Godel

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Godel family page


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We previously suggested that the Godel family was probably indigenous to Jersey, as we believed, wrongly, that the name is not found in France. It was very prominent in Island affairs as early as 1180 and will have provided Seigneurs of the Fief Godel, later divided into that of La Godelière and ès Godeaux, from the 12th century until, in the case of the latter fief, about 1544.

However, subsequent research in French records reveals that the name is, actually, fairly common, certainly in the Normandy departments. The Geneanet database includes nearly 95,000 records of the family name throughout the country, and over 4,600 in Manche, the department closest to Jersey.

As with many family names which have been thought to have originated in the island, but were found to exist in significant quantities in France, it now seems unlikely that Godel could have started in Jersey and become as widespread in neighbouring areas of France, and across the whole country

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Guilles Godel was baptised in St Saviour in 1566


Record Search


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Origin of Surname

This name probably originates with the Teutonic personal name Godbeald, diminished to Godbel or Gobel, meaning `tubby` [1].

Early records

The Godels were one of Jersey`s leading medieval families. Roger Godel was in 1180 the King`s minister in Jersey of the Ministerium de Groceio (de Grouchy), one of the three districts into which the Island was then divided for administration and the collection of Crown revenues.

His family gave its name to the Fiefs of La Godelière, in the north of the parish of St Helier, and ès Godeaux in the south of Trinity. The former, called in 1274 the Fief Nicolas Godel, after its then holder, [2] owed the Crown full relief [3]. Nicolas Godel (c.1220- ) owed also an annual charge of 10 sols. In the 1607 Extente, the latter charge is described as payable by Nicolas Lemprière and partners for the 20 vergées of land mentioned below, as having previously been payed by the Godels who, it transpires, had been Seigneurs of the Fief ès Godeaux. It therefore seems likely that Nicolas Godel`s fief, as held in 1274, with its accompanying 20 vergées upon which 10 sols were annually due, had been divided at some time between then and 1309. The principal holding of Nicolas Godel, called La Godelière, had passed, perhaps briefly, into the hands of the Payn family, whilst a smaller portion, in Trinity, called the Fief ès Godeaux, including the said 20 vergées of land, had remained in the hands of Nicolas`s Godel and then Lemprière successors.

That of ès Godeaux was held at the time of the 1309 Assize Roll by Raoul Godel (1250-by 1331) and was recorded as being held in the 1331 Extente by Guillaume Godel (c.1280- ), son of Guillaume (1255- ), who was probably Raoul`s nephew. In the latter year, Raoul Godel (c.1285- ), son of Guillaume, was recorded as owing the Crown the above 10 sous per annum for the said 20 vergées of land, a sum mentioned as still being due to the Crown, on that land, in the 1528 Extente, by Clement Godel (1470-by 1535), who was evidently the successor of this last Raoul.

Long action

The fief itself must also have been, at this date, in the hands of Clement Godel, who was therefore the successor also of the last Guillaume, as his son Richard Godel had, by 1544, sold it to a member of the Lemprière family. This sale marked the beginning of a long-lasting action against various Lemprières by his presumptive heir, Philippe Godel, specifically for the fief. [4]

Thomas Godel, son of the above Philippe, in his suit against the Lemprières, included demands for the return to his family of some former Brasdefer land, "Thomas Godel occupying and holding the land of the chef-mainte [5] ..of Brasdefer, in right of his wife, formerly Seigneur des Augrès".

This refers to a member of the powerful and long-extinct Brasdefer family, either Geoffrey Brasdefer [6] or Guillaume, who had married the heiress of Guillaume des Augrès, Seigneur des Augrès, who was alive in the 13th century. Geoffrey and Guillaume Brasdefer were both former Bailiffs of Jersey.

The Armorial of Jersey mentions that two of Geoffrey Brasdefer`s daughters married, respectively, Raoul Lemprière and Guillaume Payn, these being members of the two families against whom the Godels were already engaged in litigation. The Lemprières had inherited Brasdefer`s Fief des Augrès, the Payns inherited other land, but the Brasdefer chef-mainte had passed, with its land into the Godel family. This indicates the existence of a third daughter or co-heiress of Geoffrey Brasdefer, who must have married a Godel.

The long drawn-out suit, regarding the exact Brasdefer inheritance and latterly the sale to the Lemprière family of the Fief ès Godeaux, was to the considerable detriment of the Godels. Litigation against two of the Island`s most powerful families, which might have been successful if brought by an earlier Godel, proved disastrous. Thomas Godel's son, named after his grandfather, Philippe, was obliged in 1609 to sell his house, his "manoir" [the former Manoir des Augrès, now called "Bras de Fer" and land.

In the early 16th century, a younger son of the above Clement, Drouet Godel, was mentioned in the Jersey Chantry Certificate of 1550. Both he and Philippe Godel have descendants in Jersey. Sire Raoul Godel was in 1318, Rector of St Clement.

Variants

  • Godel, 1218
  • Gode
  • Goddell, 1607
  • Godell

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The church record links above will open in a new tab in your browser and generate the most up-to-date list of each set of records from our database. These lists replace earlier Family page baptism lists, which were not regularly updated. They have the added advantage that they produce a chronological listing for the family name in all parishes, so you do not have to search through A-Z indexes, parish by parish.

We have included some important spelling variants on some family pages, but it may be worth searching for records for a different spelling variant. Think of searching for variants with or without a prefix, such as Le or De. To search for further variants, or for any other family name, just click on the appropriate link below for the first letter of the family name, and a new tab will open, giving you the option to choose baptism, marriage or burial records. You will then see a list of available names for that type of record and you can select any name from that list. That will display all records of the chosen type for that family name, and you can narrow the search by adding a given name, selecting a parish or setting start and end dates in the form you will see above. You can also change the family name, or search for a partial name if you are not certain of the spelling

The records are displayed 30 to a page, but by selecting the yellow Wiki Table option at the top left of the page you can open a full, scrollable list. This list will either be displayed in a new tab or a pop-up window. You may have to edit the settings of your browser to allow pop-up windows for www.jerripediabmd.net. For the small number of family names for which a search generates more than 1,500 records you will have to refine your search (perhaps using start or end dates) to reduce the number of records found.

New records

Since August 2020 we have added several thousand new records from the registers of Roman Catholic, Methodist and other non-conformist churches. These will appear in date order within a general search of the records and are also individually searchable within the database search form

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Notes and references

  1. ABSJ XIV, 40, 42
  2. 1274 Extente, 27
  3. A sum due on inheritance: 1274 Extente, 8
  4. Câtel Livre 9 (1544/5)
  5. Principal holding
  6. Armorial of Jersey, 244 and 312
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