Nat Gould

Samuel Moody Gethen 1764-1836

All Hallows Bread Street

King's Weigh House Chapel

Samuel Moody Gethen was born in 1764.

He married Sarah Hemans 1752-1818 on 11 January 1790 (1) at the church of All Hallows Bread Street in London (2).

They had the following children (3):

Samuel Hemans Gethen. He was baptised on 29 March 1791 at the King's Weigh House Chapel in London (4).

Mary Gethen. She was baptised on 13 May 1795 at All Saints church in Hereford.

Thomas Gethen. He was baptised on 20 November 1796 at All Saints church in Hereford.

High Town & All Saints Church

Sarah Gethen. She was baptised on 4 April 1802 at All Saints church in Hereford.

Their mother Sarah Gethen had died by 1815 when her Will was proved (5).

Their father Samuel Moody Gethen was a mercer who moved from London to Hereford in 1791, when he set up in business as a retail draper in High Town, Hereford (6).

On 20 March 1816 he married Frances Cicely Hall 1791-1863 at Brimfield parish church in Herefordshire (7).

She was born on 17 August 1791, the daughter of John Hall of Newcastle-upon-Tyne and his wife née Mary Hunt. She was baptised on 30 October 1791 at St Nicholas church in Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

Samuel Moody Gethen and his second wife née Frances Cicely Hall had the following children:

Hereford Journal 22 January 1794

Philip Gethen. He was born in 1817 in Hereford. He was baptised on 24 April 1817 at All Saints' church in Hereford. He became a mercer, eventually taking over the large retail drapery shop that his father had begun in 1791.

John Gethen. He was born in 1819 in Hereford, and baptised on 27 June 1819 at All Saints' church in Hereford. On 1 August 1878 he married Maria Louisa Abbott at Croydon in Surrey. She was the daughter of William Bayley Abbott.

Henry Gethen. He was born in 1821 in Hereford. On 25 November 1846 he married Mary Jane Edwards, daughter of George Edwards of Birmingham (8). They had the following children: Henrietta Gethen, Mary J.E. Gethen, Alfred G.L. Gethen, and Percy Gethen.

William Gethen. He was born in 1823. He married Anne H. Williams, widow of Mr J.M. Williams and eldest daughter of the late James Symonds on 27 February 1855 (9). They had a son Cecil Gethen. William Gethen died in 1892.

Frances Emma Gethen. She was born in 1824 and baptised on 19 March 1824 at All Saints' church in Hereford. She was married there on 28 April 1859 to Charles Wood of Edgbaston, Birmingham (10). they were living in Edgbaston in 1861.

George Gethen. He was born in 1826. He married Annie Walmsley, daughter of Mr. G. Walmsley on 11 September 1866 (11). He died in 1904. They had the following children: George Walmsley Gethen, Charles Hall Gethen, and John Ernest Gethen.

Francis Gethen. He was born in 1828 in Hereford. In 1871 he was living at Chorlton-on-Medlock in Manchester.

Samuel Moody Gethen died in 1836. His Will dated 2 May 1832 was proved on 28 October 1836.

His wife Frances Cicely Gethen continued the draper's business with the assistance of her sons (12). However in 1845 she decided to retire and hand the shop over to her sons Philip Gethen and Henry Gethen, advertising in the local newspaper that she was closing the shop for a few days to make the necessary changes (13). By 1851 Henry Gethen had moved elsewhere, but Philip Gethen was then running the business as a master draper employing five assistant drapers, including his younger brother John Gethen, and an apprentice. He was unmarried, and living with him then were his widowed mother and unmarried sister Frances Emma Gethen.

His widow Frances Cicely Gethen died on 7 March 1863 (14). Her Will was proved on 16 November 1863 (15).

(1) "Mr. Gethen, of Lawrence-lane, to Miss Hemans, of Watling-streeet." Gentleman's Magazine volume 67 (1790) page 83.
(2) Included with the parish of All Hallows Bread Street in London was that of St John the Evangelist Friday Street, the parish church of which had been destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666 and not rebuilt. All Hallows church had also then been destroyed but was rebuilt to the designs of Sir Christopher Wren. The parish was combined with that of St Mary le Bow in 1876 and All Hallows Bread Street church was demolished in 1878. The site was occupied by warehouses, and re-developed in 1977–1981.
(3) Gethen Family Papers Herefordshire Record Office AP 39/432-455 and 448. A copy of the Will and Codicil of Samuel Moody Gethen dated 28 October 1836 together with notes on the ages of the children and family details are in AP 39/448.
(4) In 1697 a meeting house was built over the King's Weigh House to become an Independent (Congregationalist) chapel. The King's Weigh House itself was where imported goods were weighed to assess customs duties. It was demolished for widening the approaches to the London Bridge opened in 1831.
(5) Probate of her Will, dated 5 May 1795, was granted on 29 July 1815.
(6) "High Town, Hereford. S. Gethen, linen and woollen draper, mercer, haberdasher and hosier, from London - has purchased the extensive stock in trade of Mr W. Dunnicliffe, consisting of linen and woollen drapery, &c at very reduced prices - also he has brought down a large assortment of fashionable goods": [Hereford Journal 13 July 1791]. Mr Dunnicliffe had moved house in 1790: Hereford Journal 12 May 1790.
(7) "Married.] At Brimfield, Saml. Moody Gethen esq. of Hereford, to Miss Fanny Hall, niece of the Rev. Dr. Hunt, of Cockshoot Lydiat-House.": The New Monthly Magazine volume 5 (1816) page 368. Also reported in Gentleman's Magazine volume 86 Part 1 (1816) page 466, and Cambridge Chronicle and Journal 5 April 1816.
(8) "MARRIAGES. Nov. 25, at St. Philip's Church, Birmingham, ... Henry Gethen of this city to Mary Jane, second daughter of George Edwards, Birmingham." Hereford Journal 12 December 1846.
(9) "Feb 27 at All Saints Church, William Gethen to Anne Hart, relict of the late Mr. J.M. Williams, and eldest daughter of the late Mr. James Symonds, all of this city." Hereford Journal 28 February 1855.
(10) Hereford Journal 4 May 1859.
(11) Hereford Journal 15 September 1866.
(12) Hereford Times 3 September 1836 and 10 September 1836.
(13) “MRS. F. C. GETHEN, BEING ABOUT TO DECLINE BUSINESS IN FAVOUR OF HER SONS, PHILIP AND HENRY GETHEN, BEGS respectfully to inform her Friends and the Public generally, that the SHOP IS NOW CLOSED FOR A FEW DAYS, To enable her to complete the Arrangements for the same. High Town, February 11, 1845.” Hereford Journal 12 February 1845. See also Gethen Family Papers Herefordshire Record Office AP 448 containing notes and memoranda on the Gethen family including the ages of children, family details, and a printed notice from F.C. Gethen relating to her relinquishing her business to her sons Philip and Henry (with a notice from Philip and Henry).
(14) "Deaths...GETHEN.- March 7, at Athelstan-hill, aged 71, Frances Cicely, relict of the late Mr. Samuel Moody Gethen, of this city." Hereford Journal 14 March 1863.
(15) "16 November 1863. The Will of Frances Cicely Gethen late of the City of Hereford Widow deceased who died 7 March 1863 at Hereford aforesaid was proved at Hereford by the oaths of Philip Gethen of the said City Mercer John Gethen of the said City Gentleman and Henry Gethen of the said City Mercer the Sons the Executors." National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations) 1858-1966 (1863) page 43.