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MALCOLM MCQUEEN, a Presbyterian minister; and one of our many cousins, continues his history of the Goodhind clan with his ancestor, William and Ann's eldest son, William:

Of the fifteen children born to William and Ann, the oldest was (also named) WILLIAM. He is the next link in our family chain. This William was a Christmas baby having been born in Cullompton on December 25, 1829. It must have been very special for William and Ann to have their first born on Christmas Day. William grew up in Cullompton and married a local girl named EMILY BROWN at the Mill Day Baptist Chapel in Bradninch on August 28, 1848. At the time of the marriage, they were both 20 years old and William was a papermaker--just like his father. Emily's father was also a papermaker.

William and Emily did not make the move to Dartford the same time as the rest of the family. This is known because their first born child (Henry) was born in Bradninch in 1852—about three years after William and Ann left for Dartford. But William and Emily came soon after, for their second child (Anne) was born in 1854 at Dartford. Again, the reasons for moving away from Cullompton/Bradninch are not known although the possible on-going troubles at the Hele papermill combined with family already in Dartford would certainly be sufficient motivation to move from Devon to Kent.

William and Emily, upon arriving at Dartford, joined the rest of the family at Waterside (1861 census). Eventually, seven children (possibly eight) were born to this union. All but the first--HENRY--were born in Dartford. Death seems to have come upon two children although no details are known about the circumstances.

While not much else is known about William and Emily, there are some clues in various sources that allow for some speculation. William died in 1902 and his will says:

William Goodhind - of the Phoenix beerhouse Hythe Street, Dartford Kent - beer retailer died 12th
September 1902. Probate to Henry Goodhind and Francic Thomas, papermakers. Effects L541 - 18s - 10d.
'I appoint my son Henry and my son in law Francic Thomas executors. L100 each to each of my children, Henry Goodhind, Elizabeth Anne Thomas (wife of Francic), Martha Moreton (wife of Albert), Eliza Chalcraft (wife of John) and Emily Jones (wife of Charles). Everything else to my wife Susannah Goodhind.'

Codicil: Watch and chain and all wearing apparel to Henry Goodhind.

So ... a mystery! What happened to Emily and when did Susannah come on the scene? And when (and why) did William give up on papermaking? When (and why) did William get into the pub scene? Was he a tenant or owner? David Goodhind has sent me a picture of the Phoenix Public House in lower Hythe Street which still survives and flourishes (as of 1994). [As of 2016, the building was been demolished and a parking area sits on the site. -TSG]

Actually, there are some clues in answering the above questions. At some point in time, the Goodhinds worked at the Phoenix paper mill in Dartford. Jean Stirk has run across an index of trade union papers called the Original Society of Papermakers. She discovered that members of the Original Society of Papermakers working at the Phoenix Mill included:

May, 1868 -- William Goodhind (Sr.)
William Goodhind (Jr.)
Apprentices: Thomas Goodhind, Henry Goodhind, John Goodhind

December, 1870 -- William Goodhind (Sr.)
William Goodhind (Jr.)
Thomas Goodhind
Apprentices: Henry Goodhind, John Goodhind

The William Goodhind (Sr.) would be of William and Ann and the William Goodhind (Jr.) would be of William and Emily. Thomas would be a son of William (Sr.). Henry is likely the son of William and Emma. All of the above names were still at the Phoenix mill in 1878.

The Phoenix mill had a relatively short history. The mill seems to have been in operation around 1830 although it was not necessarily a paper mill at that time. The mill was sold in 1841 and the new owner appears to have rented out the mill to papermakers. In 1852 an accidental fire burned the mill to the ground: "Some lucifer matches getting among the rags by accident." Later that same year, the owner (T.H. Saunders) rebuilt and re-equipped the mill to manufacture high quality paper. In the "Bradshaw's Directory" of 1853 and 1866, the mill is listed in Dartford--Upper Thames St.—and manufacturing "machine" papers which included books, writing paper, newsprint, "superfine printing," cheques, and loan papers. There was a strike by the mill workers from December, 1884 to February, 1885 (possible this went on until June, 1886). The mill was closed in 1888 or 1889. It was either taken over by Riverside Mills (another paper company) or by a pharmaceutical firm called Burroughs. T.H. Saunders died in 1896.

There is a note by the Employment of Children Commission that in 1865, T.H. Saunders supported the RAGGED School (a charity for poor children) and sent the boys and girls working for him to school three times a week (for 1 hour each time) to learn to read and write.

Some notes from the Original Society of Papermakers indicate there was general trouble at the mill in 1847 but that Saunders insisted on employing O.S.P. union men. Accounts show O.S.P. members working at the mill from 1847 (although perhaps not until 1854) until 1884 or 1886. These later dates coincide with the mill strike. (The 1847 date also coincides with William and Ann leaving Bradninch).

An interesting entry in the June, 1870 papers of the O.S.P. indicate that a Mrs. William Goodhind was buried and the funeral expenses were paid by the Original Society of Papermakers. A check of the 1871 census of Dartford shows William Goodhind listed as a widower and raising five children: Henry, Anne, Eliza, Martha, and Emily. Thus, the Mrs. William Goodhind who died was, indeed, Emily. I have not yet investigated the "how" and "why" of her death. The 1881 census indicates William still a widower. Only daughter Emily resided with him. By the 1891 census, however, William had re-married to Susannah. She was also from Cullompton although it is not known how she and William made connections. The census lists a boy, age twelve, named George Marsh living with William and Susannah. William, Susannah, and George were living at 149 Hythe St.--just three doors down from William's mother Ann. George is listed as a son and was born in Dartford. Likely, then, Susannah was a widow and she met William in Dartford.  This 1891 census lists William as a "beerhouse keeper." So, some of our questions are answered while others await more research.

The story continues through the first born child of William and Emily--HENRY. As mentioned earlier, Henry was born in Bradninch/Silverton in 1852. He was the only child to be born in Devon. The rest of Henry's siblings were born in Dartford.

I know very little of Henry at this point. He followed the footsteps of his father by entering into the papermaking trade, first as an apprentice by 1868. By the census of 1871, Henry (age 19) was living at home with his widower father and with siblings Anne, Eliza, Martha, and Emily. By 1881, however, Henry had married SOPHIA HOPKINS. She was born in Dartford. They were living on St. Martins Rd. and had started a family of their own: Emily (age 7), Henry (age 5), Frederick (age 3), and Courtney (under 1 month). More children were born, but I have not yet verified dates, places, etc. Beyond this, I only know that Henry died in March of 1908 presumably in Dartford, Kent.

It is through Henry and Sophia's second child--Henry—that our family line continues. He was born September 22 [or is it Sept. 18?], 1875 in Dartford.

Unfortunately, I know very little about this Henry. I do not know about his growing up years but he did not follow in the papermaking trade. Instead, Henry ventured into the retailing business by operating grocery stores. One such store was located in the Plumstead area sometime in the 1920's though the exact location is not known.

Henry eventually met and married HILDA ROSALIND HUBBLE on June 1, 1897. Although Hilda was born in Crockenhill, Kent (near Dartford), her family eventually found their way to the Watford area (in the county of Hertford) and it was at the parish church of Watford where the two of them were married. From there, Henry and Hilda made their way back to Dartford.

Henry and Hilda had two children. The first to be born was OLIVE HILDA on July 16, 1899 in Dartford, Kent. Next was LESLIE HENRY WILLIAM who was born in 1904 either in Dartford or Woolwich/Plumstead. Unfortunately, Leslie's life was quite short. He died at the age of twenty-three on September 11, 1927 and was buried in Woolwich cemetery.

Around 1937-38 Henry and Hilda moved to Canvey Island (located about 40 miles east of London at the mouth of the Thames River). Canvey Island is below sea level with a sea wall and dikes (originally built by the Dutch) surrounding it to keep back the coastal waters.

The purpose of the move to Canvey was because Henry went into a partnership to operate the Ozonia Hotel located on the island. The Ozonia catered to vacationers and tourists who came to Canvey wanting to stay for several days. It was a resort-type hotel. Each room had its own cooking unit and was painted/decorated completely different than any other room. Each room had its own "theme" and "name."

Henry's role in the partnership was to manage and run the grocery store, which was located next to the dining room on the ground floor of the hotel. On the island, Henry and Hilda owned two bungalows and a "hut." They lived in one of the bungalows and rented out the other two accommodations for additional income. The "hut" was a small, circular, corrugated metal building. In another bungalow close by to Henry and Hilda lived one of Hilda's sisters and her family.

The Ozonia Hotel was a very successful enterprise until the outbreak of World War II in 1939. Because of the possibility of a Nazi invasion of England, the British government placed a ban of persons traveling to the coastal areas so as to not interfere with land invasion preparations. The result of this ban was to effectively shut down the tourist/vacation trade which, in turn, meant the closure of businesses along the coast. The Ozonia did not escape this fate and also closed operations.

Although business took a nose-dive, Henry and Hilda stayed on at the hotel as caretakers during the war years and still operated the grocery store. They moved out of their bungalow and into a room within the hotel.

While it was fortunate the Ozonia was never bombed by Nazi warplanes, the hotel never recovered--economically speaking--to its former glory. Unfortunately, the Ozonia Hotel no longer stands.

About a year following the end of World War II, (on April 11, 1946) Henry died at the Ozonia Hotel as a result of a stroke. KEITH MCQUEEN (my father) recalls that Henry Goodhind was buried in Plumstead, Kent. Keith's brother, Malcolm, tried to locate the gravesites. All the headstones in the cemetery, however, had been removed by the church because the sites had not been kept up. Eventually, Malcolm found the plot site.

Following Henry's death, Hilda then moved to Beckingham, Kent (#30 Woolcombe Road) and lived with daughter Olive and Olive's husband, HARRY MCQUEEN. She continued to live with them until her death in 1956.

I know very little of Olive's childhood except she grew up in the Dartford and Plumstead areas. She met Henry (Harry) McQueen and the two of them married on December 26, 1922 at parish church (Church of England) in Plumstead. Olive died on October 5, 1985 at Sheppey, Kent.

[David Goodhind, Jean Stirk and Keith McQueen were most helpful contributing much of this information - MM]

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