EDGOOSE:
In search of Ancestry
EDGOOSE, John Thomas
1839 - Yes, date unknown Has 36 ancestors and 22 descendants in this family tree.
1803 - 1886 (83 years)-
Name EDGOOSE, John Thomas Birth 29 Sep 1839 Gedney, Lincolnshire, Norfolk 
Gender Male Death Yes, date unknown Person ID I296 Edgoose Last Modified 21 Mar 2026
Father EDGOOSE, John, b. 1802, West Walton, Norfolk d. 5 Oct 1841, Gedney, Lincolnshire, Norfolk (Age 39 years) Mother HOLBORN, Mary, b. 1803, Terrington St. Clement, Norfolk d. 20 Nov 1886, Walsoken, Norfolk (Age 83 years) Marriage 25 Jun 1837 Wisbech St. Peter, Cambridgeshire, England Family ID F182 Group Sheet | Family Chart
Family MATA, Mere, b. Fiji d. Yes, date unknown Children + 1. EDGOOSE, Juliana, b. Between 1868 and 1869, Cautata, Tailevu, Viti Levu, Fiji d. 4 Aug 1939, Vatukoula, Fiji (Age 71 years) [Father: natural] [Mother: natural]Family ID F187 Group Sheet | Family Chart Last Modified 27 Jan 2026
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Event Map 
Birth - 29 Sep 1839 - Gedney, Lincolnshire, Norfolk 
= Link to Google Earth
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Biographies 
EDGOOSE, John Thomas (1839-????). aka HEADGOOSE
John Thomas EDGOOSE, son of John and Mary EDGOOSE, was born on 29 September 1839. His father was described as a pig dealer on his birth certificate.
(GRO December Q 1839 [HOLBORN] Holbeach 14 397)
John EDGOOSE had married Mary HOLBORN of Terrington St. Clement, Norfolk, on 25 June 1837 at Wisbech St. Peter.
He was baptised the same day at Gedney, Lincolnshire. Gedney parish register refers to him as the son of James HEADGOOSE and Sarah ALBAN of Gedney Church-End and describes James as a pig jobber.
The family was listed at two places in the 1841 census, an apparently not uncommon occurrence. On one return they are listed as living with John EDGOOSE's sister Ann OLDFIELD at West Walton:
Ann OLDFIELD, aged 40, farmer, born in Norfolk;
William OLDFIELD, aged 12, born in Norfolk;
John BALLS, aged 35, agricultural labourer, born in Norfolk;
John EDGOOSE, aged 35, agricultural labourer, born in Norfolk;
Mary EDOOSE, aged 35, born in Norfolk;
James EDGOOSE, aged 3, not born in Norfolk;
*John EDGOOSE, aged 1, not born in Norfolk;
(HO107/770/13/10/11).
On the other return they are listed at Church Street, Gedney, Lincolnshire:
John EDGOOS (sic), aged 35, stock jobber, born in Lincolnshire;
Mary EDGOOS (sic), aged 35, not born in Lincolnshire;
Sarah EDGOOS (sic), aged 10, not born in Lincolnshire;
James EDGOOS (sic), aged 3, born in Lincolnshire;
*John EDGOOS (sic), aged 1, born in Lincolnshire;
James GUNMAN, aged 75, labourer, born in Lincolnshire;
A.......... MORE, aged 20, born in Lincolnshire;
Mary SMITH, aged 75, born in Lincolnshire.
(HO107/607/2/47/6)
NOTE: Sarah EDGOOS was Sarah Ann HOLBORN, illegitimate daughter of John's wife Mary.
By 1851 the family had moved to Walsoken, Norfolk:
Mary EDGOOSE, head, aged 49, widow, pauper, born at Terrington, Norfolk;
James EDGOOSE, son, aged 13, scholar, born at Gedney, Lincolnshire;
*John EDGOOSE, son, aged 10, scholar, born at Gedney;
ELIZABETH EDGOOSE, aged 9, scholar, born at Gedney;
Mary Jane EDGOOSE, aged 3, born at Tydd St. Mary, Lincolnshire;
William BODGER, lodger, aged 19, jobbing gardener, born at Walsoken, Norfolk.
(HO107/1767/289/19)
In a letter which Walter Leeder EDGOOSE (1872-1957) wrote to Herbert EDGOOSE on 2 May 1919 he mentions that his father had two cousins - John and James - one of whom went to sea and was never heard of again. This makes him the most likely to have been the father of Juliana EDGOOSE in Fiji in 1871 or 1872 whose mother was Mere MATA. There is no other contender at present.
NOTES & QUERIES:
I am grateful to Wendy LELO of New Zealand for bringing to my attention the mysterious John EDGOOSE of Fiji and his many descendants.
1) When and where did he die? John EDGOOSE is not listed in the first register of Births, Deaths and Marriages at Sea covering the years 1854-1859 (BT 158/1).
2) George EDGOOSE claimed during a visit to Sedgefield on 30 January 1999 that he had some connection with bridge building in Middlesborough and Sydney. This claim has not yetbeen substantiated in any way.
However, if John Thomas EDGOOSE had worked in Middlesborough on the prefabrication of the two halves of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, he could have been sent to Sydney, Australia, to work on the installation of the two halves
and then decided to visit Fiji. Remember that in Fiji the John EDGOOSE who married Juliana was described as a planter.
3) If he really did run away to sea why is he not listed in the Register of Seamen's Tickets in BT114 and the Register of Merchant Navy Seamen in BT116?
(revised 21.03.2026)