John Goltrip
(1772-1862)

John Goltrip (also known as John Gaultrip and John Coultrup) was the third of the four children of William Gotrop and his wife Ann Langford of Witcham, Cambridgeshire, England.

John married Elizabeth Paget of Littleport, and they raised a family evetually of six children.

However, in 1816, John joined with a group of people to riot in Ely and Littleport. John was accused of theft, arrested, and taken to court.

A book published in 1893 (re-published by The Littleport Society) contains a detailed account of the Littleport Riots. An extract, naming John reads;

'Lavender was found in the room with two gravy spoons, of which nothing more was seen. The question was whether they were Mr. Vachell's or not. If they thought that those spoons were the property of Mr. Vachell, it would be grand larceny, as no value was placed on them above forty shillings; the offence was clergyable, and not capital. The Jury immediately found Lavender guilty, and Beamiss and Butcher not guilty. John Gaultrip was then charged with stealing two silver spoons at the same time and place, and as there was a great contradiction in the evidence, the Jury returned a verdict of not guilty".

After Judge Edward Christian addressed the jury, they returned a verdict of 'not guilty'. Had John have been found guilty of stealing Rev. J Vachell's silver spoons, he would no doubt have faced tough conditions in prison. He may have faced the same fate as other rioters - some were deported to Tasmania, and five men were hanged. If either of these latter two had been John's fate, then my 4x Great Grandmother Hannah would never have been born.

On the 1841 and 1851 censuses, both John and his wife Elizabeth are living with her daughter's family, and by the time of the 1861 census, having been widowed, only John appears living with his daughter and her family in Camel Road, Littleport, Cambridgeshire.

He died in 1862, aged 90 years.

Life Events

Born

• 1772 in Witcham, Cambridgeshire, England.

Baptised

• 19th January 1772 at St. Martin's Church, Witcham, Cambridgeshire, England.

Married

• Elizabeth Paget (1779-1861) on 9th October 1844 at Holy Trinity Church in Ely, Cambridgeshire, England.

Children

• Mary Goltrip (1799-?)
• Ann Goltrip (1803-?)
• Sarah Goltrip (1806-1807)
• Sarah Goltrip (1811-?)
• William Goltrip (1814-?)
• Hannah Goltrip (1818-1895) married William Barber (1814-1877)

Census and Residence

• 1841: 70yrs, Black Lake Bridges, Littleport, Cambridgeshire, England.
• 1851: 84yrs, Camel Road, Littleport, Cambridgeshire, England.
• 1861: 91yrs, Camel Road, Littleport, Cambridgeshire, England.

Employment

• 1816: Rioter
• 1841: Agricultural Labourer

Death

• December 1862 at Littleport, Cambridgeshire, England, aged 90 years.

Burial

• 28th December 1862 at St. George's Church, Littleport, Cambridgeshire, England.