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Family history

     The progenitor of this family line in America is,  our 9^th great-grandfather, Thomas Godwin (Godwyn) who had come to the Colony of Virginia by 1650.   Thomas, the son of Robert Godwin (1589-1661) and  Elizabeth Smythies, was born in Somersetshire, England around 1614.  Robert Godwin was directly descended back many generations to Hugh Godwin who was born around 1280 at Bridgewater in Somersetshire, England.  Hugh apparently held the title “Lord of Bower.”   It is believed that Hugh died around 1318, after which his widow continued to hold lands in both at South Bower and North Bower.  Apparently the “Godwin’s Bower” Manor, as it became known was then passed down through a succession of  Godwin descendents until, in 1507, Christopher Godwin sold the manor, including lands in East, North, and South Bower, to a Robert Brent.

      Thomas Godwin grew to adulthood in Somersetshire and married a woman named Mary Elizabeth whose maiden name has been lost to history.  It is believed that this event occurred while they were still living in England.  Three offspring are known of this union. Thomas Godwin's first land grant was in the county of Old Rappahannock, Virginia, in 1650 in partnership with a Richard Exum.  His first land grant in Nansemond County, where he eventually settled, was in 1655.   This county was located below the Isle of Wight County where Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in the Americas, is located.  Thomas’s  homestead, called "old Castle', was on the border of the two counties.   His later land grants were at Chuckatuck now located within the independent city of Suffolk, Virginia.  There were also a number of grants to Thomas and his son later on in both Nansemond and Isle of Wight counties.  Thomas served in the House of Burgesses in 1654-55, and 1659.  He was Speaker of the House in 1676 during Bacon's Rebellion.  Thomas was also a Justice and Coroner of Nansemond County.  Apparently he was not happy with the Church of England as it existed in early Virginia.  As such he seems to have been a Puritan and later, a Quaker.  The American Quaker Genealogy, Vol. 6 lists the Godwin name as Quaker at the Pagan Creek meetings. Thomas Godwin's name is shown in several activities.   At the time of his death he was Colonel Commandant of Nansemond County Militia.  Colonel Thomas Godwin left a will which has been recorded at the Clerk's Office in Suffolk. It is dated May 1676-77 and was probated 1678-79.

     Elizabeth Godwin, daughter of Thomas and Mary Elizabeth was born at Nansemond County, Virginia in 1652.  Elizabeth married James Webb about 1671 probably in Isle of Wight County. Elizabeth and James produced at least four children all born in the aforementioned county where they lived near Smithfield.  Our line of descendancy continues through their daughter Elizabeth Webb born about 1673.  After becoming a widow in 1675 Elizabeth continued to live within Isle of Wight county until her death in 1718 at the age of 66 years.

Direct ancestors

Additional information about the persons in our database  as   well  as   a   complete

listing of individuals with this surname may be reviewed by clicking on this LINK.

ROBERT¹ GODWIN was born in 1589 in Somerset, England. He died in 1661 in Somerset, England. He married ELIZABETH SMYTHIES. She was born in 1590 in Somerset, England. She died in 1638 in Somerset, England.

Robert Godwin and Elizabeth Smythies had the following child:

i. THOMAS² GODWIN was born about 1614 in Somerset, England. He died about 1678 in New Kent County. Virginia. He married Mary Elizabeth Godwin (nee?) in 1636 in Somerset, England.

THOMAS² GODWIN (Robert¹) was born about 1614 in Somerset, England. He died about 1678 in New Kent County. Virginia. He married Mary Elizabeth Godwin (nee?) in 1636 in Somerset, England.

Thomas Godwin and Mary Elizabeth Godwin (nee?) had the following children:

i.                i. ELIZABETH³ GODWIN was born in 1652 in Nansemond County, Virginia. She died in 1718 in Isle of Wight County, Virginia. She married James Webb, son of Giles Webb in Isle of Wight County, Virginia. He was born about 1650 in Nansemond County, Virginia?. He died about 1675 in Isle of Wight County, Virginia.

          EDMOND GODWIN was born about 1640 in Nansemond County, Virginia. He died about 1713 in Nansemond County, Virginia.

          THOMAS GODWIN JR. was born in 1640 in Nansemond County, Virginia. He died in 1714 in Nansemond County, Virginia.

ELIZABETH³ GODWIN (Thomas², Robert¹) was born in 1652 in Nansemond County, Virginia. She died in 1718 in Isle of Wight County, Virginia. She married James Webb, son of Giles Webb in Isle of Wight County, Virginia. He was born about 1650 in Nansemond County, Virginia?. He died about 1675 in Isle of Wight County, Virginia.

Elizabeth Godwin was born in Isle of Wight County, Virginia.

James Webb and Elizabeth Godwin had the following children:

i.        ELIZABETH⁴ WEBB was born about 1673 in Isle of Wight County, Virginia. She died about 1751 in Henrico County, Virginia. She married (1) THEODRICK CARTER, son of Giles Carter Sr. and Hannah Crewes about 1704 in Virginia, USA. He was born about 1676 in Turkey Island, Henrico Co., Virginia. He died about 1737 in Henrico County, Virginia. She married (2) WILLIAM WILKINSON about 1690 in Isle of Wight County, Virginia.

ii.      WILLIAM WEBB was born about 1675 in Smithfield, Isle of Wight Co., Virginia, USA. He died in 1742 in Spotsylvania County, Virginia. He married Mary Taberer on 02 Mar 1691/92 in Isle of Wight County, Virginia. She was born in 1652.

iii.     JAMES WEBB JR was born in Isle of Wight County, Virginia. He died in Isle of Wight County, Virginia.

iv.     PATIENCE WEBB was born in Isle of Wight County, Virginia.

The WorldConnect Project is a set of tools, which allow users to upload, modify, link, and display their family trees as a means to share their genealogy with other researchers.

The WorldConnect Project continues to grow, as it now contains several hundred million records thus it offers researchers the single largest collection of family trees on the Internet.

Use this free genealogy site to help you get the best genealogy searches from Google™ by using your family tree, for your research. It will create a series of different searches using tips or "tricks"

that will likely improve your results. The different searches will give you many different ways of using Google and the Internet to find ancestry information about this or any other Surname. 

Source documents

The documents contained within this “Source Documents Archives” have been located during our research of this family, and used as evidence to prove many of the facts contained within the database of this family’s record.   We have source documents related to the following persons within our database with this surname.

·       None at this time

·        

This Link will take you to our

archive of source documents.  

You are welcome to download any of the documents contained within this archive that does not cite a copyright.  Should you encounter a problem obtaining a copy you may get in touch with us via the contact information found at the end of this web-page.

     Most of these documents can be considered as primary or secondary evidence.  Primary evidence is usually defined as the best available to prove the fact in question, usually in an original document or record.  Secondary evidence is in essence all that evidence which is inferior in its origin to primary evidence. That does not mean secondary evidence is always in error, but there is a greater chance of error.  Examples of this type of evidence would be a copy of an original record, or oral testimony of a record’s contents.  Published genealogies and family histories are also secondary evidence.

     Classifying evidence as either primary or secondary does not tell anything about its accuracy or ultimate value.  This is especially true of secondary evidence.  Thus it is always a good idea to ask the following questions: (1) How far removed from the original is it, (when it is a copy)?; (2) What was the reason for the creation of the source which contains this evidence?; and (3) Who was responsible for creating this secondary evidence and what interest did they have in its accuracy?

SOURCE: Greenwood, Val D., The Researcher’s Guide to American Genealogy, 2^nd edition, Genealogical Publishing Co., Baltimore, MD 21202, 1990, pgs. 62-63

Migration routes

       Tracing our own family’s paths of migration can prove crucial in identifying previous generations and eventually, figuring out where and how they arrived in the “New World” as well as where they eventually settled.  Knowing the network of trails American pioneers traveled can help you guess where to start looking.  The trail map(s) provided below may assist you in understanding the routes that our direct ancestors of this family may have taken to find new homes and opportunities in the vast area now encompassed by the United States.

      During the 17^th, 18^th and 19^th centuries hundreds of thousands of Europeans made the perilous ocean voyage to America.  For many it was an escape from economic hardship and religious persecution.  For most it was an opportunity to start over, own their own land, and make a better future for their descendents.

Immigration records show a number of people bearing the name of GODWIN, or one of its variants, as arriving in North America between the 17^th and 20^th centuries.  Some of these immigrants were: Reinould Godwin, who arrived in Virginia in 1620; Mrs. Goodwin settled in Boston Mass. in 1632; Daniel Godwin, who came to Virginia in 1635; Deveraux Godwin, who arrived in Maryland in 1638.

Use the following links to find more early immigrants with this surname:

$ Search Ancestry.com Immigration Records; or Free Ship’s Passenger lists at OliveTreeGenealogy.com

The Development of an Historical Migration Route

It is understood that in many if not all cases we do not know exactly what routes our ancestors took as they migrated throughout the United States.   As such certain assumptions have been utilized to re-create the migration path presented above.  With regard to 18^th and 19^th century land routes we assume that they travelled along few trails and roads that were in existence at the time.  Research shows that a great many of these old paths and trails are today designated as U.S. Highway Routes.  For example, a major east-west route of migration known as the National Road is now U.S. Route 40, and a primary north-south migration route of the 18^th century followed the Great Indian War and Trading Path is now U.S. Route 11.  In some situations the re-created migration route may travel along state routes that connect or run through the seat of a county as that populated place is probably the oldest settlement in the area. The use of water as a migration route is also likely.  For example, during the late 18^th and early 19^th centuries many families travelled west on the Ohio River as they moved on the new lands in Missouri or the Old Northwest Territory.  As such when applicable water routes have been included as the possible migration route.   

Images gallery

During our research we have collected images and photographs that are of general interest to a particular family.  Some of them are presented on this website because we believe they tend to provide the reader with additional information which may aid in the understanding of our ancestors past lives.

This Link will take you to our

collection of family photographs.  

Use the power of Google™ to find more interesting images about this topic. This button will link you to the Google Images Search   page.   Enter   the   topic   you   are

searching in the box and click “Search Images”. At the “Images” display page you will see the image, as well as the website of which it is associated.

Ancestral locations

Researching the locations where our ancestors lived has provided us with valuable evidence needed to fill in the gaps in our family trees.  It has also led us to many interesting facts that enhance the overall picture of each family group.

Locations of

Direct Ancestors

Locational Distribution

of  this Surname

Where In the World

are my Ancestors?

Locatiof Direct Ancestors

The names of states and counties on the following list were derived from the known places where the Direct Ancestors in the “Ancestral Lineage” (see above) were born, married, and / or died.

United Kingdom

England

Somersetshire

United States

Virginia

Nansemond;  Isle of Wight

Use this LINK to find out more about this

ancestral family and the locations listed above.

Locational distributionstors

Knowing the geographical areas where the surname you are researching is clustered and distributed is an indispensable tool in deciding where to focus your research.  We believe that the “Public Profiler” website will open up to you a wide range of solutions which implement current research in spatial analysis.  This site provides an array of local spatial information tools useful to the genealogist. 

The information presented herein shows where the GODWIN surname is distributed within North America as well as in the British Isles, the probable country of origin of this family.      Statistics show that there are approximately 114 persons per million of population with this surname, within the British Isles, and 97 persons per million of population within the United States.  Australia is found to be the country in the world where this surname is the most highly clustered having approximately 121 persons per million of population.  The top region of the world where this surname is the most highly clustered is the North Carolina, United States, with 610

NORTH AMERICA

UNITED KINGDOM

click on thumbnail for larger image

per million, and Bristol in the South West of  England, United Kingdom is the top city where this surname is found.

Click on the LINK to the right to see more information about the World distribution of a surname.  You can get

greater detail for any of the following maps by clicking on the area, i.e state, county that you are interested in.

Wjere are my ancestors Ancestors

Resources which enhance our knowledge of the places inhabited by our ancestors are almost as important as their names. The LINK to the right will take you to Maps, Gazetteers,   and  other  helpful   resources 

that will assist in discovering Ancestral Locations.  These web sites comprise only a small portion of what is available for researchers interested in learning more about where their ancestors lived.

Origins of the surname

An Introduction

to the Surname

Source/Meaning

of the Surname

History of

the Surname

More About

Surnames

An Introduction to the Surname

Source(s) & Meaning(s) of the Surname

     Most of the modern family names throughout Europe have originated from with of the following circumstances: patronym or matronym, names based on the name of one's father, mother or ancestor, (Johnson, Wilson). Each is a means of conveying lineage; occupation (i.e., Carpenter, Cooper, Brewer, Mason); habitational (Middleton, Sidney, or Ireland) or topographical (i.e. Hill, Brook, Forrest, Dale); nicknames (i.e., Moody Freeholder, Wise, Armstrong); status (i.e. Freeman, Bond, Knight); and acquired ornamental names that were simply made up.

History of the Surname

    Surnames as we know them today were first assumed in Europe from the 11th to the 15th century. They were not in use in England or Scotland, before the Norman Conquest of 1066, and were first found in the Domesday Book of 1086. The employment in the use of a second name was a custom that was first introduced from the Normans who had adopted the custom just prior to this time.    Soon thereafter it became a mark of a generally higher socio-economic status and thus seen as disgraceful for a well-bred man to have only one name.  It was not until the middle of the 14^th century that surnames became general practice among all people in the British Isles.

Variations of the surname

Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to unfold and expand often leading to an overwhelming number of variants.  As such one can encounter great variation in the spelling of surnames because in early times, spelling in general and thus the spelling of names was not yet standardized.  Later on spellings would change with the branching and movement of families. 

The complexity of researching records is compounded by the fact that in many cases an ancestors surname may also have been misspelled.  This is especially true when searching census documents.   The Soundex Indexing System was developed in an effort to assist with identifying spelling variations for a given surname.  Soundex is a method of indexing names in the 1880, 1900, 1910, and 1920 US Census, and can aid genealogists in their research. 

Searching for more Information about this and other surnames?

Use LINK button to view our Surname Locator & Resources page.

Amorial bearings, symcbols and mottoes

In the Middle Ages heraldry came into use as a practical matter. It originated in the devices used to distinguish the armored warriors in tournament and war, and was also placed on seals as marks of identity. As far as records show, true heraldry began in the middle of the 12th century, and appeared almost simultaneously in several countries of Western Europe.  In the British Isles the College of Arms, (founded in 1483), is the Royal corporation of heralds who record proved pedigrees and grant armorial bearings.

Gallery of Images

Descriptions of the

Armorial Bearings

Motto(es) of

this Surname

More About Hearldic Bearings

Image gallery

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

ARMORIAL BEARINGS

The associated armorial bearings for this surname and close variant spellings are recorded in Burke’s General Armorie and Rietstap’s Armorial General.  The additional information, presented below, is offered with regard to the armorial bearings depicted above:

FIGURE 1:  These armorial bearings have been attributed to the following:  Goodwin of the county of Dorset, England; Goodwyn of Wells in Somerset, England, and Goodwyn of Warwickshire. Each are probably descendants of the same ancestor.  It is most likely that each coat-of-arms has a different crest.  The arms are described as having a red shield containing an ermine chevron between three gold leopard faces.  The leopard signifies, “Valiant and hardy warrior who enterprises hazardous things by force and courage.”

FIGURE 2: This coat-of-arms was granted to a Goodwin of Derbyshire.  The arms feature a gold shield with a red fess between six red lion heads.  The crest shows a gold griffin (sejant) with wings expanded.  A griffin is generally described as having the head, wings, and talons of an eagle with the body of a lion.  The griffin represents, “vigilance; Guardian of treasure, Valour and death-defying bravery.”

FIGURE 3: These arms were bestowed upon a Goodwin or Goodwyn of Upper Winchendon, in Buckinghamshire, England.  The arms are described as having a gold and a red pale with a lion (rampant) and three fleur-de-lis all countercharged.  Crest a demi-lion rampant between three fleur-de-lis countercharged.  The motto of this Goodwin is, “De Bon Volore.”  In heraldy the fleur-de-lis means, “Purity; light; floral badge of France; represents sixth son as mark of difference.”

FIGURE 4: This coat-of-arms was created for a Goodwin family in America. Is shows a white shield containing a black lion and a gold chief holding three diamonds.  The crest is the head of a bald eagle.  The utilization of the eagle is common among the crests of American coats-of-arms.

MOTTO(ES)  

     A motto is a word or sentence usually written upon a scroll and generally placed below the shield, but sometimes, especially in Scotland, above the crest.    Many ancient mottoes were war-cries such as the Douglas motto of “Forward.”    Many mottoes refer to the name of the bearer, for example “cole regem” for Coleridge.   In general most mottoes convey a sentiment, hope, or determination, such as the Cotter motto “Dum spiro spero” where the meaning is “While I have breath I hope“.     Mottoes are often used by several successive generations, but may be changed at any time by the grantee. The languages most in use are Latin, French, and English.  Exceptions are seen in Scotland where they are often in the old Lowland dialect, and in Wales, often in the language of the principality.   

The following mottoes have been found for GODWIN and variant spellings of the surname: “Fide et virtute” translated as “By fidelity and valour.’ “De bon vlore” translated as,  “Of goodwill.”

Heraldic bearings

The art of designing, displaying, describing, and recording arms is called heraldry. The use of coats of arms by countries, states, provinces, towns and villages is called civic heraldry.   A Coat of Arms is defined as a group of emblems and figures (heraldic bearings) usually arranged on and around a shield and serving as the special insignia of some person, family, or institution.  Except for a few cases, there is really no such thing as a standard "coat of arms" for a surname.  A coat of arms, more properly called an armorial achievement, armorial bearings or often just arms for short, is a design usually granted only to a single person not to an entire family or to a particular surname.  Coats of arms are inheritable property, and they generally descend to male lineal descendents of the original arms grantee.  The rules and traditions regarding Coats of Arms vary from country to country. Therefore a Coat of Arms for an English family would differ from that of a German family even when the surname is the same. 

Some of the more prominent elements incorporated into a  coat of arms are :

Crest - The word crest is often mistakenly applied to a coat of arms.  The crest was a later development arising from the love of pageantry.  Initially the crest consisted of charges painted onto a ridge on top of the helmet.

Wreath or Torse – The torse is a twist of cloth or wreath underneath and part of a crest. Always shown as six twists, the first tincture being the tincture of the field, the second the tincture of the metal, and so on.

Mantling – The mantling is a drapery tied to the helmet above the shield. It forms a backdrop for the shield.

Helm or Helmet - The helmet or helm is situated above the shield and bears the torse and crest. The style of helmet displayed varies according to rank and social status, and these styles developed over time, in step with the development of actual military helmets.

Shield or Arms - The basis of all coats of arms.  At their simplest, arms consist of a shield with a plain field on which appears a geometrical shape or object.  The items appearing on the shield are known as charges.

Motto - The motto was originally a war cry, but later mottoes often expressed some worthy sentiment. It may appear at the top or bottom of a family coat of arms.

Searching for more information about heraldry? Click on the button at the  right to look at our webpage featuring links   to   websites   having  

images of a wide variety of arms, crests, and badges.  They may also feature additional heraldry resources as noted in the accompanying descriptions.

Web resources

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·             Our Surname Locator And Resources web page contains the following: (1) links that will take you to an updated listing of all surnames as posted in our three databases at the Rootsweb WorldConnect Project; (2) the Surname List Finder a tool that finds sound-alike matches for a given surname from among RootsWeb's thousands of surname lists; (3) the Soundex Converter that can be used to find the soundex code for a surname, plus other surnames/spellings sharing the same soundex code;  (4) Surname Message Boards the world's largest online genealogy community with over 17 Million posts on more than 161,000 boards; (5) Surname Mailing Lists of all surnames having mailing lists at RootsWeb, as well as topics that include (6) Surname Heraldy, and  (7) Mapping a Surname. 

·              Your genealogy research of this surname can be facilitated by use of Surname Web. This website links to the majority of the surname data on the web, as well as to individual family trees, origin and surname meaning if known, and many other related genealogy resources. 

·              Surname Finder provides easy access to free and commercial resources for 1,731,359 surnames. On each surname specific "finder" page, you can search a variety of online databases all pre-programmed with your surname.

·             Use All Surnames Genealogy to get access to find your surname resources .  There are almost 1300 links in this directory.

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·              Cyndi's List - Surnames, Family Associations & Family Newsletters Index - Sites or resources dedicated to specific, individual family surnames.  

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-- This webpage was last updated on --

01 October 2012