BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES

Edmund Goodenow and Mary James

Edmund Goodenow was born March 24, 1793 near Rome in Oneida County, New York. He was the second of fourteen children of Isaiah Goodenow. His mother's name is not known. Edmund would make his living as a farmer (however, note that there is a small pair of shoes still in the family that are believed to have been made by Edmund).

Mary James was born in Wales about 1793. Her parents names are not known but Welsh naming conventions suggest that James may have been her father's first name.

Edmund and Mary were married on April 15, 1811. Their first three children were born in Whitestown, Oneida County, New York:

The family evidently moved to neighboring Oswego County as the next children were born there, in the town of Sandy Creek:
The Goodenow plot in Hope Cemetery,
Wellsburg, Pennsylvania

  • Jacob Goodenow, born in 1819
  • Walter Goodenow, born in 1822
  • John Goodenow, born in 1824
  • Mary Goodenow, born in 1826
  • Sarah Goodenow, born in 1829
  • Isaiah Goodenow, born in 1832

In the latter part of 1832, the family moved to Elk Creek Township, Erie County, Pennsylvania. There, the last of twelve children were born:

  • Edmund Goodenow, born in 1835
  • William Goodenow, born in 1837, died young
  • Caroline Goodenow, born in 1840, died young

Edmund (the father) died on January 27, 1852 in Wellsburg, Erie County, Pennsylvania. His gravestone, in Wellsburg's Hope Cemetery, is inscribed "aged 58 yrs 10 mo 3 days" which appears to be misstated by one year.

Mary (James) Goodenow was also buried in Hope Cemetery. Her gravestone gives her date of death as May 30, 1863. Other dates in either 1860 or 1863 have been suggested by other sources.

Sources & Related Information

  • Family records
  • Dale Whipple correspondence
  • "Goodenows Who Originated in Sudbury, Massachusetts" by Theodore James Fleming Banvard, Goodenow Family Association (Gateway Press Inc., Baltimore, 1994)
  • Gravesites of Edmund Goodenow and Mary James
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