The Family Tree

The Gothard family

Wilburton Parish Church
Wilburton Parish Church.

My Gothard connection is through my Gt. Gt. Gt. Grandmother - Mary Gothard (b.1847) who married my Gt. Gt. Gt. Grandfather James Yarrow at St. Peter's Church, Wilburton, Cambridgeshire in 1868.

A Royal Photographer

At roughly the same time that my Gtx3 Grandmother was born, other groups of Gothard families were in the area - one group in Aldreth (a hamlet just South-West of Haddenham) and also in Littleport.

Of the Littleport Gothards, one, a Mr Warner Gothard, became a photographer. His work was so highly respected that he opened 4 'Day and Electric Light Studios' in Barnsley, Dewsbury, Leeds and Halifax. He pioneered the 'Montage Postcard' and became a photographer for the British Royal Family.

A blue plaque has been erected in Barnsley on the shops and offices that he erected in the 1920s, and to commemorate his achievements and his gift of Seckar Woods to the people of Barnsley and Wakefield.

Mr. Ken Keen has been researching Warner's work for some time and has kindly given me this information.

However, as yet, I have found no firm connection between my Gothards and Warner's.. despite them being just a few miles apart.

Origins

My Great Grandmother believed that the family originally came from somewhere like Switzerland and emigrated to this country sometime during the 1800's. She remembered the name being pronounced something like 'Go-Therd' - perhaps originating from a trade name for Goat Herding?

A common variant of this name is spelt 'Gotherd'.

Further Information