Adam Ant

Adam Ant

photo by Prphotos

Birth Name: Stuart Leslie Goddard

Place of Birth: Marylebone, London, England, U.K.

Date of Birth: 3 November, 1954

Ethnicity: English, as well as 1/16th Scottish, possibly some Romani

Adam Ant is an English singer, musician, and actor.

He is the son of Betty Kathleen, an embroiderer, and Alfred Leslie Goddard, a chauffeur, who served in the Royal Air Force. He has a daughter with his former wife, PR assistant Lorraine Gibson.

Adam’s paternal grandfather was Thomas Albert Alfred Goddard (the son of Charles Henry Goddard and Catherine Elizabeth Hill). Charles was the son of Charles George Goddard and Louisa Fisher. Catherine was the daughter of Thomas Hill and Mary Ann Cooper.

Adam’s paternal grandmother was Caroline Florence Louise Hutchens (the daughter of Frederick Charles Hutchens and Annie Mary MacLean). Frederick was the son of William John Hutchens and Caroline Herbert. Annie was the daughter of John Roderick Maclean, who was Scottish, and of Mary Annie Lake.

Adam’s maternal grandfather was Walter Albany Smith (the son of Joseph Charles Smith and Thirza West). Walter was said to have been Romanichal. Joseph was the son of Charles Henry Smith, from Church Icomb, Gloucestershire, and of Clara Jane Such/Surch, from Little Compton, Warwickshire. Thirza was the daughter of Urbane West and Susannah Savins.

Adam’s maternal grandmother was Lily Ada Jopson (the daughter of George Jopson and Ada Spokes). George was the son of William Jopson and Mary Ann Moore. Adam’s great-grandmother Ada was the daughter of Richard William Spokes and Sarah Ann Emberson.

In his book, Stand and Deliver: The Autobiography, 2006, Adam wrote of his maternal grandparents:

Lily Ada had married by far the most important man in my life as I grew up, my maternal grandfather. Born a Romany gypsy, Walter Albany Smith came into this world in a caravan in Oxford in 1898, and his life reads like a romantic lead in a D. H. Lawrence novel. It’s impossible to trace his family tree before this time as, in true gypsy tradition, the less contact with officialdom or society in general that his people had, they considered, the better. It is believed they were of Rumanian heritage. Judging by the thickset Slavic head and jawline that the whole family inherited, I think this is quite possible.

It appears at least most of the ancestry of Adam’s maternal grandfather was not Romani. It is not clear if Adam has any verified/documented Romani ancestry.

Sources: Marriage record of Adam’s parents – https://familysearch.org

Marriage record of Adam’s paternal grandparents, Thomas Albert Alfred Goddard and Caroline Florence Louise Hutchens – https://familysearch.org

Marriage record of Adam’s maternal grandparents, Walter Albany Smith and Lily Ada Jopson – https://familysearch.org

8 Responses

  1. Erik1714 says:

    https://www.ancestry.co.uk/genealogy/records/clara-jane-surch-24-31hgy

    According to this Clara Jane Surch was born in Little Compton, Warwickshire, the daughter of Joseph Surch and Jane Leatherland. Her second husband, Charles Henry Smith was born in Church Icomb, Gloucestershire.

  2. madman says:

    This man went under the pseudonym Walter Smith:
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xavier_Petulengro

    Maybe there’s a connection?

  3. follers says:

    Is there any evidence that Walter Albany Smith had Romani ancestry?

    • madman says:

      Adam wrote it in his book Stand and Deliver: My Autobiography.

      “Lily Ada had married by far the most important man in my life as I grew up, my maternal grandfather. Born a Romany gypsy, Walter Albany Smith came into this world in a caravan in Oxford in 1898, and his life reads like a romantic lead in a D. H. Lawrence novel. It’s impossible to trace his family tree before this time as, in true gypsy tradition, the less contact with officialdom or society in general that his people had, they considered, the better. It is believed they were of Rumanian heritage. Judging by the thickset Slavic head and jawline that the whole family inherited, I think this is quite possible.”

      As for the spelling of Romani and Romanian, as well as the fact that Romanians are not Slavic, this is how it is written in the book.

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