He met Esther Rees when he worked as a gardener at Tarago, near
Goulburn, NSW, and they married at St Saviour's Cathedral, Goulburn in 1870.
They moved to Sydney, first to Balmain. Charles worked as a gardener
at Bourke St Waterloo (1880 - 92), then at several addresses in Annandale
St, Annandale. Their home for many years was "Oakleigh", 203 Annandale St,
Annandale. This spacious two-storey home was surrounded by a beautiful garden.
Charles was listed as a houseagent, of 125 Annandale St, in 1902. According
to Sr Dorothea, this entailed collecting rent for some big firms.
Esther was a big woman. She was very reserved and always elegantly dressed with her long thick wavy hair in a neat knob at the back of her head. Charles was a small man. Their daughters all had long brown wavy hair and all wore it up high on the head held by combs. The family were active members of St Aidan's Anglican Church at Annandale and are well remembered by the parishioners there. The Gooud's garden provided a regular supply of flowers for the church.
There is a story that Charles was once reported missing, and was found by a detective friend of Samuel's, robbed, bound and gagged, and left in a large building. Some years later, Charles recognised his assailant in the street. This man, Digby Grant, was later hanged for murder.
The Goouds were a very musical family. They all sang and were members of the church choir. Monty was a tenor and Reg was a well known professional singer with a beautiful bass voice. Edith, as well as being church organist and choir mistress, taught piano and organ.
Esther died in 1926 and Charles died in 1933. They are buried in the Waverley Cemetery.
Charles John and Esther's family were:
- William Reginald (Reg) Gooud b. 1871. Reg was a
musician. Before the turn of the century he started the "Oakleigh Glee
Club" which gave many musical evenings. After some success as a 'vocalist'
in Sydney, he spent five years in England, touring for a time with Lottie
Lehmann. On his return to Australia, he married Beatrice Milford
in 1913, but the marriage was short and they had no children. Reg
was a distinguished conductor and singing teacher and was involved in musical
administration. He lived at Chatswood and died in 1937 aged 66. SINGER'S DEATH
Mr Reginald Gooud
Mr Reginald Gooud, who, a few years ago, was one of the best known of Australian singers, died at Chatswood yesterday. Although he had not appeared on a concert platform in recent years, he was remembered for his fine bass voice. He achieved a reputation beyond Australia.
Mr Gooud was born in Sydney. He began his musical career at the age of four, at a concert at Collector, near Goulburn. He was one of the first boys to be selected for St Saviour's Cathedral choir, Goulburn., after which he made several appearances on the concert platform at Goulburn. Later, he studied under Signor Steffani.
Mr Gooud went to London in 1907, he signed up with the London Choral Society, at the Queen's Hall. His next engagement was a tour of the provinces with Madame Lehmann, who has just concluded a season in Sydney. Numerous engagements followed and he sang at the Crystal Palace and the Albert Hall.
When he returned to Sydney in 1912, he was associated with Mesdames Dolores and Florence Schmidt in their Australian tours. He was conductor of the Sydney Choral Society, vice president of the Royal Philharmonic Society, with which the Choral Society amalgamated, and president for two terms of the Musical Association of New South Wales. He achieved remarkable success as a conductor.
Mr Gooud is survived by a brother (Mr R. M. Gooud) and a sister.
The funeral will be held to the Waverley Cemetery to-day
Sydney Morning Herald 19th May 1937, page 13
- Charles Vincent Dixon Gooud b. 1874. Died in 1891 aged 16 yrs
- Robert Montague Manning Gooud b. 1877; d. 1941. Monty
met and married Lorna Amy Nissen at St Aidan's in 1920. Both were
members of the choir. They had one daughter. Monty and his family lived
in the house next door to his parents and sisters, 205 Annandale St. After several years as a clerk, he worked
as a silver plater, in his workshop at the back of his home, where he carried
out trade work for city jewellers such as Prouds. Lorna Esther adored her
father and happily helped him in his workshop. Monty was a skilled workman
and in his spare time carved a large (900 x 600) carving of the Lord's Prayer.
- Lorna Esther Gooud b. 1922. Lorna had beautiful dark auburn hair which she inherited from the Nissen family. Unfortunately she had one leg shorter than the other which meant that she walked with a limp. (Her grandmother Nissen also had this problem). Lorna Esther was a shy girl but was well liked by all who knew her. The two homes were semi-detached so young Lorna was brought up surrounded by grandparents and aunts. She took piano lessons from her Aunt Edith.
After Monty died the two Lornas went to live in an apartment in the home of Grace Kennedy, Lorna Amy's sister, on Parramatta Rd, Ashfield. They continued their association with St Aidan's. Lorna Amy died in 1957.
After her mother died, Lorna Esther lived at Haberfield and later at Five Dock. She worked at AWA until her death at the age of 48 years after an operation to remove a brain tumour. The operation was carried out at St Vincent's Hospital, but Lorna died some time later at Eversleigh Hospital. The ashes of both mother and daughter are in the memorial wall at St Aidan's.
- Edith Lillian Gooud b. 1879. Edith became organist at St Aidan's when she was 17. She was a tiny girl who was dwarfed by the tall pipes of the organ, however she played with great power and feeling. She would not take a holiday if it meant being away from church on Sunday. She would go with her sister, Eva, to their holiday cottage on the river at Sylvania – but only on week days. The church members were sometimes invited to afternoon tea in the beautiful garden by the river at the Gooud's Sylvania home which was just across Tom Ugly's Bridge. The grounds of the home swept down to the water's edge.
- Elsie Mildred Gooud b. 1883. Elsie married Alexander
Leslie Stuart in 1910. The Stuarts were builders and were from Annandale.
Elsie and Les, as he was called, lived in Annandale for some time and continued
their association with St Aidan's. They later moved to Darling Point, where
they lived at 14 (?) Eastbourne Avenue, next door to Samuel Hordern's home,
Babworth House, now an annex of St Vincent's Hospital. Their daughter,
- Esther, b. 1911, was a pupil at Ascham Girl's School and their son,
- Leslie, b. 1916, went to Cranbrook School.
Les Stuart died in November 1926 (of pneumonia?) leaving Elsie a widow with young children. Esther was 14 years old and Leslie just 9. While Les was alive, the family attended St Mark's (Church of England), Darling Point and Esther was a choir member there for some time. Esther was a soprano. After Les died, Elsie and the children returned to St Aidan's to attend church on Sundays with the Gooud family.
In 1935, Elsie and the children moved to America to live and lost contact with the family. Leslie was in the US Army during the second World War.
- Mary Eva Gooud b. 1886. Eva played the piano and sang alto in the church choir but devoted most of her adult life to St Aidan's and to looking after the home and her father, leaving Edith free to pursue her musical career. Eva died of cancer at a private hospital at Leichardt on 30th June 1945.
Her life was devoted to music and she listed her occupation as music teacher.
Edith revived Reg's concept of the Glee Club in the 1930s and together with members of St Aidan's choir, gave many concerts in the church hall to raise money for the church. These variety concerts would consist of several items such as cantatas, recitations, short sketches and singing. According to Joyce Willis, friend of the Gooud family and choir member of St Aidan's, these musical evenings were a lot of fun for both the participants and the audience.
Edith died of a stroke in 1944, just three hours after returning home from choir practice.