Index and Links as of December, 2010

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Index and Links as of December, 2010

Origin and History of the Surname Goodman

Elsewhere in this blog I discuss the fact that in 1856, my generation's maternal GG grandfather, Dr. William M Jones, married Elizabeth Ann Goodman. Her parents were John Goodman and Susanna Frizzell Fox Goodman.

For that reason I've added this page to our roster of the history and origin of our various family surnames.

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"This venerable Anglo-Scottish surname has three possible origins. Firstly, it may be a status name to describe the head of a household. As such it derives from the Olde English word "god" meaning good, and "-man", a term used in a transferred sense to indicate "head of".

Secondly and in Scotland, the name described a landowner. This was a person who held his land not directly from the crown, but from a nobleman authorised so to do, by the king.

Finally, it may be of pre-7th century Anglo-Saxon origin. If so it derives from the personal name "Guethmund". This name was composed of the elements "gueth" meaning battle, plus "mund" protection, and was one of a range of similar names which extolled the virtues of war and authority. The latter was much lacking in those far off days.
 
The surname dates back to the early 12th century (see below), and is therefore one of the very earliest to be recorded anywhere. Recordings of the spelling forms include Godman, Goddman, Goodman, Goudman, and Gutman. In the early surviving church registers of the city of London the marriage of Thomas Goodman to Parnell Dewey took place on May 28th 1561 at St James Clerkenwell.

A coat of arms granted to the Goodman family has the blazon of per pale black and ermine, a silver two headed eagle displayed. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Asteelinus Godeman. This was dated 1115, in the "Book of Winton", Hampshire, during the reign of King Henry 1st, known as "The Lion of Justice", 1100 - 1135.

Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling."

Source 

Our Jones Family Connection, Part 5 - Asa Alfred Jones and Family

Elsewhere in this blog is a photo of seven sons of Lewis and Rebecca Jones. One of them is Josiah Jones, the father of Asa Alfred Jones, pictured here with his family.

▲Based upon the census information below, it seems likely that the photo above was taken in Hendrysburg, Belmont County, Ohio. Based upon Asa's year of birth and his appearance, the photo appears to be circa 1898. (Click photos to enlarge 'em.)

Jones cousin Lisa Pomeranz provided the two photos on this page, and here's what she had to say about them:

"Here are two pictures for you. [The bottom] One is...unidentified Jones[es] (they all seem to closely resemble each other but perhaps you have some ideas). The [top one] is Asa Alfred Jones and his family.

First row: Asa, Oscar, Rebecca Ann; Back row: Emma Jones (Major), Abner Murphy, husband of Leota Jones Murphy, Oliver Jones, Lida Jones (Likes) - my great grandmother."

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Here's how the 1880 U.S. census records this family:

1880 United States Federal Census about Asa. A. Jones
Home in 1880: Hendrysburg, Belmont, Ohio
Age: 32
Estimated birth year: about 1848
Birthplace: Ohio
Relation to head-of-household: Self (Head)
Spouse's name: Anna R. Jones
Father's birthplace: Ohio
Mother's birthplace: Ohio
Occupation: Farmer
Marital Status: Married
Race: White
Gender: Male

Household Members: Name, Age
■ Asa. A. Jones, 32
■ Anna R. Jones, 36
■ Sarah L. Jones, 6
■ Lida L. Jones, 5
■ Oliver A. Jones, 1

Trivia: Asa's father, Josiah Jones, was the brother of Dr. William M Jones, my generation's GG grandfather. An online Cousin Calculator says that makes Asa my generation's 1st cousin 3 x removed.

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◄ The people pictured here are unidentified members of the Jones family.

Thanks so much for these photos, Lisa. To me it's interesting to see how these members of our extended ancestral family dressed. Floor length high-necked dresses for the women (note their narrow waists in the top photo) and the young men usually wore suits and ties.

I can't help reflecting on the fact that dry cleaning hadn't yet become available - so I wonder how they laundered these clothes. It must have been very difficult to keep them presentable!

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Please refer to the disclaimer on the index page of this blog for a statement regarding the accuracy of - and documentation for - the information presented in this blog.

Last revised 12/3/2010

Seven Jones Brothers, 5 June 1895

◄ This is a photo of my generation's maternal GG grandfather, Dr. William M Jones, and his brothers. Their parents were Lewis and Rebecca McPherson
Jones.



The Back-story of the Photograph
(Click photo to enlarge it.)

Jones cousin Lisa Pomeranz added a comment to this blog in which she advised that she's descended from Lewis and Rebecca McPherson Jones (who were my generation's maternal GGG grandparents).

Lisa's the GGGG granddaughter of Lewis and Rebecca, which makes Lisa my generation's 4th cousin, 1 x removed (1 x removed refers to the fact that there's an extra generation between her and Lewis as contrasted with my generation of our Jones line.)

In an exchange of emails she told me her parents have a group photo of Josiah Jones, from whom she descends, along with his brothers, and that she'd see if she could get her dad to scan it.

She did, he did, and she sent me the photo above. Here's what she said in the message in which she sent the photo:

"Dad was able to scan this and send it along! Here you go! It’s like looking at a piece of history. The back says:

The Jones Brothers June 5th 1895, Fairview, Ohio
L to R
[Editor's note: When labeling the men in the photo, because I recognized Samuel from another photo, I decided that the L to R must not be literal, but apply first to those seated, then the ones standing. Otherwise Samuel would not be in the correct place in the photo.] 

Allison Jones: Farmer
Mack F (probably John McPherson): Hardware store in Iowa for many years
Josiah: Salesman from Fruit Trees & Win[d?] Mills
Ludwick (Lorenzo): Farmer & church singer
Dr. William: A very good doctor in the early days
Samuel: Farmer but never did work much
Rev. James: a very Godly man presiding elder for years ME [Methodist Episcopal]"

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This photo confirms my detective work regarding the photo I concluded was Samuel Jones in the blog post at Our Jones Family Connection, Part 4 - 124 Year Old Photo?  Hip, hip, hooray!

Trivia: William's brothers were my generation's GG grand uncles.

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Elsewhere in this blog is the information I’ve assembled about Lewis Jones (1791-1871) and Rebecca McPherson Jones (1796-1880). However, other than Dr. William M Jones, I’d never before researched their children. Having this photo of the Jones brothers motivated me to see what I could learn about them.

Surprisingly, on Ancestry.com I found no individual family trees for any of the brothers, just censuses. However, among other services, Ancestry provides something called a “One World Tree”, which is a composite tree based on information available to Ancestry, including undocumented user-submitted data. (Because documentation is hit and miss with it, I’ve learned that the information from this source may or may not be accurate - and needs to be independently verified.)

Having said that, in this case it’s essentially the only info I’ve been able to find about Lewis and Rebecca’s children. A search for Lewis Jones produced a tree from One World Tree that records Lewis and Rebecca’s children as shown below. The comments in brackets are my remarks after researching each name individually. Where I was able to identify them in a census, I transcribed the relevant information below.)

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Children of Lewis and Rebecca McPherson Jones
(From One World Tree comes the names and dates of birth if available.)

■ Allison Jones
[My experience with the name "Allision" has been that it's a female name, so I was surprised to find on Ancestry.com many male Allison Joneses in the 1800s in Ohio. I found one who is about the right age and was a farmer - as noted on the photo above - and may be him and his family. However, I have insufficient evidence to be positive about that, so I'll provide a link to it without transcribing it here. Accessing the link requires a subscription to Ancestry.com.]

■ Cueros T Jones
[No Cueros Jones was found on Ancestry.com. Research has reached a brick wall.]

■ John McPherson Jones

[Many John M Joneses  were found on Ancestry.com. I found one who was about the right age, was born in Ohio, whose parents were born in Virginia and who lived in Iowa in 1880 - as noted on the photo above. It may be him and his family, but, I have insufficient evidence to be positive about that, so I'll provide a link to it without transcribing it here.
 
■ James Jones

[Many James Joneses were found on Ancestry.com. So far I have insufficient evidence to tell if one was in our family. Research has reached a brick wall.]

■ Lorenzo D Jones
[Link on Ancestry.com found here. His age, occupation, the Hendrysburg location and the place of birth of his parents provide the clues needed for me to believe this was our Lorenzo.]

1880 United States Federal Census about Lorenzo D. Jones
Home in 1880: Hendrysburg, Belmont [County], Ohio
Age: 50
Estimated birth year: About 1830
Birthplace: Ohio
Relation to head-of-household: Self (Head)
Spouse's name: Uphamey Jones
Father's birthplace: Virginia
Mother's birthplace: Virginia
Occupation: Farmer
Marital Status: Married
Race: White
Gender: Male

Household Members: Name, Age
Lorenzo D. Jones, 50
Uphamey Jones, 46
Evaline Jones, 23
Caroline Jones, 23

■ Samuel L Jones
[Many Samuel L Joneses were found in Ohio on Ancestry.com. I have insufficient evidence to tell if one was in our family. Research has reached a brick wall.]

■ William M Jones
[Link on Ancestry.com here. The family's names and other details we know for sure about him document that this was our WIlliam.]

1880 United States Federal Census about William M. Jones Home in 1880: Hendrysburg, Belmont [County], Ohio
Age: 47
Estimated birth year: About 1833
Birthplace: Ohio
Relation to head-of-household: Self (Head)
Spouse's name: Elisabeth A. Jones (sic)
Father's birthplace: Virginia
Mother's birthplace: Virginia
Occupation: Phician (sic)
Marital Status: Married
Race: White
Gender: Male

Household Members: Name, Age
William M. Jones, 47
Elisabeth A. Jones, 43 (sic)
Fleetwood C. Jones, 22
Adda E. Jones, 20
Rosa L. Jones, 16
William H. Jones, 14

■ Delilah Frances Jones
7 September 1821
[No information was found on Ancestry.com about her. However, elsewhere in this blog we have a bit of info about her. Readers can use the search box at the top of this page to locate that info.] 

 

■ Josiah Jones
22 June 1824
[Link on Ancestry.com here. His age, the Kirkwood location, the name of his wife (provided by Lisa Pomeranz) and the birthplace of his parents are the clues needed for me to believe this is our Josiah, even though the occupation of farmer in the census doesn't match the note on the photo.]

1880 United States Federal Census about Josiah Jones
Home in 1880: Kirkwood [Township], Belmont [County], Ohio
Age: 55
Estimated birth year: About 1825
Birthplace: Ohio
Relation to head-of-household: Self (Head)
Spouse's name: Sarah J. Jones
Father's birthplace: Virginia
Mother's birthplace: Virginia
Occupation: Farmer
Marital Status: Married
Race: White
Gender: Male

Household Members: Name, Age
Josiah Jones, 55
Sarah J. Jones, 51
Martha R. Jones, 17
Nettie E. Jones, 14
Samuel L. Jones, 11
William Burgese, 58

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One World Tree records Allison Jones as a female and includes a male named Cueros T Jones. However, as you can see in the photo of the brothers, Allison is a male, and neither Cueros nor the sister, Delilah, are included. Discussed elsewhere in this blog is the fact that Delilah died at a relatively young age, and if the info from One World Tree is accurate - and there was a brother named Cueros - he may also have been deceased at the time this photo was taken.

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Please refer to the disclaimer on the index page of this blog for a statement regarding the accuracy of - and documentation for - the information presented in this blog.

 Last revised 11/30/2010

Dr. William M Jones (1831- after 1895)

◄ Doctor William M Jones

The reverse side of this photo says it was taken June 5th, 1895, in Fairview, Ohio, as part of a group photo with his brothers. He'd have been 64 years old here.

This date conflicts with his reported death in 1892, but the specificity of the date on the photo causes me to think it's correct. The conflict in the dates has not yet been resolved. (Click photo to enlarge it.)

◄ 1860 Census for WIlliam M Jones
(Click to enlarge it.)

Elsewhere in this blog is information I’ve assembled about the earliest member of our Jones ancestral family I’ve been able to identify. He was Lewis Jones, who married Rebecca McPherson in 1817. Included in that story is a list of Lewis and Rebecca’s children, one of whom was William M Jones (1831- after 1895), who became my generation’s maternal GG grandfather.

In a report written about his family’s history, my generation’s uncle DeRand Jones said that William M Jones was a medical doctor. This has been confirmed in the 1860, 1870 and 1880 U.S. federal censuses. Interestingly, in a roster of deaths in Ohio he is also listed as the attending physician for his mother, Rebecca, at the time of her death.

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The Goodman and Frizzell Connection

The Goodman and Frizzell families lived in Kirkwood Township in Belmont County, Ohio, as did our Jones and McPherson families of that era. From DeRand's report about the family we learn the following.

“Nathan Frizzell is listed in the Ohio's Belmont County History as one of the early members of the Sewellsville Methodist Episcopal church that was organized in 1813-14. His daughters, Susanna, and her two sisters were raised in Sewellsville, Ohio. Susanna married John Fox on March 27, 1823. They had two children, Joanathan and Nancy Fox. [Susanna was subsequently widowed.]

Dr. John Goodman...son of William Goodman, came from Germany. He was an ‘animal doctor’ who occasionally treated people. He drove a herd of cattle over the mountains to southern Ohio and settled there.

On March 21, 1831 John Goodman married widow Susanna Frizzel Fox (1798 – 1871), daughter of Nathan Frizzel. Their children were:

■ Leander Goodman (1831 – 1914) a farmer, who married Malinda Evans Goodman;

■ Elizabeth Ann Goodman (1834 – 1908);

■ John Wesley Goodman (1839 – 1925) a farmer, who married Frances Dallas Goodman.”

[Editor's note: See the bottom of this page for info about the murder of a young girl by the name of  Louisa Fox. Although she was not a member of our ancestral family, she may well have been related to Susanna Frizzell Fox Goodman.]

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William’s Marriage and Family

On September 23, 1856, in Belmont County, Ohio, Dr. William M Jones married Elizabeth Ann Goodman, who was also known as Betsy Ann. She was born in Egypt, Ohio, and as noted above, her parents were John Goodman, born in 1809 and Susanna Frizzell Fox, born in 1798.

The 1860 federal census at the top of this page shows the members of William and Elizabeth’s household. However, baby Mollie, recorded as being three months old in this census, apparently died as a child, for the 1870 and later censuses - and DeRand’s archive - record William and Elizabeth’s children as follows:

■ Fleetwood Churchill Jones born: 21 June 1857;

■ Adda Estelle Jones born: 21 April 1860;

■ Rosa Leona Jones born: 27 November 1863;

■ William Henry Jones born: 3 November 1865.

Note that these children were born in the period leading up to, during, and immediately after the U.S. Civil War (April, 1861 – April, 1865), which must have been a chaotic time in the life of our ancestral family. This was also the time during which Abraham Lincoln was president of the United States – and was assassinated (April, 1865).

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What Became of William and Elizabeth’s Children?

Fleet, who was a little boy during the Civil War, became my generation’s maternal great grandfather. His story and photos are/will be found elsewhere in this blog, as are photos and stories about Adda, Rosa and their families.

William H became an attorney, and Fleet’s 1937 obituary says this William was the mayor of Bethesda, Ohio, at that time. DeRand’s archive says William H married Sarah Beecher, and I have an undocumented note in my records saying he died in 1943. I have not discovered any other information about William’s life or family.

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To get a bit of understanding about the period during which this family lived, consider the following:

■ Like Dr. William Jones, James Garfield was also born in Ohio in 1831. Garfield was the last of seven U.S. presidents born in a log cabin, and this link about Garfield’s life provides an interesting perspective on what life might have been for William Jones and our ancestral family during that era.

■ Also born in Ohio in that era was George Armstrong Custer. General Custer (1839 - 1876) had a stellar career in the U.S. Army, making a name for himself during the Civil War. After the war, he continued serving in the Army out west and made it his life's work. In 1876, at a place called The Little Bighorn, in a campaign that has become known as "Custer's Last Stand", he and his entire regiment were wiped out by what one of his men said was the, "most Indians I've ever seen in one place."

Although I have found no photos of Elizabeth Goodman Jones, the photo below of George Armstrong Custer and Elizabeth (Libbie) Bacon Custer in 1864 provides a glimpse of how a fashionable lady dressed in those days.
(Source)
 

More information about ladies' fashions in that era can be seen here.

Trivia: In a 1903 book titled, "History of Belmont County, Ohio" is a story under the heading of "The Only Execution in a Century", from which the following is excerpted:

"One of the most exciting incidents in the history of Kirkwood township was the murder of Louisa Fox, in 1869, by a notorious character named Thomas D. Carr, a coal miner in the employ of Alexander Hunter. Carr was a man of bad repute, who had become infatuated with the beauty of the girl - for she was but 14 years of age - and because she refused to marry him, he immediately took the innocent's life..."
(Source)

Although Louisa Fox was not part of our ancestral family, Kirkwood Township was small in both area and population in that era. Therefore it seems likely that Louisa was related to Susanna Frizzel Fox, who married Dr. John Goodman, who was part of our ancestral family.  

Please refer to the disclaimer on the index page of this blog for a statement regarding the accuracy of - and documentation for - the information presented in this blog.

Last revised 12/1/2010