Gooding, Miss

Also known as: Ella Gooding

Singer

Collection date: Aug 1907

Area: Somerset - Langport surrounds

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Miss Ella Gooding of Somerton (1847-1921): age 60, 1 song ‘Ruggleton’s Daughter of Iero’ on 16/8/1907: Her rather rare song (FT1414 Roud 117) was selected for Folk Songs From Somerset vol 4 (click vwml link above). The only other version of this Child ballad (‘Daughter of Peggy o’) was obtained by Sharp in 1908 from Charles Spiller of Pitminster. Sharp’s writing looks like ‘Garding’ but the surname is definitely ‘Gooding’. He noted that it was ‘Hewson’s song’. Miss Ann Hewson, 42, a farmer’s daughter, was Miss Gooding’s neighbour in Somerton.

Ella Gooding was baptised at Chilthorne Domer nr Yeovil on 9/5/1847, eldest daughter of George Gooding, yeoman farmer and his wife Anne. Anne’s mother Mary Laver was a schoolmistress and seems to have looked after Ella when she was young. Ella had at least 7 siblings. George is shown as having 58 acres at Upton, Long Sutton in 1881 census. Ella was 34, a dressmaker at that time. She ran the household for her father when her mother died in the 1880s and seems to have been a very capable person, requiring no servants in either 1901 or 1911 when she was living alone at New Street in Somerton, not far from Ellen Snow (RG13/2287 f9 p9). She died on 16/5/1921, leaving £325 to her siblings.