIE, WILLIAM (119) B. 29 JULY 1864, D. 31 DEC
1937, SON OF JOHN ASHLEY (114).
GOUDY, ARTHUR MILES (123) B. 20 JULY 1909, SON OF
JOHN (114), SR. KINGSTON LIBRARY.
GOUDY, ASHLEY (93) SON OF JOHN (72).
GOUDY, CHRISTINNA, GRACE (122) B. 21 JUNE 1904,
D. 1907, DAUGHTER OF JOHN (114), SR.
KINGSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY.
GOUDY, DAVID (92) B. 10 JUNE 1862, D. 1937, SR. KINGSTON
LIBRARY, PROBABLY SON OR SON OF
JOHN (72). BURIED IN MOSCOW ONTARIO,
CANADA QUAKER CEMETERY. REF:
OCFG KG-9074-10 SR. 1851/61 CENSUS OF
PORTLAND TWP. ONTARIO, CANADA.
GOUDY, DIDEMA (97) B, 1844. PORTLAND TWP. ONT. S.MIC
RETAN (103), F. ALEXANDER GOUDY (73)
SR KINGSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY. AND 1861
CENSUS OF PORTLAND TWP. ONT.
GOUDY, ELIZABETH (110) B. 19 MARCH 1852, D. 19 NOV 1938.
PROBABLY DAUGHTER OF JOHN (72) SR,
GOUDY RECORDS IN KINGSTON LIBRARY.
GOUDY, ELIZABETH (90) B. MOSCOW ONT, DAUGHTER OF
JOHN (72).
GOUDY, ELNORA, ELIZABETH (118) B. 26 JULY 1876, DAUGHTER
OF JOHN ASHLEY GOUDY (114).
GOUDY, EMERSON (116) B. 28 MARCH 1892, D. 12 OCT 1956.
SON OF ASHLEY GOUDY (114).
GOUDY, EMYLINE (98) B. 1847 PORTLAND TWP.
S. JIM MCKNIGHT. F. ALEXANDER
GOUDY (73).SR. KINGSTON PUBLIC
LIBRARY. SR. 1851/61 CENSUS OF
PORTLAND TWP. ONT.
GOUDY, GEORGE (107) B. MOSCOW ONT 18 JAN 1845,
D. 21 AUG 1930. SON OF JOHN (72).
GOUDY, GEORGE (85) SON OF JOHN GOUDY (72),
SR. GOUDY PAPERS IN KINGSTON
PUBLIC LIBRARY. (SAME AS 107).
GOUDY, GEORGE DAMON (121) B. 1 NOV 1904 IN YORKTON SASK.
SON OF JOHN GOUDY (114).
GOUDY, GEORGE (925)B. ABT. 1825. F. JOHN
GOUDY (81)
GOUDY, GEORGIA ELNORA (130) B. 28 DEC 1927 (MISSOURI?),
SR. KINGSTON
LIBRARY.
GOUDY, HANNAH (49) B. MOSCOW ONT 9 NOV 1876,
D. WILTON ONT 25 MARCH 1953,
S. BYARD LEE (50) MARRIED
NEWBURGH ONT. 30 MARCH 1897,
SR, LEE FAMILY BIBLE AND MARRIAGE
CERTIFICATE # 149 DATED AT NEWBURGH
ONT. NOTED FOR HER HIP-LENGTH
BLOND HAIR. GRADUATE OF "MADAME
AND PROFESSOR A, MORMONS SCIENTIFIC
GARMENT CUTTING ON MAY 16 1916.
DAUGHTER OF MARY LETTA CARD (700).
CHILDREN KORAH LEE (54), EARL LEE (7).
BURIED IN WILTON CEMETERY.
OCFG REF. KG-920-1
GOUDY, JAMES (111) B 2 APRIL 1854, D. 14 FEB 1936,
SR KINGSTON LIBRARY.
GOUDY, JANE (91) DAUGHTER OF JOHN (72).
GOUDY, JANE (74) B. CUMBER PARISH GLASGOW IRELAND
ABOUT 1820, DAUGHTER OF MARY
MCKIBBON (74). DIED AND WAS BURIED
AT SEA FROM SMALLPOX WHILE
IMMIGRATING TO CANADA AS A CHILD
WITH HER MOTHER.
GOUDY, JIMMIE (89) SON OF JOHN (72)
GOUDY, JOHN (72) B. 1806 IN COUNTY DOWN IRELAND,
D. UNKNOWN NEAR COLEBROOK
ONT., S. MARY ASHLEY (83) ON 12
JANUARY 1843 IN CAMDEN
TOWNSHIP
(POSSIBLY MOSCOW), HE STAYED BEHIND
IN IRELAND WHEN HIS MOTHER MARY
MARGARET McKIBBON IMMIGRATED TO
CANADA. HE IMMIGRATED ABOUT 1830 (45)
ON SHIP CALLED HIGHLANDS OF SCOTLAND,
PRESUMABLY LEAVING FROM BELFAST,
BUT PORT OF LANDING IS NOT KNOWN.
HE SPENT ABOUT 13 WEEKS AT SEA.
LLOYDS OF LONDON SHIP REGISTRY
SHOWN ONLY ONE SHIP OF THAT NAME
DOCKING IN CANADA (QUEBEC) ONLY
ONCE BUT NOT IN THE YEAR HE SUPPOSEDLY
IMMIGRATED. S. MARY ASHLEY (80). CHILDREN:
ALEXANDER (84), GEORGE (85), MARGARET (86),
WILLIE (87) WHO MAY HAVE LIVED WITH SISTER
MARY (88), MARY (88) JIMMIE (89),
ELIZABETH (90), JANE (91, DAVID (92),
ASHLEY (93), SR. GOUDY RECORDS IN
KINGSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY.
GOUDY, JOHN ORVAL (117) B. 2 DEC 1894. SON OF JOHN ASHLEY
GOUDY (114), SR. KINGSTON LIBRARY.
GOUDY, LAVINA (99) B 1854 NEAR COLEBROOK ONT.
F. ALEXANDER GOUDY (73) GOUDY PAPERS IN
KINGSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY.
BURIED IN VERONA CEMETERY, REF.
OCFG KG-45-X. AND 1861 CENSUS OF
PORTLAND TWP. ONT.
GOUDY, MARGARET (71) B. CUMBER PARISH (GLASGOW)
IRELAND, F. ALEXANDER GOUDY (73),
(DAUGHTER OF MARY MCKIBBON
(45), S. BEN CURL (78) MARRIED IN
CANADA. CHILDREN: ROBERT (901),
NORMAN (902), JOHN (903), EDMOND (904).
GOUDY, MARGARET (108) B. 1842 IN CW, F. ALEXANDER
GOUDY (73), SR. 1861 CENSUS OF
PORTLAND TWP. ONT.
GOUDY, MARGARET (96) SR. GOUDY RECORDS IN KINGSTON
PUBLIC LIBRARY. FAMILY NAME MAY
HAVE BEEN BEBIE.
GOUDY, MARY (70) B. 1813 1800S CUMBER PARISH
IRELAND (BELFAST), S. JIM NOON (75). CHILDREN:
ELIZA (70) WHO MARRIED A BILLY HAMILTON.
MARRIED IN CANADA. DAUGHTER OF MARY
MCKIBBON (45). F. TITUS ALEXANDER GOUDY (45).
GOUDY, MARY (88) B. MOSCOW ONT. DAUGHTER OF JOHN GOUDY (72).
GOUDY, MARY (319) B. KINGSTON ONT. 1821, SR. GOUDY RECORDS
IN KINGSTON LIBRARY.
GOUDY, MARY JANE (94)B. 1839, F. ALEXANDER GOUDY
(73),
MOTHER EMELINE MILLS (47), SR. 1851 CENSUS OF
CAMDEN TWP. ONT. AND GOUDY FILES IN
KINGSTON LIBRARY.
GOUDY, MARGARET (108) B. MOSCOW ONT. 3 MARCH 1847,
D. 3 JUNE 1915, DAUGHTER OF ALEXANDER
GOUDY (73), MOTHER EMYLINE MILLS (901).
BURIED IN VERONA CEMETERY.
REF: OCFG KG-45-X. SR. 1851/61 CENSUS OF
PORTLAND TWP.ONT. AGES DIFFER IN EACH
CENSUS.
GOUDY, MARGARET (86) B. MOSCOW ONTARIO DAUGHTER
OF JOHN GOUDY (72).
GOUDY, MARY (319) B. KINGSTON ONT. IN 1821, SR. GOUDY
RECORDS IN KINGSTON LIBRARY.
GOUDY, MARY (88) B. MOSCOW ONT, DAUGHTER OF JOHN
GOUDY (72). SAME AS # 124.
GOUDY, MARY JANE (94) B, 1839. PORTLAND TWP. ONT.
SEE GOUDY FILES IN KINGSTON PUBLIC
LIBRARY. F. ALEXANDER GOUDY (73)
BURIED MOSCOW ONTARIO UNITED CHURCH
CEMETERY. REF: OCFG KG-373-4 AND 1851
CENSUS OF PORTLAND TWP.ONT.
GOUDY, NANCY (309) B. COUNTY DOWN IRELAND IN 1824,
B. IN MOSCOW ONTARIO, DAUGHTER OF MARY
MCKIBBON (45). SR. GOUDY RECORDS IN
KINGSTON ONTARIO PUBLIC LIBRARY.
GOUDY, ROYAL GENE (129) B. 6 MAY 1935 IN BERTHA MISSOURI,
SR. KINGSTON LIBRARY RECORDS.
GOUDY, SAMUEL (42) B. 9 DECEMBER 1852 NEAR COLEBROOK
IN ONTARIO, D. 15 JANUARY 1924, F. ALEXANDER
GOUDY (73) S. MARY LETTA CARD (700) ON
19 OCTOBER 1873 AT NEWBURGH ONTARIO,
SR. MARRIAGE LICENSE HELD BY R. LEE (5),
MINISTER WAS REV. ANDREW A SMITH,
FATHER WAS ALEXANDER GOUDY (73), MOTHER
WAS EILINE MILLS (901). BURIED IN MOSCOW
QUAKER CEMETERY. REF. OCFG KG-9074-10.
SR. FAMILY RECORDS AND 1861 CENSUS
PORTLAND TWP. ONT.
GOUDY, SAMUEL, (9OO) B. UPPER CANADA 1838. NO OTHER DATA.
GOUDY, VIVIAN MAE (126) B. 17 NOV. 1928, S. LOWELL PARSONS (131).
MARRIED IN BLANCH COUNTY MISSOURI ON
25 FEB 1944, SR SEE #114.
GOUDY, WARREN ASHLEY (128) B. 13 OCT 1929. BURIED IN YATES
CEMETERY AT RIPIE MISSOURI, DOUGLAS
COUNTY USA. SR. GOUDY RECORDS IN KINGSTON
PUBLIC LIBRARY.
GOUDY, WARREN ALEXANDER (12) B. 14 APRIL 1899, SON OF
JOHN (114), S. DELILAH SUSAN FERGUSON (125)
MARRIED IN DOUGLAS COUNTY MISSOURI USA
ABOUT 1927. SR. GOUDY RECORDS IN
KINGSTON LIBRARY. CHILDREN VIRGINIA
MAY (126), VIVIAN MIRIAH (127) WARREN
ASHLEY (128), ROYAL GENE (129), GEORGIA
ELNORA (130).
GOUDY, WARREN TITUS ALEXANDER (44) B. 1760 COUNTY
DOWN NEAR BELFAST IRELAND, D. 6 JANUARY
1828 AT TULLYNAKILL PARISH IRELAND,
S. MARY MCKIBBON (45), SR. GOUDY PAPERS
IN FILE AND KINGSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY AND
ULSTER HISTORICAL SOCIETY SEARCH
REPORT (1998). HE WAS A SCHOOL TEACHER.
HE IS BURIED IN TULLYNAKILL GRAVEYARD
TULLYNAKILL PARISH, NEAR CUMBER PARISH,
GOUDY, WILLIAM (BILLIE) ALEXANDER (150). B. 5 MAY 1888 D.
14 AUG 1948, BURIED AT ELGIN ONTARIO.
BROTHER OF HANNAH GOUDY (LEE) (49) MARRIED
TWICE BUT NO CHILDREN. WORKED AS A STATION
MASTER FOR CANADIAN NATIONAL RAILWAYS
AT PORTLAND AND PICKERING ONTARIO.
GOUDY, WILLIAM (926)B. ABT. 1745 IN CUMBER TWP
IRELAND.
FATHER OF . WAREN ALEXANDER TITUS GOUDY (44).
SR. REPORT BU HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. SEE
FILES.
GOUDY, WILLIAM (927)B. ABT. 1765 IN IRELAND.
BROTHER OF
ALEXANDER(44) AND SON OF WILLIAM (926).
SR. REPORT OF ULSTER HISTORICAL FOUNDATION
GOUDY, WILLIE (87) MOSCOW ONT MAY 1849, SON OF JOHN (72)
SR. GOUDY PAPERS IN KINGSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY.