Sources of Information - Goodnight Family
Information contained within the pages on the Goodnight Family come
from several published and private sources as well as from various
records of census, cemeteries, etc.
The following should be especially noted for their willingness to
share information they had gathered on their family. Some are now
deceased, but their dedication to family history keeps them close
to our hearts:
Mary M. Baker
Evelyn Barclay
Don Collins
Elsie Davis
Rosemary Filyaw
Kelli Goodnight
Nellie V. Grabs
Mamie Ground Hayes
Wesley Mullenneix
Roberta Dukes Richardson
Dianne Thurman
Dan Yarbrough
Additional notes and sources:
A particularly valuable published source, especially on the earlier
generations, including Michael, the father of Isaac Goodnight, was
found in The Good(K)night (Gutknecht) Family in America by
S. H. Goodnight. This book, publishing date, unknown, was written
by a descendant of Michael Goodnight through his son, Henry, named
Scott Holland Goodnight, who was born 16 Jan 1875 in Holton, Kansas.
Dianne Thurman has a GedCom file posted on the Internet, and within
it is contained several additional sources.
Kelli Goodnight lists a child Charles Goodnight b. Macoupin, IL and
died in Mercer County, KY. This Charles was to have married Charolette
Collier who died in 1883 in Oran, Palo Pinto County, Texas. She cites
the son of Charles Goodnight, Jr. and Charles Patman of Clarendon,
Texas. I wonder if this is the famous "Charlie Goodnight" who married
but had no children? In any case, I do not believe this Charles is a
child of Isaac Goodnight and Elizabeth McMurray.
Information on the family of Robert L. Lawrence and Martha Goodnight
comes from records of Mamie Ground Hayes.
Kentucky: A History of the State, 1886.
The biography on Thomas Goodnight gives the dates of Isaac's marriages
and other information.
Family sources which like to say that Isaac Goodnight was the first
white child born in Kentucky are mistaken. Settlers, including
families, had been coming to Harlan Station for nearly 10 years
before the Goodnights arrived. To assume none of them had children
makes no sense.
Other sources of information:
Cemetery records (includes descendant information)
Goodnight family Graveyard, Three Forks, Warren County, KY
Cemetery records
Rehoboth Cemetery, Mansfield, Tarrant Co., TX
Marriage Records, Warren County, KY
US Census, 1810, Warren Co, KY, p. 255 or 256
US Census, 1820, Warren Co, KY, p. 60
US Census, 1830, Warren Co, KY, p. 109
US Census, 1840, Allen Co, KY
Plymouth Rock to the Pacific,
by Wesley Mulleneix, p. 154
Tax Lists, Lincoln County, KY
The Longhunter, Vol. XIX, Issue 4, pg. 11-12
"Isaac Goodnight"
(tells traditional story of death near Harlan Station)
Birth of Issac Goodnight 1 Jan 1782 "on the first hour."
Marriage in 1808 to Elizabeth McMurry
Move to Warren County, near Three Forks, north of Barren River
(KY) after marriage; living on large tract of land secured
"through a grant signed by Patrick Henry, Governor of Virginia."
Return to Isaac Goodnight Biographical Page
Return to Goodnight Family Cemetery Page
Return to Warren County Page
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