Francis Gould

England

Chelmsford, Middlesex, MA

General Notes

FRANCIS GOOLE, the immigrant ancestor of this branch of the Gould
family, was born in England about 1622. Exactly where he came from in
England or when he arrived on the shores of the New World is not
known. The first mention of him is found in the records of the town of
Boston where he is listed as being a watchman before the court in
1639. When next we find mention of him he was in Duxbury, Plymouth
colony, (In 1691 Plymouth Colony was united by royal charter to the
Massachusetts Bay Colony.) and in 1643 he was listed among the
inhabitants of Duxbury who were able to bear arms. Apparently he
remained in the area of Duxbury and nearby Plymouth until the late
1640's for we find that on April 3, 1645, one John Eddy, aged eight
years, was apprenticed to "Francis Goulder of Plymouth, yeoman." Since
it is recorded that young Eddy learned the trade of a blacksmith from
Goole, it seems evident that Francis practiced smithing as a trade.
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By 1649 Goole had moved to Braintree, Norfolk County, Massachusetts,
where he was living with his wife, ROSE Unfortunately, no records have
come to light which would indicate to us when they were married or
what Rose's maiden name was. The first five children of Francis and
Rose Goole were born in Braintree and they continued to reside there
until late in 1659 or early in 1660 when they moved to what was then
the frontier at Chelmsford, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, It was at
Chelmsford that Francis and Rose made their home for the rest of their
lives.
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At the Chelmsford town meeting of October 7, 1673, the town made a
contract with Joseph Barrett, son in law of Francis Goole, to build a
house on Robins Hill, outside Chelmsford. When built the house
consisted of one room, 16 feet by 18 feet, covered with a single
thickness of boards, and had one window. The house was undoubtedly
built to serve as a Lookout post to warn the town of approaching
hostile Indians, at that time a danger in the area. Francis---Goole,
or Goold, signed an agreement with the town selectmen stating that "I
have taken to hier the house and land that I now live in of the
selecttmen of the town For which house and land I Do covenatt with
thin to pay yearly the sum of one peck of endian Corn For the towns
use as wittnes my hand this last tuesday in Desembor 1673. (Signed)
Francis Goold, his mark."
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Thus Francis and Rose Goole moved into the Robins Hill house, outside
Chelmsford, with their children, Francis lived there until his death,
March 27, 1676, while Rose remained in the house with her daughter and
son in law, Hannah and Daniel Galusha, after they took it over from
the town. Rose died about 1679 in Chelmsford.
===
In the records for this generation the name Gould is spelled variously
as Goole, Goold, Gold, and Gould.

Click here for details of Francis' family with Rose ?