Once I Had A Dream

Once I had a dream that I was working on my genealogy and I was so frustrated because I couldn't find an ancestor.  I decided to check in the back of the book I was reading for the answers.  In my dream, genealogy was like a textbook problem, with the answers in the back.  Oh, how I sometimes wish that were true!

Take the case of my Goode ancestors.  My second great grandmother, Martha Susan Hardy died in Christian Co, KY in 1915.  Her death certificate listed her parents as Anderson Sizemore and Sarah Goode, both born in Halifax Co, VA.  From the Genealogies of Kentucky Families [1], I found mention of Anderson Sizemore and his wife Sarah Goode on page 350. This article related that Sarah's father was John Goode, with the following additional facts in a footnote:

-John Goode married (secondly) Elizabeth Cole in 1809 and died in 1814. 

-Daniel C. Goode was guardian of John's children William H., John, Mary, Nancy, Susannah and Jemima.

-Richard Tuck was guardian of John's children Lucinda & Daniel C. Goode.

-John's widow Elizabeth married Thomas Evans before 1831.

-John Goode was the son of William Goode & Mary Glidewell (daughter of Nash Glidewell of Halifax Co, VA). 

This was wonderful news for extending the line, since I had found William Goode's pedigree going back to John Goode (1620/30-1709) of England in the Compendium of American Genealogy [2]. I ordered a microfilm copy of the book entitled Virginia Cousins by G. B. Goode from the Church of Latter-day Saints Library in Salt Lake City [3].  From the very first page, I was fascinated by all the wonderful information on my ancestors.  The book listed ten generations further back than John Goode of England!  What a find, I thought.  I happily perused the pages, following my line of descent:  John of England, Joseph, Daniel, William, and there on page 72, my John.  But wait, something was wrong.  The book had John of William listed as having died at Norfolk in 1804.  The book went one generation further on John, but listed just one son, Daniel, b. ca. 1780-1800.

I consulted the numerous addenda at the back of the book and on page 470, I found a John Goode b. abt. 1780 who enlisted in the VA Militia and d. 27 Aug 1814.  His wife Elizabeth married Thomas Ivin before 1833 and she lived in 1859 near Red Bank, Halifax Co, VA.  This matched the information from the Genealogies of Kentucky Families, but the Virginia Cousins author placed him on another branch of the family.  It was also noted that on page 484 in the addenda, Daniel C. Goode is listed as son of John who died at Norfolk in 1804.  Daniel was also a soldier in the War of 1812 and died 15 Mar 1815.  He married Polly Griffin (daughter of William Griffin) and she lived in Lynchburg and applied for pension in 1853.

Well, unlike my dream, looking in this book, or even the back of the book, did not yield the answers I was looking for. Without a book of answers, I (and other researchers) had to prove for ourselves that John Goode, father of Sarah Goode who married Anderson Sizemore, was the son of William Goode and Mary Glidewell and died 27 Aug 1814. 

On reflection, this was probably better since I had to search hard for the answers and learned a lot in the process. I eventually wrote an article published in the Southside Virginian magazine [4] about the research and proof I uncovered that verified John Goode’s identity. I was also able to honor this ancestor by submitting this proof to have his name engraved on the war memorial for Halifax County, Virginia. 

War Memorial in Halifax Co, VA

Sources:

[1]  Stewart, William C., "Stewarts," Genealogies of Kentucky Families from The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society and The Filson Club History Quarterly, Vol. O-Y, (Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1981), 350-352. The original article was serialized in 1963.

[2]  Virkus, F.A., editor, The Compendium of American Genealogy, First Families of America, Vol. 1. (Chicago, IL: The Virkus Company, Genealogical Publishers, 1930), 182.

[3]  Goode, George Brown, Virginia cousins : a study of the ancestry and posterity of John Goode of Whitby, a Virginia colonist of the seventeenth century, with notes upon related families, a key to southern genealogy, and a history of the English surname Gode, Goad, Goode, or Good from 1148 to 1887 (Richmond, Va. : J.W. Randolph & English, 1887). FHL microfilm 1321168 Item 2.

 [4]  Westfall, Dawn, "Goode Family Information," The Southside Virginian, A Journal of Genealogy and History, Vol. XIII, No. 2 (1995). This journal is no longer in publication.