Goodrich Family - Index to Posts

An Index Post is how I keep track of all of the blog posts that have been written on a family line. It helps keep me organized and allows visitors to easily find information on that family. This post will be updated as new blog posts are written on the family. Please contact me at kinexxions@gmail.com if you are researching this family or have additional information on them.

William Goodrich is my 10th great grandfather and my immigrant ancestor in the Goodrich line. In 1648 he married Sarah Marvin in Hartford County in the Connecticut Colony. The Goodrich clan remained in Connecticut for over 150 years and it is possible that some of William's descendants still live there. However, my 6th great grandfather, John Goodrich, removed to Ohio with his family about 1805. John's wife was Abigail Price and they would have nine children. Their firstborn child, Bela, was my 5th great grandfather and he would settle in Whitley County, Indiana in 1838.

William Goodrich and Sarah Marvin

• My Greatest Genealogical Find Ever? January 02, 2008 [Nine of my ancestors traveled to New England together on the same ship! Joslin, Kilbourne, and Marvin. All three connect to the Goodrich family.]

John Goodrich and Abigail Price

• Roadblock - Abigail Price Goodrich March 04, 2008 [Mother of Bela Goodrich]

Bela Goodrich and Sally Church

• Gravestones don't lie? When did Bela die? June 19, 2007
• Roadblock - Sally Church November 04, 2007 [Wife of Bela Goodrich]
• The Battle of Shiloh (Pittsburg Landing) April 6-7, 1862 April 7, 2007 [Ralph Goodrich, possible son of Bela and Sally]

Originally Posted on March 3, 2008 :: Last Updated on December 30, 2008

Post date adjusted December 29, 2012 so that when a search for the surname is done on the blog this post will appear first the search list.

A Negro Man Called Thomas...

Several years ago I was corresponding with Carol Dorward, a distant cousin in my Goodrich line. She is a descendant of Price Goodrich while I am descended from his sister, Abigail (Goodrich) Joslin. They are the children of Bela and Sally (Church) Goodrich. Bela is a son of John and Abigail (Price) Goodrich.

John Goodrich was born in 1754 Wethersfield, Hartford County, Connecticut and lived there until about 1807 when he moved to Worthington, Franklin County, Ohio. From about the late 1790s until early 1806 he was known as John 3rd since there were two older men in Wethersfield by the name of John Goodrich. In April 1806 one of the older men died and John 3rd became John 2nd. Needless to say, this does create some “issues” with researching “my” John Goodrich.

One of the items that Carol sent me was a transcription of a brief biography about “our” John Goodrich from an article on Christ Church of Worthington. Among the information provided in that article was the following statement: “On Dec. 8, 1799, he bought a Negro man 'Tom,' the bill of sale being recorded on the Wethersfield land records.”

I know we are not supposed to judge our ancestors by today's standards, but I was more than a little surprised to learn about this “transaction” and decided to find the deed record. I'm glad that I did...

Wethersfield Deeds, volume 21 page 528.
Dated December 18, 1799. Recorded January 8, 1800.
Family History Microfilm 0,006,000 viewed February 13, 2012.

Wethersfield. December 18th, AD 1799.

Whereas I John Goodrich the third of said Wethersfield have this day purchased, bought & received of James Mitchell of said Wethersfield a Negro man called & known by the name of Thomas or Tom, between fifty & Sixty years of age & have gotten a Bill of Sale of sd Negro, to have & hold him said Tom during his Natural Life, and said Thomas or Tom has well served & Indemnified me, in Emancipating & setting him free, I do therefore for the Consideration of ten Dollars received to my full Satisfaction of said Thomas or Tom, sell convey & makeover, give & grant to said Thomas or Tom, all my Right & title to & Interest in his the said Thomas's Service, during his Natural Life, and whereas said Thomas is too far advanced in years to be Emancipated & set free, according to the Statute in such case provided, was to cause him to fall upon the Town in case of want & Sickness, yet so far as relates to any control over him, he is hereby Emancipated and free to all Intents & purposes as fully & absolutely as tho he had become a freeman of this State, & he the said Tom is forever, or during his natural, to enjoy all the Rights & priviledges of a free Citizen, as far as I can Effect both, from any Claim I have or might have or any of my Heirs or assigns. As Witness my hand and Seal the day & date above.

John Goodrich 3d. {Seal}

Signed, Sealed, & delivered in presence of – John Marsh, Stephen M. Mitchell.

=+==+==+==+==+=

Of course, as often happens, this document brings up more questions. We'll probably never know the underlying reason for his actions but it appears that John purchased and emancipated Thomas on the same day.

Published under a Creative Commons License.
Becky Wiseman, "A Negro Man Called Thomas," Kinexxions, posted February 17, 2012 (http://kinexxions.blogspot.com/2012/02/negro-man-called-thomas.html : accessed [access date])

Joslin Family :: Heritage Tour and Research Trip

Several of my Joslin cousins and I have started planning for a research trip and "heritage tour" to New England in September. The cousins are descendants of Luther Joslin, brother of my 2nd Great-Grandmother Malissa Mariah Joslin Brubaker Bower... somewhere along the magnitude of 2nd Cousins twice removed or 3rd Cousins once removed, depending upon the person. Luther and Malissa are the children of Lysander and Lydia (Robison) Joslin.

In preparation for that September trip, I've been assigned the task of developing a research plan and putting together a list of the places to visit and sights to see in New England. Places where our (presumed) Joslin ancestors lived.

Although we don't have any documentation that explicitly states that Lysander is the son of James and Abigail (Goodrich) Joslin or that James is the son of Jonas and Ruth (Dyer) Joslin or that Jonas is the son of Joseph and Sarah (Tarbell) Joslin. Or that Abigail is the daughter of Bela and Sally (Church) Goodrich or that Bela is the son of John and Abigail (Price) Goodrich. But we "know" that it is so, after all, that's what my grandma has written in her notes, and several undocumented databases online show, so it must be right! Yeah, sure.

As I see it, the first task is really to evaluate the evidence that has been found in recent years (since my grandmother's death in 1984) regarding the presumed relationships. If those relationships, if any, can't be determined with the existing evidence, then why even make the trip to New England? Well, because my Joslin cousins are such nice people and it will be a great trip regardless ;-)

I guess, more than anything, I'm trying to convince myself that the presumed relationships are legitimate. I'm not sure they can be "proven" according to The Genealogical Proof Standard. As Craig Manson recently wrote, there is no such thing as proof. (If you haven't yet read his post, I highly recommend that you do so.) How much evidence, whether direct or indirect, is needed to "prove" a presumption? Is it required that the evidence is sufficient to convince others that a presumption is true for it to be so? Or is it enough if only I (the researcher) believe it to be true - based on evidence, of course, and not just wishful thinking?

According to published sources, from Joseph, the Joslin line goes back four more generations to Thomas and Rebecca Joslin, the immigrant ancestors who left England in April 1635 and settled in Lancaster, Massachusetts Bay Colony. And the Goodrich line from John goes back four generations to William and Sarah (Marvin) Goodrich who were married in 1648 in the Connecticut Colony. And that, of course, opens up a whole bunch more ancestral lines to be researched!

Once I recuperate sufficiently from my surgery, possibly in April, I'll be taking a trip to Delaware and Franklin counties in Ohio to see what I can dig up on the Joslin and Goodrich families. In 1986, while on a whirlwind tour of Ohio, my mother and I stopped briefly in Delaware County and were rewarded with several land records mentioning James and Jonas. Surely there are other records where they can be found. I'll be looking for those records.

In the meantime, I'll be presenting the evidence that we currently have in a series of posts. The reason for doing so is twofold: first, to make the information available to other researchers without having to send it out to multiple people, and, second, to (hopefully) get some input from my readers…

Roadblock - Abigail Price Goodrich

In previous posts I wrote about two other troublesome female ancestors, Ruth Dyer and Sally Church. A third Roadblock in my research is Abigail Price, the wife of John Goodrich. They are my 6th great grandparents. A future post will provide more information about John but for now I'll just give his basic information. John was born August 21, 1754 in Wethersfield, Hartford County, Connecticut Colony and was the son of Sarah Dewey and Benjamin Goodrich. While living in Hartford County, this John Goodrich was known as John Goodrich 3rd because he was the youngest of three men with the same name in the same area. When one of the older John's died, this John then became John Jr.

When I first started researching my Goodrich line I was told that the wife of John Goodrich was Abigail Price. And I have no reason to doubt that since one of their children, Bela Goodrich, named one of his children Price and another (my 4th great grandmother) was named Abigail. Obviously named after Bela's mother. Also, on October 1, 1776 (according to Records of Wethersfield as published in the New England Historical & Genealogical Register, Vol 18, p 53-59) John Goodrich and Abigail Price were married. But none of the other Goodrich family researchers I was in contact with knew any maore about Abigail or her parents.

The earliest record that I have found of Abigail was in August 1776 when the town of Newington, Connecticut as well as other towns in New England, recorded all the persons living in the town as recommended by the Continental Congress on December 26, 1775 so that taxes could be levied based upon population. This would be the forerunner of the United States Federal Population Census.

The 1776 Newington Census can be found online at Jane Devlin's website. It shows Abigail Price living in the household of Benjamin and Sarah (Dewey) Goodrich. Also in the household is their son John Goodrich, as well as their daughter Rhoda and other son David. In addition, there is a Mary, Elizur and Hannah Goodrich. I have no idea who they are and for now, it doesn't matter. The point is that Abigail Price was living in their household. Was she just living with them or was she a servant, or what?

There are currently 16 databases on WorldConnect that include Abigail Price with John Goodrich as her husband. Three of those have Abigail's parents as Rufus Price and Martha Grant and one just has her father as Rufus Price. Source information is pretty much non-existant. About three years ago I attempted to contact the submitters of those four databases but never received a reply.

A little over 2 years ago, a distant cousin and Goodrich researcher (whom I've never met but had worked with previously) and I decided to see what we could find out about old Rufus.

On September 17, 1750 Rufus Price and Martha Grant were married at Coventry, in Windham County, Connecticut Colony. And they did have a daughter, Abigail. Actually, they had two daughters named Abigail. The first Abigail was born June 21, 1753 and died March 29, 1755. The second Abigail was born August 29, 1757 at Coventry, which would put her at about the right age be the wife of John Goodrich.

We kind of got sidetracked for a week or so following the Grant lines. The Lathrops, Huntingtons, Rockwells, Minors, and Palmers. All early New England immigrant families. Impressive, indeed. But we came to our senses and realized we first needed to find out if Abigail, daughter of Rufus, was the Abigail Price that married John Goodrich.

We didn't really find out a lot about Rufus Price himself but through his sons, Rufus Jr. and Elijah we would find the evidence we needed. If nothing else, this provides a very good reason why siblings of ancestors (or siblings of supposed ancestors) should also be researcherd. Rufus Price Jr. served in the Revolutionary War from Tolland County, Connecticut and eventually attained the rank of Colonel in the New York militia. His pension record has been posted online by one of his descendant. It's detailed and interesting, but didn't really help us in our quest though it did put his family in the right place and time.

I had recently become a member of the Godfrey Library and at that time they still had remote access to HeritageQuest Online. For some reason, one late night, I decided to see if there was a pension record for Elijah Price, brother of Rufus. Still on dial-up internet access, it took forever to search and even longer to load the pages once they were found. Even though it didn't provide the information we'd hoped for, it was worth the wait.

What I found was an eight-page Pension File (R8462) for Elijah Price from Connecticut and New York with a widow Beulah. The second and third pages are the affidavit of Abagail Rose of the Town of Stephentown in the State of New York, Rensselaer County. It's rather lengthy and wordy so I'll just give a summary: Abagail Rose states that "she was well acquainted with Elijah Price late of Town of Owasco in the County of Cayuga & State of New York Deceased that she is Sister to the Said Elijah Price who was about two years and a half older than her self that on the commencement of the revolutionary War that they both resided at their fathers house in Tolland Ct.... That in 1778 this deponent moved from Tolland aforesaid to Stephentown aforesaid where she now resides that the year after 1779 their Father removed from Tolland to Stephentown & her Brother the Said Elijah Price came to Stephentown with her Father...." It continues on to the next page... dated the 21st day of June 1837 and it has the signature of Abigail Rose.

On another page in the file is the affidavit of Ruth Price that states "she was married to Rufus Price, brother of the said Elijah Price…." So, with that statement and that of Abagail Rose, I think it is pretty safe to say that Abigail, daughter of Rufus Price, Sr. did not marry John Goodrich.

John and Abigail Price left Wethersfield, Connecticut about 1805 and moved to Franklin County, Ohio. Along with them came their 9 children, 8-28 years of age. The three oldest children were already married and had started families of their own.

The only other record we have on Abigail is the St. John's Church Cemetery transcription found online at Worthington Memory. From what I've been told, the gravemarkers no longer exist.

Mrs. Goodrich born March 1754, died January 18, 1827. Cause of death was Dropsy.
Griswold burial list: Mrs Goodrich wife of Deacon John Goodrich died the 18th & was buried the 20th Jan. 1827 (of Dropsy) in tier next east of Dr Calvin H. Case & near it. age 72 years I believe.
There was also an entry for her husband:
Griswold burial list: Deacon John Goodrich died the 29th & was buried the 30th July 1834 in tier next east & near the foot of Calvin H. Case grave.

Research was pretty intense for several months back in '06. Nearly two years later, we're not any closer to finding the parents of "our" Abigail Price. We haven't given up. But we moved on to other research when we realized that the information we needed most likely wasn't going to be found on the internet or in any published books. It is probably going to require on-site research in Connecticut and Ohio.

My Greatest Genealogical Find Ever?

Craig Manson recently wrote about his Greatest Genealogical Find Ever. I've been pondering the question since I read his post. But, after years of researching, it's difficult to pinpoint just one discovery as the "greatest find", there have been so many wonderful discoveries. That's kind of like asking a parent who their favorite child is. So, this isn't necessarily my "greatest find ever" but I thought it was pretty neat.

Nine of my ancestors traveled to New England together on the same ship! They were 3 year old Sara Marvin, 10 year old John Kilbourne, and 8 year old Nathaniel Joslin, and their parents, of course. I've often wondered if the families knew one another before sailing to the new world? If not, did they get acquainted while on the journey?

In the spring of 2005 I dabbled for a bit in "researching" some of my New England ancestors. I'm not sure that you could really call it "research" in the truest sense, basically I was reviewing information that I'd been given by other researchers on my Goodrich and Joslin lines. One of my Goodrich cousins, Gerald (a 3rd cousin 3 times removed), had written some family newsletters in 1979-1980 and I had been given the copies that had been in my grandmother's files. In his newsletters he wrote a little about each of the lines that connect to our Goodrich ancestors among which are Marvin and Kilbourn.

As I read the name of the ship, the Increase, a bell kind of went off. I had seen that name somewhere before. Turns out another set of my ancestors, the Joslin family, also came on the Increase at the same time.

I located the transcriptions of "Hotten's Lists" on the English-America website. That website is no longer active, but the passenger list for the Increase (or Encrease) and other early-arriving ships can be found on the websites of the Winthrop Society and Mayflower Families.

The Marvin family included Mathew, age 35, his wife Elizabeth, 31, and children: Elizabeth age 11, Mathew age 8, Marie age 6 years, Sara age 3 years, and Hanna age 6 months. Two more children, Abigail and Rachael, were born in Hartford. Elizabeth reportedly died in 1640. Mathew married a second time. The were among the first settlers in Hartford and Norwalk, Connecticut Colony.

The Kilbourne family consisted of Thomas, age 55, his wife Francis (maiden name Moody), 50, and their five children: Margaret age 23, Lyddia age 22, Marie age 16, Frances age 12, and John age 10. There were also two children, George and Thomas, who had come over the previous year. Thomas was reportedly killed in an Indian attack in 1637. They were among the first families to settle in Wethersfield, Connecticut Colony.

Thomas Joslin (the surname was written as Jostlin) and his wife Rebecca were both 43 years old. Traveling with them was Elizabeth Ward, a maid-servant, aged 38; and five of their seven children: Rebecca, 18; Dorothy, 11; Nathaniel, 8; Elizabeth, 6; and Mary, a year old. They first settled at Hingham but by 1654 had settled in Lancaster, Massachusetts Bay Colony.

On October 4, 1648 Sarah Marvin, now 17 years old, would marry William Goodrich in Hartford. They would settle in Wethersfield, Connecticut.

On March 7, 1715/16 their grandson, Benjamin Goodrich (1688-1742) would marry Grace Kilbourn (1693-1764) who was a granddaughter of John Kilbourne.

Now, jump ahead a hundred and ten years or so to about 1825 in Delaware County, Ohio. There we have James Joslin, a 4th great grandson of Thomas and Rebecca (and 3rd great grandson of Nathaniel Joslin) marrying Abigail Goodrich, a 4th great granddaughter of Sarah Marvin and William Goodrich (and 5th great granddaughter of of Thomas and Francis Kilbourn). Whew! Sure hope I've got that right! And I hope I didn't lose you along the way...

So, how did they meet in Ohio? The Joslin descendant's arrived in Delaware County about 1816 via Canada and Vermont. The Goodrich family (John and his son Bela, among others) left Connecticut about 1803 and settled in Franklin county, in the area that bordered on Delaware county.

Roadblock - Sally Church

Last month I wrote about one of my troublesome ancestors in Roadblock - Ruth Dyer and Jonas Joslin. Another roadblock is the wife of my 5th Great Grandfather, Bela Goodrich, whom I wrote a little bit about in Gravestones don't lie? When did Bela die?

The only "clue" we have of Bela's wife's name is in a biography of his son, Price Goodrich, published on page 316 in "Counties of Whitley & Noble, Indiana (Goodspeed and Blanchard, 1882): "Price Goodrich was born in Hartford, Conn., December 17, 1799, the son of Bela and Sally (Church) Goodrich, both natives of Connecticut." (Sally is a common nickname for the given name of Sarah.)

Price Goodrich was still living when that biography was written, so it is probably a safe assumption that he or one of his children provided the information. There is no death record for Price who died October 30, 1891 and his obituary does not give his parents. There is a death record for Eunice Goodrich James that gives her father as Bela Goodrich but does not give the name of her mother. Actually, when you get right down to it, there is no concrete "proof" that Bela is my ancestor, but there is a preponderance of evidence that leads to that conclusion but I'll leave that discussion for a future post!

Bela Goodrich was born on February 4, 1777 at Wethersfield, Connecticut. The Barbour Collection of Wethersfield Vital Records 1634-1868 (online at Jane Devlin's site and Ray's Place) does not include a marriage record for Bela nor any birth records for his children. Was Sally Church born at Wethersfield or even in Hartford County?

There are 10 Church families listed in the 1790 Federal Census for Hartford County, Connecticut with only one being in Wethersfield. That was Joseph Church who had 2 males age 16 and over and 3 females in his household. By 1800 this Joseph is gone from Wethersfield. There are no other Church families in Wethersfield in 1800. There was also a Joseph Church in Hartford in 1790 and it appears that he is still there in 1800, or perhaps the Joseph from Wethersfield moved to Hartford. Hard to say one way or the other as there simply is not enough available information.

One online database gives Sally's parents as Ebenezer Church and Eunice Carney but doesn't give any further information or sources. It is possible that Sally is a descendant of John and Sarah Beckley Church who were early settlers of Hartford County. They had a large family; ten children, including four sons named in John's 1691 will. But getting from the 1690's to the 1790's is somewhat problematical.

It is also possible that Bela and Sally were not married at Wethersfield. However, it does appear that they were living there in 1800. The Federal Census for that year for Wethersfield (page 311) has the following entry for Bela Goodrich. The film/image was a bit difficult to read, but I interpret it as 11100-00100-00
one free white male under 10 [Price...1799, age 1]
one free white male 10-16 [????]
one free white male 16-26 [Bela...1777, age 23]
one free white female 16-26 [Sally...about 1780, age 20]

About 1807, a large group of settlers left Wethersfield and moved to Franklin County, Ohio. Amongst those were Bela Goodrich, his young family, his siblings and their families, and his father, John Goodrich.

It is presumed that Sally was still living and moved with Bela to Ohio. Three children would have been born to Bela and Sally prior to the move to Ohio; Price in 1799, Lucinda about 1802, and Abigail about 1805. There is record of another daughter, Eunice, born in 1822. Given the large "gap" between Abigail and Eunice it is likely that there were other children. In fact, there is a James Goodrich, born 1817 and Ralph Goodrich born 1820 that show up in Whitley County, Indiana at the same time as Bela and Price arrive there, in 1838, and in the same township. They were neighbors. Bela even sells some of his land in Whitley County to Ralph in 1841. But I digress.

Back in Ohio, now in Delaware County, we find Bela Goodrich enumerated in the 1820 Federal Census in Orange Township. And, in 1830, listed as head of household is Sally Goodrich. I'll forgo the details of the listings but they show additional youngsters in the households that could indicate that Bela and Sally had more children than we are aware of. The fact that Bela was not listed in the 1830 census could be resolved in part by one of the stories handed down to descendants of Price Goodrich, which states "Price Goodrich lived with his parents and indeed was their main support, as the father loved rather to trap, fish and hunt than to till the soil. . . . while Price was on a trip to New Orleans about 1831, his mother (back on the farm in Ohio) sickened and died."

No record of Sally's death. No tombstone record. So, what's next? Alas, I'll probably leave poor Sally on the back burner for a while and return to her later, when I can devote my undivided attention to her.

Nothing Special - A bit of a Mystery

The topic for the October 1st Carnival of Genealogy is Weddings! I've participated in each of the carnivals since I started blogging in January of this year but thought this might be one in which I wouldn't be able to contribute. As far as I know, there are no special wedding traditions in my family. I wasn't around when my siblings were married so I never attended any of their ceremonies. I have attended the weddings of several of my cousins, all very traditional, nothing unusual.

One of my first posts here at kinexxions was Brubaker-Phend Marriage which was a transcription of a newspaper article about the marriage of my grandparents Vic Phend and Hazlette Brubaker. A small affair, there were no attendants.

Perhaps there is a family tradition of little or no ceremony. The Whitley County Commercial of Wednesday, April 26, 1871 published this announcement (note the spelling of the surnames, should be Brubaker and Joslin):

Married. Bruebaker - Jostlen --- At the residence of the officiating clergyman, Rev. A. J. Douglas, on Thursday, the 20th inst, Mr. William Bruebaker and Miss Malissa M. Jostlen, all of this county. We congratulate our friend Bruebaker in taking unto himself a wife, and wish him and his fair bride all the happiness that it is possible for mortals to enjoy while sojourning upon this mundane sphere.

To date I have not found a marriage record for my 4th Great Grandparents, James Joslin and Abigail Goodrich. At the time James and his parents, Jonas and Ruth Dyer Joslin, would have been living in Liberty Township, Delaware County, Ohio while Abigail and her parents, Bela and Sally Church Goodrich, were living in neighboring Orange Township.

Lysander Price Joslin, the first child of James and Abigail Joslin, was born May 1, 1825 so it is presumed that they were married prior to his birth. But perhaps not. Based on the following information, published in "Abstracts from Miscellaneous Delaware County Ohio Newspapers 1821-1857" (Extracted by Mary V. Reed. Indexed by Sharlene Shoaf. Delaware, Ohio 1992. page 79), they were married prior to June 30, 1826 but apparently, all was not well:

Delaware Patron. Thursday July 13, 1826.
Whereas my wife Abigail has left my bed and board - I am determined to pay no debts of hers.
James Joslin. Liberty, June 30th, 1826.

Abigail would have been pregnant with her second child at that time, Fanny Philanda Joslin was born in October 1826. Apparently James and Abigail reconciled as they went on to have four more children together. In 1838, James and Abigail and their children moved from Delaware County, Ohio to Whitley County, Indiana. James seems to have disappeared by 1860 - he is no longer living in Whitley County with Abigail, and I've not found him in various census searches in other states. What happened to James? We will probably never know but that doesn't stop us from speculating or searching for more information.

Gravestones don't lie? When did Bela die?

The gravestone for Bela Goodrich, my 5th Great Grandfather, is located in Adams Cemetery, Troy Township, Whitley County, Indiana and has the inscription "1776-1845" and "War of 1812". Neither the year of his birth nor the year of his death is correct!

This is not the original marker. Another researcher, a descendant of Price Goodrich, Bela's son, says she was told by an uncle that the original marker was illegible and in bad condition when some family members decided to erect a new marker. Apparently they didn't know his year of death or, perhaps, that is how they interpreted the remaining transcription on the original marker. At any rate, a new stone was set with the incorrect dates. So when was Bela born and when did he die? Stick with me, and we'll see, maybe.

Wethersfield, Connecticut Vital Records 1634 - 1868, from the Barbour Collection online at Rays' Place (and elsewhere) show that Bela Goodrich, son of John 3rd & Abigail, was born February 4, 1777. Those records also show that his parents John Goodrich and Abigail Price were married on October 1, 1776, just four months prior to Bela's birth! John and Bela moved with their families to Franklin County, Ohio about 1807 and 31 years later, in 1838, Bela along with some of his grown children came to Whitley County, Indiana. Bela is not listed in the 1840 census for Whitley County but his son Price and son-in-law, James Joslin, are both listed.

On May 6, 1852, Bela, aged 75, applied for Bounty Land based on his service in the War of 1812 while living in Franklin County, Ohio. He also applied again on May 31, 1855. This time he was 78 years old.

Bela is enumerated in both the 1850 and 1860 Whitley County, Indiana census records. In 1850 he is age 74, in the household with his daughter Abigail and her husband Jonas Joslin (my 4th Great Grandparents). In 1860, Bela is listed as being age 83 and is living with his grandson, Silas Goodrich.

So, we know he was still living in 1860 because he's listed in the census, right? Well, I have found instances where deceased people were listed in the census records, but another clue was found in the Columbia City News. The item below first appeared March 25, 1862 and ran almost weekly, with the last "testimonials" for the Scandinavian Remedies being June 2, 1863.

"Home Testimony. Huntsville. Whitley Co., Ind.
"Dr. C. W. Robeck: Sir. This is to certify that I was very much reduced in strength, and was confined to bed rom [sic] general debility and disease and being advised to try your Scandinavian Remedies, I did so with the most satisfactory result. I have since had several attacks of the sam [sic] character, which have always been removed by these remedies and can conscientiously recommend them to the afflicted. Yours truly, BELLA [sic] GOODRICH."

We're getting a little closer... chances are, if he was giving a testimony for a "remedy" he'd still be alive. I think we would be safe in assuming he was living in June of 1863.

An article that was published in the Columbia City Post on February 24, 1892 gave bits of information regarding early settlers and current residents. Of particular interest was this one-liner... "Bela Goodrich was a soldier and died at the age of 87 years. He was the father of Price Goodrich and grandfather to Fletcher Goodrich of Richland township."

We have no way of knowing if this article is accurate, but if it is, and if he was born in 1777 and died when he was 87 years old, that puts his year of death at 1864 or possibly early 1865.

There would not be any "official" record of Bela’s death since Whitley County didn't start recording deaths until about 1882, and that is hit-or-miss until about 1900 when the state required them.

So, when did Bela die? What say you?

The Battle of Shiloh (Pittsburg Landing) April 6-7, 1862

This year is the 145th anniversary of the Battle of Shiloh, one of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War. There were 241 separate military units (128 Federal and 113 Confederate) engaged on April 6th and 7th, 1862. The final number of dead or missing was 13,000 on the Union side and 10,500 on the Confederate side.

===

JACOB BERLIN (my 2nd Great Grand Uncle) was born on September 30, 1836 in Columbiana County, Ohio and was the 5th of 10 children born to John D. and Susannah Huffman Berlin. About 1846 the family moved to Rootstown in Portage County, Ohio. About 1852 the oldest son, Solomon, migrated to Locke Township in Elkhart County, Indiana. A few years later, Jacob joined Solomon in Elkhart County where they had a brick kiln and a sawmill.

Jacob enlisted in Company “C” Ninth Indiana Volunteer Infantry on September 5, 1861. Just seven months later, on April 7, 1862, Jacob met his death on the battlefield of Shiloh in western Tennessee during the second day’s fighting. He was 25 years old. When the G.A.R. post in Nappanee was established, it was named in his honor. A few years ago I went to the Shiloh Battlefield and Cemetery. I discovered that Jacob was probably one of the many soldiers who were buried in the mass graves as he was listed as a "known, unknown" which meant that it was known that he died there but they didn't know where he was buried. Jacob was not married and did not have any children.

The monument to the 9th Regiment states: "Commanded by Col. Gideon C. Moody. This regiment arrived on the battlefield at 9 p.m., April 6, 1862, moved upon the enemy at daylight of the 7th, was hotly engaged at this place 10 a.m. Repulsed a heavy attack from the front (south), and charged with brigade to the right (west), and drove back the enemy. At 12.30 p.m. was sent by Gen. Nelson across the road to the left to the aid of Col. Ammen. Casual- ties--killed, 1 officer and 16 men; wounded, 7 officers and 146 men; total, 170."

A letter written by Jno. H. Violett of the 9th Regiment was published in The Times, Goshen, Indiana on Thursday, May 1, 1862 and graphically describes their part in the battle.

The Times published another letter, not quite so graphic, written by Capt. H. G. Davis, a member of the 29th Regiment on Thursday, April 24, 1862. His letter was written on April 11th.

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RALPH GOODRICH (may be my 4th Great Grand Uncle) was born March 30, 1820 probably in Franklin County, Ohio. His relationship to Bela Goodrich, my 5th Great Grandfather, has not been positively established but they both came from Franklin/Delaware County, Ohio to Whitley County, Indiana in 1838 and in 1841 Bela sold 40 acres of land in Whitley County to Ralph for $50, which was the same amount that Bela had paid to the U.S. Government.

At the time of his enlistment on September 25, 1861 Ralph had a wife (Lucinda Bennett) and five children. The oldest child, David, was 18 years old and joined the 44th along with his father. The youngest child of Ralph and Lucinda was not quite four years old. I discovered last year that I work with a descendant of that youngest child, Alfred Marion Goodrich! If we could prove the connection, he'd be my 5th cousin once removed. The other children of Ralph and Lucinda were John W., Arvilla, and William Swayze Goodrich.

Ralph and David both enlisted in Company B, 44th Regiment of Indiana Volunteers. Ralph was wounded on the first day of battle, Sunday, April 6th and died on a ship at the landing on Tuesday, April 8th. It is not known whether his son David was with him or not. The "Enrollment of the Late Soldiers, Their Widows and Orphans of the Late Armies of the United States for the year 1886" for Whitley County shows that David was a Musician and that Ralph had been "shot through the thigh".

The Monument to the 44th states: "Commanded by Col. HUGH B. REED. This regiment formed in this line Sunday, April 6, 1862, at 8.30 a.m. It repulsed several charges made by the enemy, which, under orders of Gen. Bragg, was attempting to force this part of the line back. During these engagements the woods caught fire. At 2.30 p.m. regiment fell back to a line with 1st Brigade, then to rear and left of Bloody Pond, where it charged on enemy's infantry and artillery. Here seven flag- bearers were shot down. At 4.30 p.m. slowly fell back and supported siege guns. Monday, April 7th, regiment fought the enemy till 3 p.m. Number of men in action, 478. Casualties-- killed, 1 officers and 33 men; wounded, 6 officers and 171 men; missing, 1 man; total, 212."

A photograph of Ralph's gravemarker can be found at the Shiloh Battlefield website. The date listed is the date that he was wounded, though it says date of death.

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My 2nd Great Grandfather, WILLIAM BRUBAKER, enlisted in Company E, 17th Indiana Volunteer Infantry on April 21, 1861 when he was 17 years and 5 months old. I'll write more about him in a future post. The 17th Regiment arrived on the battlefield at 12 o'clock on the night of April 7th. They were too late to participate in the battle but were prepared for battle on the morning of the 8th. I've often wondered if he helped to bury the dead or care for the wounded. What did he think when he saw the carnage on the battlefield? He had served for nearly a year and had been in several battles by this time. What effect did it all have on him?

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Some websites to explore:

The Battle of Shiloh (Pittsburg Landing) - http://www.civilwarhome.com/shiloh.htm

The Battle of Shiloh "A Very Bloody Affair" - http://www.geocities.com/heartland/acres/1257/shiloh.html

National Park Service Shiloh page - http://www.nps.gov/shil/

Eye Witness to History.com - http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/shiloh.htm

A Virtual Tour of Shiloh - http://www.civilwaralbum.com/shiloh/

Shiloh National Military Park Monument Location System - http://www.shilohbattlefield.org/