The name GOOD, comes to my family tree in the form of Catherine GOOD. She is mentioned extensively on the Chambers page, but I thought it would merit an introduction to Catherine and her wider family.
Catherine was born on the 04 October 1838, Orford, Suffolk, England to Joseph and Susanna (nee WOOLNOUGH) GOOD. From the 1851 Census of England we learn that her father was a ‘Vermin Killer’. So the family would have not been a family of means. The WOOLNOUGH family was a very respected large family of Suffolk at that time.
What is really interesting about the Suffolk connection is her future husband, George. On the above snippet, you can see Catherine at the top and George at the bottom. The respective families lived in close proximity to each other which goes some way to understanding why, as a woman in her early 30’s, she left for New Zealand to marry.
She travelled on the ‘Hampshire’, disembarking at Melbourne, before connecting to another voyage that probably took her to Hokitika directly. The last part is speculation as there are no records of her arrival in New Zealand.
On the 29 Feb 1872, at Hokitika, Catherine married George CHAMBERS. Her life was now linked to his, and as a gold miner who prospected in the hills behind Hokitika, I can only speculate what that must have looked like.
Eventually, with George and family, Catherine settled in what was Stafford. At the time, this was a bustling town with many churches and pubs. They had the following children.
| Child | Born | Married | Children | Died | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| George Albert Victor | 13 Jun 1873 | 19 Apr 1906 | 4 | 17 Jun 1953 | Wheeler |
| Alfred Edward | 17 Feb 1875 | 21 Dec 1902 | 2 | 26 Dec 1946 | Channings |
| Florence Louisa | 3 Mar 1877 | 18 Apr 1901 | 5 | 24 Jun 1955 | Kinsella |
| Georgina Mary | 27 May 1878 | 5 Apr 1906 | 1 | 15 Sep 1950 | Bruhn |
| Arthur Orford | 22 Dec 1879 | – | – | 05 Oct 1957 | – |
Catherine passed on the 29 Mar 1909 and is buried at Stafford Cemetery.