ODD FACTS

 
 

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Probably the strangest choice of Christian name ever to have been given to a Gooderson baby was that of "Mahala". Born in Spilsby, Lincolnshire early in the year 1852, Mahala Gooderson was unfortunate in surviving for only a few months following birth.

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Throughout the World, the name "Gooderson" is almost exclusively utilised as a Surname. In the relatively few cases where "Gooderson" has been employed as a Christian name, research has generally indicated that the person so named has a mother, grandmother or other close relative, whose maiden surname was Gooderson.

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The late Elizabeth Ann Gooderson of Greenwich in London, who died in 1980, was the only person surnamed Gooderson in the whole of Britain to have lived long enough to celebrate her 100th birthday during the twentieth century.

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Although there have been several instances of Goodersons marrying other Goodersons, and of Goodisons marrying other Goodisons, there has yet to be a case of a Gooderson marrying a Goodison.

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It is a myth that only the names of wealthy people will be found in the Index to Wills and Administrations. The smallest total estate of any of the Gooderson Wills and Administrations that have been proved in England and Wales since the start of Civil Probate in 1858 was the seventeen pounds left by Mary Gooderson of Kings Lynn in Norfolk when she died in 1881.

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Whilst there are many instances in general of someone being given the same Christian name and Surname, there are no known instances of someone having been given the name Gooderson Gooderson.

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At present day prices, it would cost approximately £700 to repeat the purchase of all of the copies of the Gooderson Wills and Administrations that are currently held in the Archive.

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