Copied from The Journal, Monroe, NC, June 7, 1929 - Genealogy of the Austin Family of Stanly & Union Counties.
The following genealogy of the Austin family, as interesting as it is accurate, was written by Mr. D. Nance for Stanly News-Herald of Albemarle, and will be of interest to many Journal readers: . . .
There came from Ireland, prior to the Revolutionary War, Charles and Mary Austin, bringing with them their seven children, to-wit: Peggy, born June 9, 1751; William born April 11, 1754; Charles born May 31, 1756; John born January 3, 1759; Mary, born June 10, 1761; James born March 10, 1765; and Sarah born September 3, 1766. After the death of Charles Austin his widow married a Mr. Hood and had one son, Charles Austin Hood.
Bryant Austin, Richard Austin, Mike Austin, Jake Austin, John Austin and Jonathan Austin were nephews of Charles Austin, Sr., above. The above was obtained from Charles Austin's Bible, which he brought to this country and is now in the Austin family.
All the Austins in Stanly and Union counties are descendants of James, Bryant and John.
James settled on Richardson Creek near the old Nance Mill and is buried beside of his wife and grandson, Clement Nance, near the old homestead. He married Fanny Snipes and reared ten children.1. Eady, married Jessy Gurley
2. Berry born Dec. 23, 1795, wife Susannah Gurley, to them were born three sons and six daughters, to-wit:
a. Jacob
b. Joseph, wife Lydia Holey, parents of Marcus C., Wm. and Milton.
c. John J., wife Miss Smith, parents of Rev. D.M. and John.
d. Sophia, husband, Riley Griffin, parents of J. Wilson, Milton, Cornelius and Hyram D.
e. Mary, husband Andy Moore, parents of Troy, Frank, James, Ellison, Henry and Thomas.
f. Mrs. Wyatt Holmes mother of Wm. and John.
g. Fanny, husband, Hugh Purser, Sr. , parents of David, Wm. and Hugh.
h. Bettie, husband Cass Hasty, parents of John W., Ell and Brac
i. [no other daughter listed]
3. Bryant, born May 10, 1797, wife, Mariah Tarlton, son Lawson
4. James, born April 8, 1799, wife, Winny Thomas, parents of John M., Thomas, James and Alph, father of Lawyer R.E. Austin, Dr. Jim and Dave.
5. Charles born May 16, 1797, first wife, Betsy Nance, parents of Wyatt, James, Jane, husband Sanders Brewer, Polly, husband Wm. Stewart, Lucy, husband Frazzier Carpenter, and Martha husband John Brewer; second wife Gila Tyre, mother of Ashley.
6. Mary, born September 12, 1802, husband Blackston Mullis, went to Georgia.
7. Aaron born Nov. 12, 1804, wife Nicey Hinson, parents of James, Wm., Philip, Franky, husband, James Walters, "Polly," husband Emberry Walters, and Jane, husband J. Stanly Smith.
8. Delancy, born September 29, 1806, husband Henry Baucom, parents of James, Riley, Wm., Hiram, H.M. Ellis, Calvin, Mrs. Sarah Thomas and Mrs. Geo. Tucker.
9. Franky, born November 17, 1808, husband, Herbert Nance, parents of Clement, died young, Henry, James, Silas father of Davidson and Dr. Fuller.
10. John born April 21, 1811 wife, Nicey Barber, they went West.
Austin, Richard. The Austin Family: A Summary Report from 1700 to 1999, 12/1999.
According to published reports, William & Ruth came from Ireland and settled in Southampton County, Virginia, sometime between 1750 and 1770, probably about 1760. They had five children, but it is unknown how many came withe them from Ireland.
Charles, their first son, married Mary in Ireland and brought seven of their eight children to Wake County, North Carolina, sometime after 1766. [Footnote: Best guess is around 1770, but it's possible that Charles came to NC after his father, William, died in 1771 in VA.]
John the second son, was born about 1727 and it is assumed that he came to America with William & Ruth, although very little is known about him.
Richard the third son, was born about 1728 and it is believed that he married and raised a family in Ireland prior to coming to America, about the same time as his brother, Charles.
Sarah (1729 and Molly (1730) were the fourth and fifth children of William & Ruth - nothing else is known about them.
Wake County is the home of Raleigh, the state capital. The 1790 census pus Charles in the Hillsborough District, which is present day Orange County. There is evidence that other relatives in the Austin Family lived close by. His large family soon began to scatter and establish the family name in the South. Charles died in 1771 in Wake County and Mary married Mr. Hood shortly afterwards. They had one son, Charles Austin Hood. Mary died about 1795.
[Charles & Mary Austin's son] James Allen Austin was born March 10, 1764 in Ireland and died 1849 in Anson County, North Carolina. He married Frances Snipes ca. 1789 in Wake County, North Carolina. She was born about 1770 in Wake County, North Carolina and died 1849 in Anson County, North Carolina.
James Allen and his wife Frances (Fanny) moved from Wake County to Anson County about 1800. He is buried near Nance Old Mill, Richardson Creek, North Carolina. . . .
Children of James Austin & Frances Snipes:
- Eady b. Sep. 17, 1794 NC, died before 1850 NC
- Deberrry b. Dec. 23, 1795 NC, d. after 1850 NC
- Bryant b. May 5, 1797 NC, d. ca. 1870 NC
- James E. b. Jan. 3, 1799 NC, d. 1875 Anson Co., NC
- Charles b. Apr. 5, 1801 Richardson Creek, Anson Co., NC, d. ca. 1860 Anson Co., NC
- Mary b. Sep. 12, 1802 Anson Co., NC, d. ca. 1865 NC md. Blackstone Mullis ca. 1820 in NC. He was b. ca. 1800, d. ca. 1865. They moved to Georgia.
Eady Austin b. Sep. 17, 1794 NC, d. before 1850 NC. She married Jesse Gurley ca. 1812 NC. He was born 1776 NC, died after 1850 NC
1850 Census - Union Co., NC - Jesse age 74 is listed with three children people: Jacob 27, Elizabeth 7, Tilmon 20.
Children of Eady Austin & Jesse Gurley:
- Jacob b. 1823 NC, d. ?
- Tilmon b. 1830
Deberry Austin b. Dec. 23, 1795 NC, d. after 1850 NC. He md. 1) Susannah Gurley Seagley ca. 1812 NC. She was b. ca. 1795 and d. ca. 1840 NC. He md. 2) Milly Haigler ca. 1845 NC. She was born 1795 NC, d. ? NC.
1850 Union County NC census: Deberry, wife Milly, Susannah and Elizabeth
Children of Deberry Austin & Susannah Seagley:
- Sophia b. 1814 Union Co., NC, d. ?
- John J. b. 1821 Union Co., NC, d. ?
- Mary b. 1823 Anson Co., NC, d. 1858 NC
- Jacob b. 1827 Union Co., NC d. Union Co., NC
- Joseph b. ca. 1828
- Frances b. ca. 1832 Union Co., NC, d. ?
- Susan b. 1835 Union Co., NC d. ?
- Elizabeth b. 1837
Jacob Gurley b. 1823 NC, d. ? NC. He married (-?-) , had daughter Elizabeth b. 1843
Sophia Austin b. 1814 Union Co., NC, d. ? md. Riley H. Griffin ca. 1835 Union Co., NC. He was born 1812 NC, d. ?
Children of Sophia Austin & Riley Griffin:
- Milton b. 1844
- John Wilson b. 1839
- Permelia b. 1840
- Camilia A. b. 1842
- Sylvania b. 1843
- Jane b. 1847
John J. Austin b. 1821 Union Co., NC & d. Union Co. NC. He married Maria (-?-) Union Co., NC. She was born 1819 in NC, d. ?
Children of John Austin & Maria (-?-):
- Mary A. b. 1842
- Joseph H. b. 1844
Cagle, John, ed. The Cagle Record of Old Cumberland County, North Carolina, 1764-1784, The Cagle Journal of Historical Inquiry.
April 2001 Issue
Regarding the identity of Capt. John Cagle, the Tory officer who died in the Spring of 1782 while in the service of the Loyalist Militia of Cumberland County, it might be supposed that he was a son of one of the Cagle pioneers who migrated from Pennsylvania to North Carolina in the 1790s. During the decade of the 1760s, these Cagle pioneers all settled in Cumberland County, and six men are known to have acquired land in Cumberland at that time, and are the oldest known Cagles in North Carolina. Each of these men is known to have had a son named John, and a brief summary is given below of the approximate age and known places of residence of these several John Cagles:
John "Dutchman" Cagle d. 1799 - had a young son, John b. 1780s, from his second marriage; in 1810s, this John moved to Lawrence Co., MS, where he died in the late 1830s.
Henry Cagle, d. 1802 - his son John, 1770s - 1840s, migrated to Clay Co., Indiana, and died in that region.
Leonard Cagle, d. 1810s - believed to have had a son John L. Cagle, born ca. 1780s or 1770s, who accompanied him to Georgia in 1803; John L. later moved to Copiah Co., MS and died 1830s.
George Cagle, d. 1825 - believed to have had a son John Cagle, 1780 - 1858, who migrated to Carroll Co., TN in 1830s, and died in Benton Co., TN.
David Cagle, 1728-1780s - had son John c. 1752-1826, who migrated to Davidson Co., TN in early1800s and died in 1826 Robertson Co., TN
Charles Cagle, d. 1801 - had son John, 17702-1830s who lived in Mecklenburg Co., NC
John Cagle, b. 1802 early resident of Burke Co., (present Alexander) NC and 1830s pioneer of Haywood Co., NC. . . . According to oral tradition . . . he was a grandson of Capt. John Cagle, who had served in the Revolutionary War. It is believed that John Cagle, born 1802, is buried in an unmarked grave in a cemetery near his homestead on Jonathan's Creek in Haywood Co., NC. . . . John and Henry's father was John.
John Cagle had a brother named Henry b. ca. 1798. . . .
NC map tracing the general migration route of John & Henry Cagle's ancestors:
- Moore County area 1760s - between Johnston and Anson Counties where Gurleys lived
- Cabarrus County area 1770s - northwest of Anson County
- Lancaster County, SC, 1790s - southwest of Anson County, borders Union Co., NC, Gurleys lived in SC at some point as well, possibly in Lancaster Co.
- Alexander County area early 1800s - northeast of Burke County
- Haywood County 1830s
- Jackson County 1860s
May 2001 Issue
The Cagles who appeared in Burke County from 1810 through 1840 comprised a single family unit: John, the head of household in 1810, who was the father of the family, died ca. 1815; Lucey, the head of household in 1820, was John's widow; and Henry and young John, the heads of household in 1830, were the sons of John and Lucey. In the 1830s, young John moved from Burke to Haywood Co., where he appeared in the 1840 census; and in the 1840s, Henry joined him in Haywood, and both men were listed in the 1850 Haywood census (John, age 48, and Henry, age 52). A third brother, Jacob, born ca. 1815, was a number of years younger than John and Henry. It is known that Jacob, at the age of nine in 1824, was apprenticed to a blacksmith; after that date, however, no definite record has been found on him, either in Burke or Haywood County.
If John Cagle of Burke Co., left a will, it has yet to be found among records of that county. [Burke County records were burned during the Civil War in order to save the courthouse]. However, from the file of his loose estate papers, certain interesting facts regarding the closing years of his life can be determined. First, it is known that John was still alive as of August 28, 1814, when he wrote an IOU to Jesse Martin of Burke County, but that he was deceased by June 1815, when several creditors filed claim against his estate.
Transcripts of four of the money IOU records which are part of the John Cagle estate papers:
Twelve months after date we or either of us do promise to pay to John Bost Admr. of the estate of Conrad Bost Admr. of the estate of Conrad Bost Desd. the sum of five Dollars & thirty Cents for value received of him as witness our hands and seals this 13th day of May 1814. John (his K mark) Kagle, Leonard Cagle, Test: Jonas Bost, Clk.
Twelve months after Date We or either of us promise to pay or Cause to be paid unto Abner Payne agent for Daniel Payne the Just and full Sum of forty five Dollars and forty cents for value recvd. Witness our hands and seals this 14th day of June 1814. John (his K mark) Cagle, Leonard Cagle, Moses (his O mark) Bentley, Test: Levi Nunnally
Three years after Date we or either of us promis[e] to pay or Cause to be paid unto Abner Payne agent for Daniel Payne the Just and full (sum) of forty five dollars and forty cents for value recd. Witness our hands and seals this 14th day of June 1814. John (his K mark) Cagle, Leonard Cagle, Moses (his O mark) Bentley
Four years after Date we or either of us do promis[e] to pay or Cause to be paid unto Abner Payne agent for Daniel Payne the Just and full Sum of forty five Dollars and forty cents to be discharged in trade for value recd. Witness our hands and Seals this 14th day of June 1814. John (his X mark) Cagle, Leonard Cagle, Moses (his O mark) Bentley
Note that in all four of these documents, a Leonard Cagle appeared as a co-signer with John Cagle. . . . a Leonard Cagle also appeared with John Cagle in the records of Lancaster Co., SC, during his time of residence in that county during the 1790s.
It is believed that the Leonard Cagle of Lancaster Co., SC was the Leonard c. 1770 - 1840s, who was a son of Charles Cagle (d. 1801) who lived in the Cabarrus Co., NC area from 1770s to the 1790s. His relation to John remains unknown to the editor at this time.
It is unclear if the Leonard Cagle of Burke Co., NC was the same Leonard or a younger cousin, Leonard, c. 1780 - 1850s, who lived in adjoining Lincoln (Catawba) Co., NC.
Regarding the children of John and Lucey Cagle of Burke Co., a list of those who survived infancy can be found in an 1823 document of Burke Co., in which the children of the deceased John made an appeal for the division of his estate. The children, presumably given in order of birth are as follows:
- Cagle, Milly married to Nathan Austin - [is this the connection to Gurley]
- Cagle, Henry b. ca. 1798 in SC
- Cagle, Betsy married to Peter Lowkenore (Loughenore)
- Cagle, John b. ca. 1802, NC
- Cagle, Catherine not married as of 1823
- Cagle, Rebecca not married as of 1823
- Cagle, Jacob still a minor as of 1823
Henry Cagle, b. ca. 1798, oldest son of John Cagle, 1770s-1815, and wife Lucy, was born in South Carolina, according to the 1850 census, which would indicate that John and Lucy lived briefly in SC prior to settling in Burke Co., NC. Two records from the deed books of Lancaster Co., SC as summarized below, confirm that they did live in that state during the 1790s. They have not been located for the 1800 census, and it is unclear if they lived in SC in that year, or had migrated back to North Carolina.
[Leonard Cagle in Burke Co., NC estate records could sign his name, Leonard Cagle in Lancaster Co., SC witness to deeds signed with a mark. Possible Leonard in SC is an older generation.]
Book D, p. 182, Sept. 6, 1796: John Cagle & wife Lucy of Lancaster Co., to Jacob Hagler of Lancaster Co., for ￡30 sterling, 50 acres on the west side of Big Lynches Creek, adjoining said Hagler, Pate; plat dated 1750 to James McManus the patentee. John Cagle X, Lucy Cagle X, wit: Charles McManus, Leonard Cagle X, proved by Charles McManus, Sep. 6, 1796; John Welsh, JP.
Book F, p. 211, Jan. 9, 1798: Jacob and Catharine Englet of Lancaster Co., to Paul Hagler of same for ￡32, 155 acres on a branch of Tuckeyhoe, waters of Linches Creek, granted April 3, 1786. Jacob Englet (X), Catharine Englet (X) wit: Charles McManus, John Cagle, proved by Charles McManus, July 30, 1803.
Editor's note: Tuckeyhoe was Tuckaho Creek, a small tributary on the west side of Lynches Creek, near Turkey Creek.
Note that Leonard Cagle was one of the witnesses to the 1796 deed, above, when John and Lucy Cagle sold a tract of land on Big Lynches Creek in Lancaster Co., SC. Leonard Cagle, c. 1770-1840s, was a son of Charles Cagle, d. 1801, who lived near the junction of Rocky River and Dutch Buffalo Creek in Cabarrus Co., NC from the 1770s to 1790s. Also, note that the tract of 1796 was sold to Jacob Hagler, who presumably was the same Jacob Hagler who married Elizabeth Cagle, daughter of George Cagle, d. 1825, who moved from Moore Co., NC to the SW corner of old Montgomery (present Stanly) Co. about 1790. Jacob Hagler and his younger brother Paul Hagler (1798 deed above) lived in Cabarrus and Stanly Counties at various times, as well as in SC and GA.
Map of Lancaster Co., SC from Mills' Atlas of South Carolina, dating from 1825, the era when Leonard Cagle disposed of his last land-holdings in the county. Note that Lynches' Creek, which heads in North Carolina and flows southward, forms the boundary between Lancaster and Chesterfield Counties, SC. Running parallel to Lynches' Creek is the road from Salisbury, NC to Charleston, SC. Several German families, such as Plyter, Funderburk, Hagler and Cagle, moved southward along this road and settled in Lancaster Co., SC.
Leonard Cagle, c. 1770-1840s, who was a witness to the 1796 deed of John Cagle, appeared in records of Lancaster Co., SC as early as 1791, when he witnessed the sale of land from John Stroud to Jacob Shoffner, on Big Lynches Creek. In 1795, Leonard Cagle appeared again in Lancaster Co., as witness to a deed from Francis Bettis to Abraham Hagler. In 1797 (Deed Book D, p. 181), Leonard Cagle bought 500 acres on Turkey Creek, a branch of Big Lynches Creek, from John Welsh; the tract joined the lands of Boston Hagler and George McManus, and the deed was witnessed by Abraham Hagler and Charles McManus. Leonard and John Cagle both seem to have moved back to NC by 1800, although Leonard retained ownership of his tract in SC. In 1817, he returned to SC, and sold 460 acres of his tract to Elijah Philips and in 1824 donated his few remaining acres in Lancaster Co., SC to a church. Afterward, Leonard sold his property in nearby Anson Co., NC and migrated to Henry Co., GA. John Cagle, as nearly as can be determined, never returned to South Carolina after migrating to Burke Co., NC in the early 1800s, and after his death in Burke Co. in 1815, his sons eventually migrated to Haywood Co., NC in the 1830s and 1840s. John's descendants, in western North Carolina, preserved the oral tradition that their ancestor was Capt. John Cagle.
Regarding the ancestry of John Cagle, 1770s - 1815, the great-grandfather of C.C. Cagle, it would appear that he was born in or slightly before the Revolutionary War, and could well have been the son of a veteran of that war.
- One possibility regarding his ancestry is that he was an orphan son of Capt. John Cagle, the Tory who died in 1782 while in the service of the Cumberland Co. Loyalist Milita. Since that Capt. John Cagle enlisted from Cumberland Co., this theory would presuppose that young John, b. 1770s, originated among the Cagles of Cumberland Co., and was orphaned there in 1782, but later migrated by an unknown route to Lancaster Co., SC, where he first begins to appear in county records as an adult. This theory, while remaining a possibility, has yet to be supported with any firm evidence.
- Another possibility regarding John's ancestry is that he was not a son of the Tory Capt. John Cagle of Cumberland County, but the son of another John Cagle, perhaps of the Cabarrus / Stanly Co. area of NC, who also served in the Revolutionary War. John 1770s-1815, during his residence in Lancaster Co., SC and Burke Co., NC, does seem have had ties to the Cagles and other families of Cabarrus and Stanly Co., area, particularly Leonard Cagle, c. 1770-1840s, a son of Charles Cagle, d. 1801. Thus, the possibility might be raised that John, 1770s-1815, could have been a son of John Cagle, c. 1752-1826, a resident of the Cabarrus Co. area, and son of David Cagle, 1728-1780s. This John, b. 1752, was of military age during the Revolution, and could have served in the American forces from Cabarrus, as did Jacob Cagle, 1755-1845, whose record has been discussed at great length in the Journal. Thus far, no military service record has been found for John, b. 1752, and it remains unknown if he ever fought at the Battle of Guilford Court House, or attained the rank of Captain. However, the possibility remains open for research and discussion, and any future evidence that might be uncovered will be published in the Cagle Journal.
June 2001 Issue
The Cagle Records of Old Cumberland County, North Carolina, 1764-1784, 1783 Real Estate Tax - In past issues of the Cagle Journal, reports have been given on the Cumberland Co., NC Real Estate Tax Lists of 1755, 1767, 1777, 1778, 1779 and 1780, and i has been noted that the pioneer Cagles appeared on all these lists, with the exception of the 1755 List. John, Henry and Leonard Cagle appeared on the 1767 list, and were joined by George Cagle on the lists of 1777 through 1780. . . .
The Cumberland Co. Tax List for 1781 is missing from the Archives, and seems to have been lost or destroyed. The 1782 List also is missing, with the exception of a single page from Capt. N.M. McCraney's District . . . no names appear which have a direct link to Cagle history. . . .
John, Henry, Leonard and George Cagle appear on the 1783 list, as they did on the lists of 1777 through 1780. All four are listed in the first column on the first page of Capt. John Cox's District . . . As on the previous lists, the names seem to be predominantly English and Scottish in origin, but with a German minority, including the names of Cagle, Carpenter, Commer, Carriner, Yow, Shamberger, Hart, Stutts, Ritter and Furr.
Since this is a real estate tax list, many men of adult age do not appear on the list, particularly young men who did not yet own property. Several sons of the Cagle pioneers were among these young men who do not appear on the 1783 list, although they probably were above the age of 21. These might include William and Christopher Cagle, the two oldest sons of Henry Cagle, and Jacob and George Cagle, the two oldest sons of John Cagle. Roger Cagle, born ca. 1763, oldest known son of Leonard Cagle, also was nearing adulthood at this time. David Cagle b. 1767, oldest son of George Cagle was about 16 years old at the time of the list.
1783 Cumberland County, NC Real Estate Tax List - Capt. John Cox's District:
- John Garner ￡120 . . .
- John Williamson 240 . . .
- Adam Commer 70
- Wm. Williamson 90 . . .
- George Cagle 90
- Jas. Ledlow 120
- Leonard Cagle 120
- Saml. Tidwell 30
- Simon Hart 70
- Henry Cagle, 100
- Jos. Cockmon 10
- Seth Manes 5
- John Cagle 140 . . .
Goodnight, S.H. The Goodknight (Gutknecht) Family in America, Madison, WI, Jan. 1936
(Prefatory Note. - The title is perhaps too ambitious. This paper contains the story of the immigrants Michael and George Gutknecht, brothers, and of the first generation of their descendants. The story of the family of Christian Gutknecht, the first known immigrant of the name, remains to be written. It is hoped that this effort may inspire the other story.
For materials painstakingly collected during many years and generously placed at the writer's disposition, grateful acknowledgement is hereby made to Lillian Prewitt (Mrs. Clifton Shealy) Goodknight, of Honolulu, Hawaii, to Asbury and Sherman Gooknight, of Sedalia, Mo., to Gilbert Goodnight of Knob Noster, Mo., and to John, the son of Cloyd Goodnight, deceased, of Bethany, West Virginia. To many others who have been kind and helpful, the writer hereby expresses his sincere thanks.)
Many versions of this story are extant, virtually all of them based on family traditions as handed down, verbally in earlier days, and chiefly by letter in later times, in various branches of the family. As might be expected in the case of such transmittal, especially when two centuries have elapsed and the descendants are widely scattered, there are many and serious discrepancies among these stories. There is a great confusion of statement as to the origin of the ancestor Michael, where he first settled, who his children were, and whether he had brothers who came with him.
To illustrate forcibly the contradictions that confront him who has the temerity to attempt to unravel the tangled skein, it may suffice to note that, in one biographical sketch [Abridged Compendium of American Genealogy, Vol. II] it is affirmed that "Michael Goodnight fled from France to Germany to escape religious persecution, thence to America, 1694, and settled in Germantown, Pa; removed to Rockbridge Co., Va., 1708," etc.; in another [Lamb's Biographical Dictionary of the U.S.] that he "came from the lowlands of Germany to Philadelphia about 1735, and settled at Rockbridge, Va., about 1737;" while a third [Louisville Courier-Journal Isaac Goodnight] chronicles, "Michael Goodnight, who was born in Germany in 1694, and emigrated to America in 1708, settling in Rockbridge, Va.,"
None of these conflicting statements appears to be backed by the slightest evidence, diligent search has failed to discover documentary verification for any of them, and some of them can be clearly disproved. For example, the land that is now Rockbridge County, Va., was an unexplored wilderness in 1708. Not even the fertile Shenandoah Valley was occupied that early, and there were no white settlers in the present Rockbridge until 1739-40. Obviously then, we cannot accept any of these varying accounts as authentic.
It is to the task of establishing actual facts by searching out documentary evidence that the present writer has devoted his efforts for the past two years and fortune has smiled upon him. We now know the exact date of Michael's landing in America, and, with some lacunae, are able to give a fairly accurate account of his career in this country. We know nothing of his first wife or wives, relatively little about his children by them, and there is still a good deal of uncertainty regarding his whereabouts during the first decade of his sojourn in the colonies; but the rest is reasonably clear.
Michael Goodnight was one of the many thousands of Germans who fled from intolerable conditions in the homeland and sought refuge in the British colonies of North America during the first three quarters of the eighteenth century. The exodus from Germany, and particularly form the south German states, began after the War of Spanish Succession had devastated the Palatinate in 1707. By October, 1709, thirteen thousand impoverished German emigrants were congregated in London. The English were kind to them and passed many of them on as settlers to their colonies in America. Later, William Penn invited oppressed Germans still in the homeland to come to his new colony where he could guarantee them religious liberty as well as cheap land. A tremendous immigration began, and it is estimated that, by 1775, here were 225,000 Germans in the colonies. Michael Goodnight was one of these "Palatines," as they came to be called here, because so many came from the Palatinate. Whether he actually came from there or from some other German state, we do not know.
In virtually all of the sketches, family letters and clippings which have come to the notice of the present writer it is assumed that there is only one Good(k)night family in America and that all who bear the name have inherited it from the one common progenitor, Michael. The investigations underlying this study make this theory appear highly probable.
In the first place, the names Gutknecht (high German form) and Gudknecht (low German form) are by no meas of such rare occurrence in Germany as is "Goodnight" in America. Several wholly unrelated Gutknechts and Gudknechgts may have come to America during the 18th century and become the progenitors of families here. If one of them remained in a community such as Germantown, in which the German element predominated, the name might never be translated or Anglicized. The writer has several letters from Miss Sara E. Gudknecht, of Philadelphia, whose ancestors have resided there for nearly two centuries. Her researches have now brought to light that in land deeds in the 1780s, the name appears as Gutknecht, Goodknecht, Goodneck, and even Goodkneight and Goodnite.
In a non-German speaking community, however, the name Gudknechgt would inevitably be Americanized into Goodknight. If it were accurately translated, it would become Goodservant, but the cognate form Goodknight is obviously the one that would be chosen. [footnote; If it were originally French, "the Good Knight," bestowed for valor in battle, as has been suggested, it would have been "le bon chevalier" and that, translated into German, would have been "der gute Ritter" and not "der gute Knecht." If we give due weight to etymology, we shall have to content ourselves with plebeian rather than aristocratic origin, for Knecht in German means servant, or, in medieval days when knighthood was on the wane, it meant a foot soldier as contrasted with the mounted knight.] From there, the omission of the k is merely a matter of carelessness or of abbreviation. Beyond doubt, every bearer of the name has a perfect right to use the k; it is probably the seeming petty vanity of appearing to seek to ennoble the inherited family name, under which we have grown up without giving the matter much thought, which keeps most of us from making the change in later life. It is, however, significant that most of the legal documents concerning Michael Goodnight which have come under the writer's observation, whether from Virginia, North Carolina or Kentucky, spell the name without k.
Returning now to the question of whether all the Goodnights in America are descended from Michael, we find ourselves confronted by the indisputable fact that several immigrant Gutknechts entered the country about the middle of the eighteenth century. How many may have entered through such ports as Boston, New York, Charleston, and Savannah, we have no means of knowing. We have record, however, of three who entered with the great tidal wave of German immigration during the mid-century through the port of Philadelphia.
The German Society of Pennsylvania has recently published a stout three-volume book entitled Pennsylvania German Pioneers. In 1727, the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, alarmed at the vast numbers of continental foreigners being incessantly landed there, passed a law requiring all male continental immigrants between the ages of 16 and 60 to sign certain oaths of allegiance upon arriving at Philadelphia. Ship captains were required to submit lists of all male adult immigrants imported in their ships. Unhappily, not all the lists have been preserved, but this recent work contains those that have come down to us in the Pennsylvania archives, and shows in both printed lists and in facsimile reproductions of the original sheets the names of the men arriving in 324 shiploads from the year 1727 to 1775. Women and children were not listed, and there is no indication as to which men were single and which were heads of families. It is estimated that at least 65,000 German immigrants landed in Philadelphia from these 324 shiploads. The majority were from the southern German states which had been so heavily scourged by war and famine.
In list 130C of volume I, we find that "Christian Gutknecht" was "imported in the ship Christian, Capt. Thomas Brady, from Rotterdam but last from Cowes, England," and took the "usual Oaths to the Government" on Wed. the 13th of September, 1749.
In list 187C, same volume, we find that "Hans Michael Goodknecht" came "in the ship Neptune, Capt. John Mason, from Rotterdam and last from Cowes, England," and took the oaths on October 4, 1752.
And list 229A shows that the "Ship Recovery, Amos Jones, Master, from Rotterdam and Cowes," brought "Gerick Goodnight"" who took the oaths on October 23, 1754.
The facsimile lists show that both Christian and Hans Michael made their mark, the names in both cases having been written for them by some one else; it may have been that neither knew how to write.
The last of the three entries is from a "captain's list;" the facsimile of the original sheet shows all names written by the same hand, an English hand. To a German, or to one well versed in German, the name "Gerick" is utterly strange and non-German. But it occurs several times in this particular list and in this list only: "Gerick Au," "Gerick Timmer," "Gerick Goodnight," "Gerick Holander," and "Gerick Millar." It must be a corruption of a German given name of frequent occurrence. The writer of the list was an Englishman who doubtless understood no German. He probably asked the Germans their names and wrote down what he thought he heard.
In German, the name George is one of common occurrence; it is spelled as in English, except that the final e is omitted, but it is pronounced very differently; it has two syllables and may be phonetically transcribed as "Gay-urk." Slur the last syllable a bit, as a German immigrant would be quite likely to do if asked his name, trill the r, and you have a sound combination that an English ship clerk might very easily write down as "Gerick." To one unaccustomed to German speech, this explanation may sound far-fetched,; it will not seem so, the writer believes, to a student of German.
In the absence of any sort of evidence to the contrary, and because the documentary material later to be presented harmonizes perfectly with the thesis, even substantiates it, the present writer is quite convinced that it was none other than Ancestor Michael who landed in Philadelphia in 1752, and that it was his brother George, who came in 1754. This flies fully in the face of family tradition, but if the reader will consider fairly and weigh carefully the evidence to be presented in the following pages, he will surely have to admit that this hypothesis is a fully defensible one and that it contains no such glaring improbabilities, to say nothing of demonstrable errors, as are found in the old tales.
To do these old accounts full justice, it should be pointed out that in broad, general outline, they all coincide pretty well: Michael Goodnight came to the Colonies from Germany, landing in Pennsylvania, living later in Virginia, removing thence to North Carolina, and finally migrating during the Revolutionary days to the "dark and bloody ground" of Kentucky, where he met his death at the hands of the Indians on the "wilderness road."
This outline is entirely correct, and the proofs thereof will be hereinafter submitted. It is only with the exaggerated and conflicting statements regarding the early dates assigned to his arrival, his reputed signing of the Mecklenburg declaration of independence, his fabulous age when killed, his twenty-four children, of whom the youngest, a posthumous son, is alleged to have been the first male white child born on Kentucky soil, etc., that the writer finds himself compelled, in the interest of historical accuracy, to take issue.
Mr. Asbury Goodknight, a descendant of Michael through his son John, and now residing at a ripe old age at Sedalia, Mo., set out more than half a century ago to gather information concerning the family. The letters he then received from men now long dead have been preserved and have been made available from the present study. Two or three of them are invaluable, supplying, in spite of small inaccuracies, the frame-work of the family history, which is so well substantiated by county records, such as deeds, wills and marriage bonds, and by entries in the Draper manuscripts of the State Historical Library of Wisconsin, that we can now reconstruct the story in a manner which, as the writer fondly hopes, may be found thoroughly convincing.
The letters are numbered as in Asbury's collection. Dotted lines indicate omission of material not deemed pertinent to the discussion.
Letter 1 - Ashmore, IL, Dec. 24, 1883
Dear Porter & Thomas Goodknight:
Yours of the 18th is at hand . . . There were two gentlemen and their wives came across the Sea from Germany of the name of the name of Goodknight and located in North Carolina, one was named John (Michael), the other George.
George is my grandfather.
George had four sons and three daughters; the names of the sons, David, John, Peter, and Michael which was the youngest of the sons and is my father.
The daughters were named Christena, Elizabeth and S. Catherine, the youngest. She married a British officer and went to Great Britain. David lived and died a bachelor. John had a family and died on the Elkhorn. Peter and Michael emigrated to the Green River country.
John (Michael) had four sons, John, Isaac, Jacob and Abraham. If there was another I don't now remember it. [Henry.]
John lived on Chaplin's fork not far from Perryville. I was at his home once; know but little about his family; he had a son who had a cork leg. I spent a night with him but don't remember his name; neither do I remember whether he had any more sons, but I suppose he had. He had one daughter who was struck with paralisis whose mind was considerably impaired. John was a good man; everybody loved him. . . .
Isaac lived about fifteen miles above Bo[w]ling Green on big Barren river. Raised a large and respectfull family of both sons and daughters and lived to a great age.
Jacob lived on the hanging fork in Lincoln Co. not far from Stanford; he raised a number of sons and daughters and is the grandfather of J[ames] L[incoln] Goodknight the celebrated schollar and divine a cumberlan Presbyterian minister of Covington, Ohio.
Abraham got off from his people and they lost the run of him.
The two brothers, John (Michael) and George, in the days of General Logan and Boon emegrated to the state of Kentucky and met sad misfortune. George and his entire family except two sons who were in the service were captured I think at Kentons [Ruddell's] station. George was massacred in the most barbrous manner while his children were scattered among the Indians. My father was taken to Detroit and sold to the French and taken to Canada. Elizabeth never got to her people until she was twenty two years old.
John (Michael) and his son John went back after some of their goods which they had to pack on horses for want of roads, the Indians came upon them at their camp fire, killed the father. They shot the son, the arrow entered one side and came out at the other and the surprising part is in that condition he made his way to the horses, stopped the bell, concealed himself and the next day went to the white settlements.
I have given the outlines of our people in America . . .
Respectfully, Farewell, S.W. Goodnight
From the many substantiating records presently to be introduced, it is clear that the writer of the above letter has indeed given, and given very accurately, "the outlines of our people in America," to use his own quaint phrase. There are minor errors, corrections of which have been inserted in brackets.
Furthermore, this letter, which gives such a correct account of the family history - the writer undoubtedly had it directly from his father, George's youngest son, Michael - offers what appears to the present writer to be very convincing evidence that it was Ancestor Michael who landed in Philadelphia in 1752. The immigrant's given name, as the list shows, was Hans Michael. Hans is the universal German abbreviation of Johannes, English John. His English name, then, was John Michael Good(k)night. The letter just quoted refers to him throughout as John. As will be abundantly shown hereafter, the individual described in the letter as John was unmistakably Ancestor Michael. The present writer has therefore inserted (Michael) after John in the above copy of the letter. This letter, then, removes all doubt from the mind of the present writer that our ancestor was Hans Michael Good(k)night, who landed in Philadelphia in 1752. There is, however, other evidence of the same fact in other letters.
Letter 19 - Concord, Cabarrus Co., NC, Mar. 12, 1884
Asbury Goodknight:
Christian Goodknight was born in Germany, May 16, 1747, and came to the United States with his father in the state of Penn. and served as a soldier in the Revolutionary war and after the war moved to N.C. Christian, John and Jacob were brothers and if there were any more I have no account of them.
(Paragraphs recording Christian's descendants omitted.)
As for the name of my great grandfather Goodknight I have no account, but from what I heard my father say he was named Abraham [Michael - correction by present writer] and was killed by the Indians between No. Car. and Ky. and your great grandfather John was wounded and got away. Christian Goodknight was buried in the Presbyterian graveyard at Bethpage.
Yours truly, C.M.B. Goodknight
Letter 21 - Concord, N.C., Mar. 13, 1884
Asbury Goodnight:
I received a postal from you the other day . . . You want to know something about the Goodknight family. I can't give a full account at present but will as soon as I can. My great grandfather came from Germany to Penn. and after the revolutionary war came to N.C. in Cabarrus Co. My grandfather was seven years old when they came from Germany. They lived on cold water creek till Christian Goodknight was married then great grandfather and the rest of the family went to Ky. He took John and two other sons and some girls. Great grandfather was killed by the Indians and John was shot but got away in Ky. and one of my great aunts was stolen by the Indians and had two sons by the Indians before she got back to her folks. . . . Christian Goodknight died 56 years ago.
John S. Goodknight
[footnote: Both this letter and the foregoing one date the coming to NC as "after the Revolutionary War." As will be shown later, however, Michael bought his farm in Mecklenburg Co., NC in 1764. Cabarrus County was later formed from a part of Mecklenburg County in 1792.]
These letters have been chosen from the collection because the narrations contained in them are so fully substantiated by the records now to be presented that there can be no reasonable doubt of their correctness. Many of the others repeat the traditions indicated in the sketches cited at the outset of this paper, which had Michael coming to America in 1694, 1708 or 1735. No public record of any kind has been discovered by the writer which might pass as proof that any Gutknechts or Goodnights were in America prior to the coming of Christian, Michael and "Gerrick" in 1749, 1752 and 1754 respectively.
Letters 19 and 21 are from descendants of Christian Goodnight, a son of Ancestor Michael who remained in North Carolina when his father's family (including the John and Jacob mentioned in letter 19) migrated to Kentucky. Letter 19 states: "Christian Goodnight was born in Germany, May 16, 1757, and came to the United States with his father in the State of Pennsylvania," and letter 21 adds: "My great grandfather came from Germany to Pennsylvania . . . My grandfather (i.e., Christian) was seven years old when they came from Germany."
[footnote: Not to be confused with immigrant Christian who landed in Philadelphia in 1749, or with a Philadlophia Christian who enlisted in the American army at Germantown during the Revolution and was later replaced by his brother Christopher. . . ]
If letter 19 is correct as to the date of Christian's birth, 1747, he was only five years old, for Hans Michael landed in 1752. Nothwithstanding this slight discrepancy, however, the letters again offer strong evidence substantiating the thesis that the Hans Michael who came in 1752 was our ancestor.
The earliest record of Michael - so far as the present writer can discover - after his landing in 1752, seems to show that he was a resident of Bedford County, Virginia, in 1755. It is to be found in Chalkley's Abstracts from the Records of Augusta County, Virginia."
"The following Lists of Delinquents in the Tax Levies are not copies of the complete lists as returned to the Courts but contain only the names of those for whose delinquency some reason is assigned by the officer in making his return."
In the list returned by Sheriff Robert Breckinridge for the year 1755, "Mich'l Goodnight" is listed as "in Bedford," that is, he was a resident of Bedford County, hence wrongfully included in the tax rolls of Augusta.
The Deputy Clerk of Bedford writes, however: "We do not have the very early tax lists; but I have examined the indices to the Deed Books from 1754 to 1780, also the old Marriage Bonds from 1775 to 1800 and do not find the name of Goodnight at all. If Michael Goodnight resided in Bedford County, it must be that he did not purchase land here or else his deed would be of record."
. . . The tax list shows that Michael, at least, did not remain long in Pennsylvania and that he tarried awhile in Virginia. The family chronicles which differ so widely on some dates, do coincide on one. Michael Goodnight, whose wife had died, married Mary Landers [some say Landreths, Landis] on Feb. 19, 1762, probably in Virginia. Asbury Goodnight claims to have obtained the date of this marriage from the family Bible of John Goodnight, eldest son of the marriage and great grandfather of Asbury. The Bible has since been lost in a fire. The present writer has been unable to find any marriage bond or other public record confirming the statement, but accepts it as correct.
The removal of Michael and Mary to and their residence in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, is, however, clearly documented in a deed, of which a photostatic copy has been very kindly supplied by the Deputy Register of Deeds of that county. It reads in part:
This indenture, made on the 20th Day of May in the year of our Lord 1776 Between Michael Goodnight and Mary Goodnight his wife of the County of Mecklenburg and Province of North Carolina of the one part and John Pfifer of the County and province aforesaid of the other part Witnesseth that for and in Consideration of the sum of one hundred and five pounds piece Money of North Carolina to the said Michel Goodnight and Mary Goodnight his wife in hand paid by the said John Pfifer at or before the sealing & Delivery of these Presents the Receipt whreof we do hereby acknowledge and therefore doth Releave acquit & Discharge the said John Pfifer his heirs Executors and Administration by these presents that they the said Michel Goodnight and Mary Goodnight his wife hath granted Bargained sold and Confirmed and by these presents doth grant bargain sell & Confirm unto the said John Pfifer & his heirs or assigns forever all that track or parcel of land situate lying and being in the County & province aforesaid Containing by survey 190 acres & beginning at a Red Oak [description here omitted in part] which land lye on and near the three mile Branch being the waters of Rocky River it being a Certain piece of Land Convyed to the said Michel Goodnight by deed of Conveyance from James McClean bearing date the first Day of May 1764 & the same had been Conveyed by deed of Conveyance to James McClean by his Excellency Arthur DObbs Esquire bearing date the 24 Day of June 1762, etc.
There would seem, then to be no reasonable doubt of Michael's removal to North Carolina at some time between his marriage in 1762 and May 1, 1764. He unquestionably resided there approximately 12 years, and the Mecklenburg Convention, which is said to have adopted an early declaration of independence, ,met on May 20, 1775, precisely one year before Michael sold his land in that county. It may thus have been that he attended the convention, but so far as the present writer can discover, he was not listed by historians as among the signers.
Michael Goodnight was appointed constable for one of the districts of Mecklenburg County in 1775, and George Goodnight was appointed assessor in 1778. This service in public office before the end of the Revolutionary War renders direct descendants of either Michael or George eligible, if the writer is correctly informed, to membership in such patriotic organizations as the DAR, the SAR, Colonial Dames, and others. . . .
Michael and George Goodnight sold their North Carolina lands and migrated with their families to Kentucky at a very early date. In just which year they came, and whether the two families came together or separately, we shall probably never know. However, this much we do know: the first white settlement in Kentucky was made at Harrodsburg in 1775; three of George's sons were serving as soldiers at Ruddell's Station in December of 1778; and Michael Goodnight preempted land near Harlan's Station by virtue of actual settlement thereon in February of 1779. Presumably both families came in the summer - for migrations were not undertaken in winter - of 1777 or 1778. They were thus among the very early pioneers in Kentucky.
Strangely enough, the two families did not settle together. Ruddell's Station - there is a marker on the site - was located some thirty miles northeast of the present city of Lexington in what is now Bourbon County. Harlan's was thirty-five miles southwest of Lexington in what is now Boyle County.
. . . As noted above, the migration to Kentucky of Michael Goodnight with his wife and the children of his last marriage may have occurred in the summer of 1777 or 1778. Happily, an interesting old document gives us the date of his first settlement on Kentucky land for the purpose of preemption.
The document is in The Certificate Book of the Virginia Land Commission of 1779-80. From this entry we learn that: "Michael Goodnight this day claimed a preempt of 400 acres of land at the State price in the District of Kentucky on Acc't of making an Actual settlement in Feb'y 1779 lying at the mouth of Doctors fork of Chaplins fork of Salt River on both sides of the s'd Creek Satisfactory proof being made to the Court they are of Opinion that the said Goodnight has a right to a preempt of 400 Acres of Land to include the above Location & that a Certificate issue accordingly."
This land, which the writer visited in the summer of 1934, lies several miles to the south of Harrodsburg, in the present county of Boyle. In his Stations & Early Settlements in Kentucky, Collins locates Harlan's Station as "on Salt River, in Mercer (now Boyle) County, 7 miles s.e. from Harrodsburg and 3 miles n.w. of Danville; built by Major Silas Harlan, in 1778." It is clear that the Goodnight family, living on the land described, must have "forted," as the pioneers expressed it, at Harlan's rather than at Harrod's.
There is not the slightest doubt that Michael Goodnight's preempt of the 400 acres was honored, for, if further evidence were necessary, it would be supplied by the deeds on record in the Mercer County Court House. On the 25th of March, 1794, thirteen years after Michael's death, Christian Goodnight, a son of Michael by his first wife and who had remained in the east - see letters 19 and 21 above - and Caterinah his wife, of Mecklenburg Co, No. Carolina, deed to Jacob Goodnight for the sum of 5 shillings "one certain tract of Land containing one hundred and sixty seven acres lying & being in the County of Mercer on Chaplins fork . . . part of a survey made for Michael Goodnight," etc. This is obviously a clearance of title, a guarantee that the half brother in North Carolina will not at some future time lay claim to the land as an inheritance.
Two similar instruments, both dated Sept. 23, 1794, deed 147 acres of Michael's 400 from Christian to Henry Goodnight, "adjoining Jacob Goodnight on the lower side and Abraham Goodnight on the upper side;" and 105 acres on Chaplin's Fork "to a stake in the line of Michael's survey" to Abraham.
There is, further a deed whereby Jacob Goodnight and Elizabeth, his wife, transfer ownership of the 167 acres described in the first mentioned deed to Charles Hart and his heirs on June 24, 1797. Two years later, Abraham and Mary, his wife, convey 97 acres of Michael's original 400 to Isham Pruitt and wife, and, still later, Abraham sells his remaining seven and one-half acres to John Goodnight for ￡20. John, Jacob, Henry and Abraham were the four elder sons of Michael and Mary Goodnight.
It appears a bit strange that Michael's land should have been divided among Jacob (167 acres), Henry (147 acres), and Abraham (105 acres), with no reference to John, the eldest son, or to Isaac, the youngest. It is quite conceivable, however, that John had received his inheritance in money upon the sale of Michael's effects - see below - and that Isaac, who was only six years old when the estate was settled, was to be provided for by his mother.
The deeds described above are preserved in Mercer County archives. Originally, however, that part of the state was included in Lincoln County, and the very earliest "state papers" concerning that section are preserved at Stanford. Here we find some very interesting documents, bearing on the subject of our study, and which solve, to the satisfaction of the present writer, at least, the vexed question of the year in which the killing and scalping of Michael and the wounding of his son John by the Indians took place.
First in order is an "Inventory and Appraisement" of all the efforts of Michael Goodnight, deceased, "in obedience to an Order of the Worshipfull Court," dated May 21, 1783, which shows the old fellow to have possessed 14 horses, 22 head of cattle, 9 "hoggs and piggs" and quite an array of household effects.
Then follows an "Order of Court" of June, 1787, requiring "that John Irwin, John Rodgers, John Cowan and Gabriel Madison or any three of them," settle all accounts of the estate of Michael Goodnight deceased, and report to the Court."
Next comes an itemization of the "sale of Michael Goodnight's estate," dated March 26, 1788, attested by John Cowan and signed:
Her "Mary X Flannagan" Mark
Again we have, under the same date, a list of "Sundry Articles Belonging to the Estate of Michael Goodnight which was not sold, which Mary Goodnight Widow of sd. Michael kept at the appraisement," also witnessed by John Cowan and John Rodger and signed by Mary Flannagan.
Then we find the final "Statement of an Acct the Adm of Michael Goodnight Dec'd," dated April 15, 1788, signed by John Rodgers and John Cowan showing the estate to have totalled ￡230, 1s, 9p. The last item of the list: By cash paid ￡5," with which the administratrix is credited by one more small but very significant scrap of yellow paper in the old files. It is a "Deposition of Doran for ￡5 to the Doctor," which read thus:
"Mercer Ct. - Patrick Doran made Oath before me a Justice for sd County that Mary Flannagan paid Mary Airs five pounds for curing John Goodnight of wound he received of the Indians 1781 out of the Estate with which she is now charged. John Cowan, Mar. 27th 1788."
Unquestionably, then, the wounding of John and the killing and scalping of Michael occurred in 1781. The circumstances of the attack were probably such as are set forth in letter 1.
A characterization of Michael Goodnight handed down by the wife of a great grandson, she having heard it from her husband's uncles, depicts him as "energetic, industrious, economical and prosperous, with the greatest contempt for a shiftless person."
He was buried in the forest where he fell, within a half day's journey of the fort at Harlan's Station. . . .
The reader may, perchance, be curious to know who the Mary Flannagan of the foregoing documents might have been. She was none other than Mary Landers Goodnight Flannagan, the widow of Michael Goodnight and the mother of John. As the administratrix of Michael's estate, she signs herself: Mary [her X mark[ Flannagan. Despite her 19 years of married life with Michael and her nine or ten children borne to him, she evidently remarried at some time prior to 1787. . .
It is not so strange, then that great great grandmother Mary remarried. She had retained, as the "appraisements" of Michael's effects show, an amount of personal property, valued at ￡77, and including horses, cattle, hogs and household effects, which must have been considerable in those wilderness days, while the balance was sold "at Public Vendue." She was administratrix of the entire estate, totaling ￡230, and, as there seems to have been no will involved, she doubtless kept her widow's portion of the proceeds of the sale as well. . . .
Several of the biographical sketches of Michael Goodnight name correctly the five sons of his last marriage, but none attempt to name the daughters. The same is true of the letters. It is said there were five of them. A diligent search in Lincoln and Mercer County records enables us to name four, but if there were five, one has apparently left no record by which she might be identified. . . .
Almost ten years after Elizabeth's marriage, we find Mary Flannagan certifying the age of another daughter for wedlock. This record is in Mercer County, the separation of Mercer from Lincoln having occurred in 1785:
"I do hereby certify that my daughter Rachel Goodnight is twenty-one years of age and I am willing for Jacob Young to wed with him (sic). Eleventh day of December 1792, Mary Flannagan (seal). Joseph Ayres, Abraham Goodnight" . . .
It would appear that Rachel and Sarah, who married so many years later than their sisters, were probably the youngest of the flock, except Isaac, who was born at Harlan's Station some months after his father's death. . . .
Two other well-beloved statements in the family traditions which the writer believes to be myths, make Michael Goodnight ninty-one years of age at the time of his death and the father of twenty-four children, fourteen by his first wife and ten by the last. . . .
No reliable information appears to be available as to the number of children born to Michael Goodnight. As we have seen, nine were born to him and Mary Landers, whom we can identify, and there may have been a tenth. But we have almost no information regarding the fourteen children alleged to have been born of his earlier marriage or marriages. Certainly the North Carolina Christian was one - and therefore the Philadelphia Christian and his brother Christopher, who served in the Revolution can not have been own sons of Michael - and letter 17 in Asbury's collection, from an own son of Isaac says: "The older set of children I can't tell much about. Katy Landers was one of the oldest. I have seen her several times when I was small. She could speak German."
The present writer has been unable to identify with certainty any of the others, and doubts that there were fourteen. This, however, is merely guesswork, not proof. . . .
If, as we have been informed, Michael Goodnight married Mary Landers in February of 1762, and if, as we may reasonably assume, the daughters Margaret and Elizabeth were their oldest children, it follows that the four sons, John, Jacob, Henry and Abraham, were born in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, for Michael Goodnight bought his farm there in 1764. Asbury ascertained from John's family Bible that John was born May 1, 1765; the second son, Jacob appears as "over 21" in a Lincoln County tax list in 1789. Probably, then, Jacob was born about 1767. This is merely inferential guessing, however; the exact date of his birth seems to be unknown. . . .
Genealogy Table of Hans Michael Goodnight
Generation 1
Hans Michael Goodnight (Gutknecht); b. Germany ----; landed, Philadelphia, Oct. 4, 1752; m. 2d. Mary Landers, Feb. 19, 1762; killed by Indians near Harlan's Station, Ky., 1781.
Generation 2
- Margaret b. ?, md. Henry Pope June 24, 1782 Lincoln Co., KY, d. ?
- Elizabeth b. ?, md. Patrick Doran a Rev. soldier, Jan. 29, 1783, Lincoln Co., KY, d. ?
- John b. NC, May 1, 1765, md. Ruth Davis Dec. 25, 1786, in Mercer Co., KY, spent his life there, d. ?
- Jacob b. NC ?, md. Elizabeth Hoover March 15, 1792, lived 1789 on, near Stanford, Ky, she died April. 1, 1820, he d. Feb. 19, 1843
- Henry b. NC, ?, deed in Mercer Co., names "Elizabeth his wife" "lived in Tenn. on Duck River", d. ?
- Abraham b. NC, ? md. Mary Hanna Jan. 23, 1794 in Mercer Co., homestead Shelbyville, Simpson Co., KY, d. ?
- Rachel b. NC, ? md. Jacob Young, Dec. 11, 1792 in Mercer Co., d. ?
- Sarah b. NC ? md. Peter Boucher, May 26, 1795 in Mercer Co., d. Feb. 13, 1841
- Isaac b. Harlan's Station, Ky., Jan. 1, 1782; md. Eliz. McMurry, 1805 in Lincoln Co. lived later in Allen Co, d. there Oct. 14, 1869
Goodnight, S.H. Supplement to The Good(k)night (Gutknecht) Family in America, no imprint, nd
The publication of this article was brought about - through the gracious interest of Miss Myrtle D. Starrette, Deputy Recorder of Deeds of Mecklenburg County, No. Car. - the discovery of the hitherto missing final pages of the Michael Goodnight deed, of record in that county. The missing pages had been wrongly bound, but Miss Starrette searched patiently, found them and has provided the present writer with photostatic copies.
Of the material contained in the pages, little is of consequence to the investigation except the date and signature at the end. These show:
a. That the present writer's reading of the date at the beginning of the deed was wrong - the date is 1774, not 1776. However, the conclusion drawn, viz., that Michael Goodnight resided in Mecklenburg County approximately 12 years, is not invalidated, for he bought the land in 1764, was, as is pointed out in a succeeding paragraph on the same page, appointed constable there in 1775, and he may not have removed to Kentucky before 1777 or 1778.
b. Further, that Michael and George were not only brothers, but neighbors in North Carolina, for George Goodnight's name appears as a witness to the deed.
c. That all three Goodnights make their mark in lieu of signatures, as two of them had done in the immigration lists of 1752 and 1754. This would seem to indicate that, although they had resided in the Colonies 20 years or more, they probably still retained the German language in their respective families and had not acquired the art of writing English script, even though they may have been able to use German script. There is no doubt that the family continued to speak German for many years afterward, too for James Lincoln Goodnight, a great grandson of Michael and Mary, wrote to Cloyd Goodnight on Jan. 28, 1914:
"My Grandfather and Grandmother (Jacob & Elizabeth Hoover Goodnight) both spoke German - in fact they could speak very poor English. My father (Isaac Goodnight), when a boy, could speak German, but gave it up, and when I knew him, he spoke only English." . . .
Olson, Karen. Re: Gurley's of Johnston County, NC & Virginia, Gurley Family Genealogy Forum, 10/21/2003.
In Reply to: Re: Gurley's of Johnston County, NC & Virginia by Jo Meek
John Gurley b. 4/2/1736 Southampton, VA [Isle of Wight when he was born] married Elizabeth Edwards b. ca. 1736, Southampton VA, children:
- Robert b. 3/6/1754
- Joel b. 3/30/1755
- William b. 10/16/1756
- Edwards b. 8/13/1747
- Jeremiah b. 12/29/1759
- Lewis b. 3/16/1760
- Lazarus b. 12/4/1762
- George b. 7/29/1763/4
- John b. 9/14/1767
My line comes down from Joel who married Mary Alla Boone through daughter Rachel who married John Franklin King. . . .
The other piece of information I have received is that father of Isom, John & Joseph Gurley was Joseph Gurley b. 1717 (in Inverness, Fifeshire, Scotland which I know is an error, believe Fife is correct) and married Susan Wise b. 1721 same area apparently. Father of Joseph was James. . . .
Roster of First Kentucky Ancestor, Kentucky Ancestors, Vol. 23, No. 3, Frankfort, KY: Kentucky Historical Society, 1988.
Jane Gilbreath, b. ?, d. ? Adair Co., KY. Daughter possibly of John or Hugh Gilbreath. Married 1st (-?-) Turnbow (sons John & Hugh born 1790s, served War of 1812). As widow married 2nd, 1802, Green Co., KY to Levi Conover, b. 10 Oct. 1757, Middlesex Co., NJ. Served Revolutionary War, NJ. Came to Kentucky 1791 with first wife, Catherine Dye (died Adair Co., before 1802). Died 18 Jan. 1837, Adair Co., KY.
Roster of First Kentucky Ancestor, Kentucky Ancestors, Vol. 25, No. 4, Frankfort, KY: Kentucky Historical Society, 1990.
Luke W. Watkins b. 1770, probably Pitt Co., NC, son of John Watkins and Jenny Oliphant. Luke, a farmer and hunter, had migrated to Knox, now Laurel Co., KY, ca. 1802, and lived at Lick Fork. Died Jan. 1852, Laurel Co., KY; buried Rough Creek Cemetery. Married ca. 1796, probably NC to Nancy Hopkins, b. ca. 1775, Virginia. Died Jan. 1861, Laurel Co., KY; buried Rough Creek Cemetery. Mother of ten children. Thought to have been daughter of Alexander & Margaret Hopkins.
No comments:
Post a Comment