Person:James Godsmark (1)

James Godsmark’s origins have yet to be established. The age given when he died suggests that he was born around 1781. His first confirmed sighting is on 26th May 1804, when he married Lucy Jurden at Worth in Sussex.

James and Lucy went on to have three children between 1809 and 1816. The first two children were baptised at Ifield, whilst the youngest was baptised at neighbouring Crawley. The parish boundary between Ifield and Crawley at that time was such that parts of the urban area of Crawley, including the western side of the High Street, were actually in Ifield parish. James was described as a labourer on his daughter’s baptism record in 1816.

James’s son Richard married in 1833, and James’s first known grandchild was born in March 1834.

James died in 1834, being buried at Ifield on 21st May. He was said to be 52 years old. He and Lucy had been married for just under thirty years. Lucy survived him by twelve years.

1.   Cuckfield, Sussex: Parish Registers (West Sussex County Council, Chichester).

   Baptisms 1782 / March 10th James, Son of Richard & Hannah Godsmark

   This is the most likely baptism found to date, being around the time implied by the age given when the adult James died, and about eight miles from where James married. Further evidence needed to be confident.

2. ↑ ^2.0 2.1 Burials register, in Ifield, Sussex: Parish Registers (West Sussex County Council, Chichester.

   BURIALS in the Parish of Ifield in the County of Sussex in the Year 1834
   No	Name	Abode	When buried	Age	By whom the Ceremony was performed
   286	James Godsmark	Ifield	May 21	52 years [1781/2]	S.J. Lewin