Nansemond County Virginia USGenWeb Archives Biographies.....Godwin, Charles Bernard ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/va/vafiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher http://www.rootsweb.com/~archreg/vols/00001.html#0000031 February 22, 2008, 7:53 am Author: Leonard Wilson (1916) CHARLES BERNARD GODWIN GODWIN is one of the most ancient family names known to the English speaking races. It comes down from Saxon times and belongs to that large class of Saxon names in which the name of the Deity figured. Godden, Godding, Godin, Goding and Godon are all variations of this name and had originally the same parent stock. During the period of Saxon supremacy in England, the Godwin family became conspicuous, the chief of the name rising to the rank of Earl, and the Earl Godwin of the period just prior to the Norman Conquest was not only one of the leaders among his countrymen, but one of the sturdiest patriots of any age. The name of Godwin later figured in one of the most romantic incidents in English history. The famous poem by Tennyson in which the Lady Godiva figured as the heroine was founded on an incident which happened in the town of Coventry in 1427. The Lady Godiva was the wife of Earl Godwin, who, ruling with a rather heavy hand, was appealed to by her to show leniency in a certain case, and out of her earnestness grew the romantic and historical incident which is celebrated in the town of Coventry to the present day. The antiquity of the Godwin family name in Virginia is a parallel to its antiquity in the old country, for in 1620, twelve years after the founding of Jamestown, we come upon the name in the person of Reinould Godwin, who came to Virginia on the ship "Abigail", and was a member of Captain Francis West's muster. Next in order comes Daniel, who, in 1635, settled in Charles City County; then John who, in 1647, settled in Isle of Wight County. In 1653 Joseph, Elizabeth and Devoroux Godwin settled in Northampton County. In 1654, Matthew settled in James City County; and in 1656 appears a second John in Nansemond County. These were the ancestors of all the Godwin families in Virginia. The Godwins evidently prospered in the new country, for Bishop Meade says they were among the leading families of eastern Virginia, and from 1695 forward they have held various official positions. Upon the records of the famous old Smithfield Parish, are the names of Captain Edmund, Joseph, and Colonel Thomas G. Godwin, as vestrymen, apparently between the years of 1695 and 1720. The record of the family in the Revolutionary War was most creditable. Anthony, of Nansemond County, was captain; Bainbridge was a lieutenant; Brewer (Isle of Wight Co.) was a colonel; Edmund (Isle of Wight Co.) was a lieutenant; Edwin and Elisha appear to have been privates; James was a lieutenant; Jere was an ensign; Jonathan was an ensign; Kinchen was a captain of the Nansemond Company; Matthew, Robert and Samuel were privates; Thomas was an ensign. This long line of Revolutionary soldiers in one family is an illustration of how they had multiplied. The old records of Isle of Wight County show land grants in 1714 to Colonel Thomas Godwin and in 1723 to Joseph Godwin. One branch of the family was represented in the earlier period of Maryland by Lyde Godwin, who came from Bristol, England, about 1740, and whose children became in part the ancestors of the Ridgeleys of Maryland. This branch of the family later changed its name to Goodwin. In the War of 1812, Abraham, Abraham, Jr., Kimmel and William H. Godwin, all of Virginia, held commissions in the United States Army. To the Isle of Wight and Nansemond Counties families belongs Charles Bernard Godwin, of Chuckatuck, Nansemond County, now a prominent figure in the active business life of his section. Mr. Godwin's parents were Mills and Mary Louise (Pruden) Godwin. Mills Godwin was a farmer, and the boy had the usual rearing of a boy on a Virginia plantation. Early in life, he developed exceptional business capacity which has led him into numerous fields of effort. His interests have been ramified in many directions, and his success has been far more than ordinary. Timber land deals, transportation interests, speculations and farming have all at times engaged his attention; and farming, at least, has been with him a permanent occupation. Retaining his home in a small community, he is a well-known figure in the larger cities by reason of his prominence in the business life of his section. He is at the present time a Director in the American Bank of Suffolk and in the Shea Realty Corporation of Norfolk. In his community Mr. Godwin is a man of character and standing. He represents worthily in his generation a family which has been for nearly three hundred years identified with his State, has shared in its good and ill fortune, has fought its battles in war, and contributed to its development in times of peace. On September 25, 1884, Mr. Godwin was married at Chuckatuck, to Martha Carroll Whitney, daughter of Marriett Joyner and Martha (Carroll) Whitney. Of this marriage there is a fine family of five children; Bernard Whitehead, now thirty years of age, who attended Elon College in North Carolina and the Virginia Polytechnic Institute at Blacksburg, Virginia; Martha Louise, now twenty-five, was educated at the Southern Female College at Petersburg, and Hollis College of Virginia; Frank Whitney, twenty-one, and Charles Bernard, Jr., now nineteen, were students in the Fork Union Military Academy of Virginia; the youngest son, William Frederick, now seventeen. In a History of Nansemond County, published some years ago, are some interesting incidents in connection with the Godwin family. Between 163G and 1772, there raged a dispute between Nansemond and Isle of Wight Counties as to the boundary line. During the hundred and thirty-six years, at least four Acts of the General Assembly related to these boundaries. The Act of 1674, after establishing fixed lines for the division, provided: "Nevertheless, the house and cleared grounds of Captain Thomas Godwin, who hath been an ancient inhabitant of Nanzemund Countie Court, be, remain countied and deemed in the County of Nanzemund, anything in this act contrary notwithstanding." An unusual feature, in so far as Virginia was concerned, was the foothold obtained by the Quakers of Nanzemond County, probably as early as 1660. The doctrines of the Quakers appear to have appealed very strongly to the leading men of Nansemond, and the old Meeting House at Chuckatuck had associated with it many prominent families of the section. The records show that in 1682, both Thomas and Edmund Godwin were affiliated with the Chuckatuck Quaker Meeting House; but they evidently severed their connection with it, for some fifteen years later, both of them appeared as vestrymen of the Episcopal Parish. There were two Godwins of that day named Thomas, Colonel Thomas Godwin, Sr., who was a Burgess from 1654 to 1058, and his son of the same name who died in 1714. Both figure conspicuously, and it is sometimes difficult to tell which is meant. The change of the county line in 1674, which excepts Thomas Godwin's property, undoubtedly refers to the elder Thomas Godwin, and it is probable that it was he who was Speaker of the Assembly in 1676. His son Thomas was a member of the defiant vestry in Chuckatuck that denied the Governor's right of induction. He was also a colonel in the Militia, and was removed by Governor Nicholson in 1705. At the time of his death he was Presiding Justice of the County Court. Thomas Godwin, the third, was a member of the House of Burgesses in 1714 and in 1723, and sheriff of the county in 1731, 1732 and 1734. Putting all of the brief mention in the ancient records together, it seems to be a fair assumption that the first Colonel Thomas Godwin was the son of John, who was one of the original immigrants, and was himself nearly a man grown when his father came to America. The Godwin family possesses two exceedingly ancient Coats of Arms. As is known by all historical students, crests and mottoes are comparatively late additions to Coats of Arms. The originals were simply plain shields ornamented in whatever way appealed to the tastes of the owners, and the device was entered at the College of Heraldry. As men became more luxurious and esthetic, they added first the crest and later the motto. The two ancient Godwin Coats of Arms referred to show neither crest nor motto. Upon the first appears, upon a golden ground, three black lions rampant; and on the corner of the shield, painted black, appear three golden discs called bezants. In the second, upon a golden ground, the heraldic inscription is three palets lonzengy sable. Additional Comments: Extracted from: MAKERS OF AMERICA BIOGRAPHIES OF LEADING MEN OF THOUGHT AND ACTION THE MEN WHO CONSTITUTE THE BONE AND SINEW OF AMERICAN PROSPERITY AND LIFE VOLUME II By LEONARD WILSON, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF ASSISTED BY PROMINENT HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL WRITERS Illustrated with many full page engravings B. F. JOHNSON, INC. CITY OF WASHINGTON, U. S. A. 1916 Copyright, 1916 by B. F. Johnson, Inc. Photo: http://www.usgwarchives.net/va/nansemond/photos/bios/godwin44gbs.jpg File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/va/nansemond/bios/godwin44gbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/vafiles/ File size: 9.6 Kb