Edward Godfrey (born Jan 1833 in Pennsylvania) was my gr-gr-uncle. I descend from his brother, Henry Martin Godfrey (b. 19 Jun 1839 in Jonesburg, Montgomery, Missouri; d. 25 Jun 1917 in Jonesburg, Montgomery, Missouri) and his second wife Harriet Elizabeth "Hattie" McClure (b. 19 Jul 1851 in Louisville, Jefferson, Kentucky; d. 19 Jul 1938 in Jonesburg, Montgomery, Missouri). Edward and Henry Martin's parents were Mary Ostick (b 12 Mar 1803 in Saundby, Nottinghamshire, England; d. 07 Feb 1881 in Missouri) and George M. Godfrey (b. 23 Feb 1800 in East Retford, Nottinghamshire, England; d. 23 Oct 1886 in Janesville, Tama, Iowa). They are buried in the Jonesburg Missouri City Cemetery. Mary Ostick and George M. Godfrey are my immigrant ancestors, who sailed aboard ship "Washington" from Liverpool, docking in Philadelphia on August 12, 1830. They traveled in steerage class with their two young children, Mary Ann (4) and George (1). They made their home in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, for six years, and then moved to French Town, Missouri, where they lived for about two years before settling on a large farm near Jonesburg, Missouri.

Back to Edward Godfrey. Most of his growing-up years were spent on his parents' farm near Jonesburg, and sometime before 1860 (while still unmarried) he moved to San Jose, California, where he was a farmer (probably a fruit grower). By 1870 he was married to Melissa "Millie" C. McDanel and was living in Milpitas, California. By 1880, Edward and Millie had relocated to San Jose, and 1900 US Census records show them still living at that location. Millie is assumed to have died before 1910, because census records for that year show Edward (age 77) and his wife of one year, Matilda (age 62) in the home of Matilda's mother, Zerilda Freer, in Lexington, Los Angeles County, California. By 1920, US Census records show them back in San Jose. This was the second marriage for both. Interestingly, Matilda and her first husband, William Papson, had once lived next door to Edward and Millie Godfrey in San Jose. Edward predeceased his second wife, Matilda "Tilly" who died in 1927 and is buried in Lake County, California, presumably beside her first husband. Edward is believed to have died in Santa Clara County, California, but his exact date of death and place of burial are unknown. I plan to research Santa Clara County Death Records.