A Genealogical Research Report into Thomas and Susanna GOFF
Ketton, Rutland • Cranfield, Bedfordshire • Langley Mill, Derbyshire
Compiled from parish registers, census returns, civil-registration references and research notes supplied.
1. Introduction
These notes bring together parish-register entries, census returns, civil-registration references and marriage records relating to the Goff family, particularly the family associated with Ketton, Rutland, and Cranfield, Bedfordshire. The evidence suggests that Thomas and Susanna Goff’s family moved from Ketton to Cranfield during the period between the baptism of Julianna in 1824 and the baptism of Susanna in 1829. No evidence of why the move took place has been found to date.
The records contain variations in names, ages and reported birthplaces. These have been retained here as recorded in the research notes, with possible errors and interpretations identified separately. The conclusions should therefore be treated as working findings rather than as proof where a record has not been independently checked.
2. Thomas and Susanna Goff: the earlier generation
Thomas and Susanna Goff are identified in the notes as the parents of a group of children recorded in the Ketton parish registers, with a later baptism at Cranfield. Thomas may have been born in Cranfield around 1795, although this is noted as uncertain.
| Child | Baptism / event | Place or note |
| Elizabeth | Buried 14 August 1808 | Ketton; the notes do not give a baptism date |
| Mary | Born or recorded in 1809 | Ketton parish records |
| Sarah | Baptised 16 June 1811 | Ketton |
| Ann | Baptised 2 May 1813; buried 16 July 1817 | Ketton |
| John | Baptised 22 October 1815 | Ketton |
| Ann | Baptised 10 May 1818 | Ketton |
| Elizabeth | Baptised 23 September 1821 | Ketton |
| Julianna | Baptised 18 July 1824 | Ketton |
| Susanna | Baptised in 1829 | Cranfield |
The National Burial Index is reported to record Thomas Goff’s burial at Cranfield on 1 April 1839. The notes state that no corresponding death entry was found in FreeBMD. Taken together, the parish and census evidence suggests that the family’s move from Ketton to Cranfield took place between 1824 and 1829.
3. The 1841 census: Cranfield
The 1841 census records Susanna Goff, aged 55 and described as a lace maker, living in Cranfield with several younger members of the family. The return records the following household members:
| Name | Age | Occupation / census detail |
| Susan Goff | 55 | Lace maker; not born in the county |
| Ann Goff | 25 | Not born in the county |
| Elizabeth Goff | 20 | Not born in the county |
| Julia Goff | 15 | Not born in the county |
| Susan Goff | 14 | Born in the county |
| Jane Goff | 4 | Born in the county |
| William Goff | 3 | Born in the county |
| John Goff | 5 months | Born in the county |
A separate household in Cranfield contains John Goff, aged 25 and working as an agricultural labourer, with Mary Goff, aged 25, and children Zacharias, aged 4, and Thomas, aged 2. The notes identify this John as child (05) in the family group.
4. The 1851 census: family households in Cranfield
In 1851, Susanna Goff is recorded as a widowed head of household, aged 68, working as a seamstress. Her birthplace is given as Ketton, Rutlandshire. Her daughter Elizabeth, aged 30, and daughter Susanna, aged 23, are both recorded as lace makers. Two granddaughters, Eliza, aged 6, and Mary A., aged 3, are also in the household.
A FreeBMD reference is noted for the death of Susan Goff in June 1859, registered in the Ampthill district (volume 3b, page 236). This may relate to Susanna, but the identity should be confirmed against the original registration and other records.
Another Cranfield household is headed by John Ford, aged 44, an agricultural labourer born in Cranfield. His wife Ann Ford, aged 34, is recorded as born in Ketton, Rutlandshire. William Goff, aged 12, and John Goff, aged 10, appear as sons-in-law in the household. The notes cite a marriage registration for John Ford and Ann Goff in December 1850, Ampthill, volume 6, page 6.
John Goff, aged 36 and an agricultural labourer, is also recorded with his wife Mary A. Goff and children Zacharias, Thomas, Caroline, Mary A. and George. His birthplace is transcribed in the census as “Northampton – Kettering”; the research notes consider this incorrect and argue that his birthplace was Ketton, Rutland.
5. The 1861 census
The 1861 census records John Goff, aged 46, and his wife Mary Ann, aged 44, in Cranfield. Their listed children are Mary Ann, aged 13; George, aged 10; Eliza, aged 8; and Emma, aged 4. John’s birthplace is again given as “Norths’ Kettering”, a discrepancy highlighted in the original notes.
Susanna Goff, aged 32 and unmarried, is recorded in a separate household with her niece Mary A. Goff, aged 13. Another household contains Zacharia Goff, aged 22, an agricultural labourer, his wife Elizabeth, aged 26, and their children George, aged 4, and Elizabeth, aged 2.
6. The 1871 census and Charles Goff’s parentage
In 1871, John Goff, aged 54, and his wife Mary A., aged 50, are recorded in Cranfield. Their household includes daughters Eliza, aged 20, and Emma, aged 18, and a son Charles, aged 10. Mary A., aged 9, is also listed.
The research notes state that Charles Goff’s birth certificate identifies him as illegitimate and names Mary Ann Goff (20) as his mother, rather than John Goff (06) as his father. The notes further point out that no matching birth registration has been found for a Mary A. Goff born around 1862, and suggest that the nine-year-old Mary A. in the 1871 census may in fact be the mother of Charles, with her age incorrectly recorded. This is an interpretation based on the records described and should be checked against the original birth certificate and census image.
A second household records Susanna Goff, aged 42 and unmarried, working as a lace maker, with her niece Eliza, aged 23. Zacharia Goff, aged 34, is recorded as a horse keeper with his wife Elizabeth, aged 35, and children George, Elizabeth, Martha, Ellen, William and Joseph.
7. The 1881 census
The 1881 census records John Gough, aged 69, as a widowed lodger and agricultural labourer in Cranfield. His birthplace is given in the notes as “Northants Ketton”, which differs from the Kettering entries in earlier census returns.
Mary A. Deacon, aged 31, wife of bricklayer Alfred Deacon, appears with her family. Charles Goff, aged 17, is listed as a son and an agricultural labourer. The notes identify him as Charles, son of Mary Ann Goff, born in Cranfield in 1863.
A marriage note states that Mary Ann Goff married Alfred Deacon on 16 September 1877 at Lidlington. FreeBMD is said to index the entry as “Marianne Gough”, Ampthill, volume 3b, page 611.
Susanna (recorded as Susan) Goff, aged 54 and unmarried, is listed with her niece Eliza, aged 30, and two younger relatives, Minnie E. Goff, aged 9, and Arthur W. Goff, aged 4. Joseph Goff, aged 15, is recorded as a nephew and agricultural labourer.
Zacharias Goff, aged 43, and his wife Elizabeth, aged 45, appear with children William, Joseph, Clara, Lewis and Reuben. In another household, George Goff, aged 29, is recorded as a gardener with his wife Mary and children Caroline, Fred, Tom and Charles.
8. The 1891 census
Charles Goff, aged 27 and working as a farm labourer, is recorded in Cranfield with his wife Emma, aged 29, and their children Lucy, aged 7; Mary, aged 4; and Charles, aged five months. Emma’s birthplace is given as Lidlington, Bedfordshire.
Zacharias Goff, aged 53, and Elizabeth, aged 57, are recorded with their son Lewis, aged 15, and Reuben C. D. C. Goff, aged 13. Their daughter Ellen Tansley, aged 24 and married, and grandson Thomas W. Tansley, aged 1, are also listed.
9. Charles Goff in Derbyshire: 1901 and 1911
In the 1901 census, Charles Gough, aged 36, is recorded as a married railway labourer and boarder in the Heanor / Langley Mill area of Derbyshire. The notes place him with the Archer family at North Street, Langley Mill. No entry for Charles Goff is reported in the electoral registers for Langley Mill.
The 1911 notes refer to the Archer household, George and Catherine, at 1 Cromford Road, Langley Mill, but state that Charles Goff was not found there. A separate entry records Emma Goff, aged 49, as head of household, married for 28 years and with four children; her birthplace is Lidlington, Bedfordshire. Her son Charles, aged 20, is listed as single and working as an ironmonger’s assistant, while Alfred, aged 13, is a grocer’s errand boy and was born at Woburn Sands.
The relationship between the Charles Gough recorded in Derbyshire in 1901 and the Charles Goff in the other family records is not established by these notes alone. The spelling variation and the differing household details merit further comparison with original census images, marriage records and birth registrations.
10. 1921 Census
Charles Goff, aged 50y 4mths married and born in Cranfield, Bedfordshire working as a farm labourer, with his wife Ada Frances aged 30y 6mths from North Muskham and their children William Talbot (illegitimate son of Ada Frances (Talbot)) aged 6y 3mths and George 1y 3mth.
Emma Goff, aged 59y 4mths a widow born in Lidlington, Bedfordshire living with Alfred Waters Goff her son aged 23y 9mths born Woburn Sands and working as a grocer’s assistant.
11. Marriage records
| Date and place | Groom | Bride | Additional details |
| 12 September 1870, St Mary the Virgin, Marston Moretaine, Bedfordshire | George Goff, 20, labourer; Father John Goff | Mary Valentine, 20, lace maker; father James Valentine | Witnesses: David Percival and Mary Ann Goff |
| 16 September 1877, The Parish Church, Lidlington, Bedfordshire | Alfred Deacon, 37, widower, bricklayer. Father Henry Deacon | Marianne Gough, 29, spinster, lacemaker. Father John Gough | Witnesses: George Gough and Elizabeth Deacon |
| 15 Apr 1883, The Parish Chruch, Lidlington, Bedfordshire | Charles Fells Goff, 19 | Emma Waters, 21, Father Frances Waters | |
| 22 April 1919, Register Office, Southwell, Nottinghamshire | Charles Goff, 45, bachelor, farm worker. Father John Goff | Ada Frances Talbot, 28, spinster, Father William Talbot | Witnesses: W Cox and Amy Cox |
12. Research observations and points to verify
- The family’s move from Ketton, Rutland, to Cranfield, Bedfordshire, appears to have taken place between Julianna’s baptism in 1824 and Susanna’s baptism in 1829.
- Thomas Goff is reported as buried at Cranfield on 1 April 1839, although the notes record no matching FreeBMD death entry.
- John Goff’s birthplace is variously recorded as Kettering, Northamptonshire, and Ketton, Rutland. The original notes favour Ketton, but the census images and any supporting parish or civil records should be checked.
- The birth certificate evidence concerning Charles Goff and Mary Ann Goff should be compared with the original 1871 census image, particularly the entry for Mary A. Goff aged nine.
- Mary Ann Goff’s 1877 marriage to Alfred Deacon is indexed in the notes under the variant “Marianne Gough”.
- Several names vary in spelling across the notes, including Susan / Susanna, Julia / Julianna, Zacharia / Zacharias, Goff / Gough and Mary A. / Mary Ann. These variants should be retained when transcribing records but standardised carefully in any family tree.
This report reorganises the supplied research notes; it does not independently verify the underlying records. Where the notes contain a hypothesis or a possible transcription error, it is presented as a research observation rather than a confirmed fact.
