Amos I. Goodman (1782 - 1854)

Amos I. Goodman was born 28 Feb 1782 in Bedford Co., VA, son of John James Goodman and Epharilla (possibly Avarilla or Arvilla) Thorp (or Thorpe or Tharp). Amos I. Goodman died 14 Sep 1854, in Hart Co., KY and is buried in the Goodman Cemetery in Hart County, on his original land. His birth and death dates are from his headstone.

Amos was born just two years after Ansel Goodman’s return from Kentucky to Bedford County VA. For this reason and others, including the Ansel / Anselm name in descendant lines, Amos Goodman was previously thought by myself and other researchers to be the son of Ansel and Edith Goodman of Bedford Co., VA. This theory has since been disproved. However, Amos probably was a nephew of Ansel Goodman, which is why he named his first son Anselm. This is supported by this excerpt from the Robert Hope Goodman letter: "...My Father had a great uncle a bold adventurous man by the name of Ansel Goodman that went West and joined himself to Daniel Boon the Great explorer of Tennessee and Kentucky...". Robert Hope Goodman's father was John Goodman, eldest brother of Amos I. Goodman.

Other earlier researchers, including a paid professional researcher for the family of descendants still residing in Hart Co., KY, have asserted that Amos was the son of the John Goodman, son of Charles Goodman of Albemarle Co., VA. This has also been disproved by the Robert Hope Goodman letter and other evidence that has since been discovered, including the fact that John Goodman, son of Charles of Albemarle, was a prominent Virginia Methodist minister who never went to Tennessee or Kentucky, and his various postings and family are well documented in Virginia Diocese records. The most fanciful tale of all is that John Goodman, father of Amos, was John Goodman III, third in descent from John Goodman the Mayflower passenger. However, innumerable reputable researchers of Mayflower descendants have established that the John Goodman who came in the Mayflower was a single man who died in the second year of the colony without offspring.

The real proof of Amos I. Goodman's true parentage is found in the minutes of the Greene Co., TN, August 1790 Court, per first entry in the list of source citations below. That Amos was born in Bedford Co., VA is not in question. But, based on this record, he was evidently the son of John Goodman, who was also listed in Bedford with Ansel Goodman in the 1782 tax list.

Blount County TN was formed in 1798 from the southern part of Knox County, which had been created from Greene County in 1792. Amos I. Goodman married 1st to Sarah Conway, on 29 August, 1801, in Blount Co., TN. Thomas Conway, probably Sarah’s brother, but possibly her father, was listed as Surety for their marriage bond, per Blount County marriage records. My direct ancestor was their only known son, Anselm Goodman, was probably named after his great uncle, as mentioned earlier. They also had at least one daughter, name unknown to me, and probably born ca 1803-05, who was listed in the 1810 Barren County, KY census, along with Amos, young son Anselm, and his 2nd wife, Mourning Jones. The family bible of Anselm Goodman and his wife Nancy Fowler identifies Amos Goodman and Sarah Conway as his parents.

Amos I. Goodman married 2nd to Mourning Jones, on 21 Feb 1810 in Barren County, KY. Family tradition has it that they eloped from Hart Co. to be married in Barren Co. However, this does not take into account the changing of county boundaries as new counties were being formed at that time. They actually lived and married in that part of Barren County that in 1819 was divided, and the part that Munfordville was in became Hart County. Mourning Jones was born 12 Oct 1787. Mourning Jones Goodman died 4 Nov 1849 in Hart County, KY.

Amos I. Goodman Source Citations

• 1790 Fall Court (August), Greene Co., TN: Robert and Amos Goodman, children of John Goodman, were ordered committed to the care of John Richardson until further orders. Stephen and Sarah and Rachel Goodman were committed to the care of Joseph Richardson. [from the Greene County Court Minutes, in Fischer, Tennessee Tidbits, 1778-1914, Vol. I, p. 146.]
• 1801: Blount Co., TN marriage bonds, Amos Goodman married Sarah Conway, August 30, 1801, with Thomas Conway, bondsman. [Allen, TENNESSEE SOLDIERS IN THE REVOLUTION, p. 58]
• 1801 & 1805: Amos Goodman on Tax List, Greene Co., TN. See also: E. TN Goodmans
• White Co. TN Fall Court, p. 34, Oct 12, 1807: "Ordered by the Court that a child by the name of Ansolum Goodman be permitted to remain in the posession and care of Thomas Little." This was apparently only a temporary measure. From the 1810 Barren Co., KY census, it seems Anselm Goodman had been sent to live with his father Amos I. Goodman in Barren County by that time. Thomas Little appears in the Blount Co., TN Tax list of 1800, so could easily have known and/or been related to the Conways and Goodmans of Blount County.
• From tha above citation, it appears that Amos Goodman and Sarah Conway removed from Blount County TN to then Barren County about 1807, perhaps leaving son Anselm with Thomas Little, or parhaps with Thomas Conway, who in turn allowed the Little family to care for him.
• 1810 US Census: Amos Goodman is listed in Barren Co., KY, with 2nd wife Mourning Jones, son Anselm, under 10 years, and a young daughter, name unknown, also under 10, and one female over 45, possibly his mother, Epharilla Thorp. This census is not alphabetized, so one can surmise that the names are listed as encountered by the enumerator, and that the nearby families on the census list were also close neighbors. Nearby on this census list are: Matthias Reynolds and wife Martha Goodman of Bedford Co., VA; Mathew Harper, later 2nd husband of Amos's sister Sarah Jane (Richardson) Goodman; Hance Harper, John Logsdon, David Reynolds, Thomas Logsdon (who lated married Susannah Goodman Richardson in 1813), William Richardson, which are among the families earlier and later married to and otherwise associated with these Goodmans. Many other Goodmans appear in the 1810 Barren Co., census, but on other pages not so close by, so no determination as to relationships can be made.
• 1820: Amos Goodman listed in Monroe Twp., Hart Co., KY US Census, p. 159, age 26-45, wife age 26-45 (Mourning), one male 16-18 (Anselm), two males under 10 (George J., John A.), three females under 10 (Lourania, two others unknown), one female over 45 (possibly mother, Epharilla?).
• 1830: Amos Goodman listed in Hart Co., KY US Census, p. 211, age 40-50, wife age 40-50 (Mourning), one male 15-20 (George J. or John A.), two males 5-10 (Luke A., Amos M), one male under 5 (Wesley C.), one female 15-20 (Lourania), two females 10-15 (unknown), one female 5-10 (Maranda S.), and one female under 5 (unknown).
• 1840: Amos Goodman listed in Hart Co., KY US Census, p. 194, age 50-60, wife age 40-50 (Mourning), one male 15-20 (Amos M.), one male 10-15 (Wesley C.), one male 5-10 (Gideon S.), one female 5-10 (unknown)
• Amos Goodman's tombstone inscription, Goodman cemetery, Hart Co., KY: Amos I. Goodman b. 28 Feb 1782 d. 14 Sep 1845 age 63 yr. 6 mo 14 d.
• Amos I. Goodman was a clergyman!:
• WHITMAN, Richard, VA, S38464. State of KY, Springfield, May 6, 1834, Washington Co. Affidavit made by Christopher BARLOW, age 77. ... From there he moved to Hart Co which was then Hardin Co, and has continued to live in Hart Co. One of his acquaintances was Amos GOODMAN, clergyman and Phillip DEVORE?, citizens of Hart Co. ....
• Affidavit from Hart Co., KY probate court, dated 24 Aug 1870, found among the estate papers of James William Sego, as provided by his heirs in Worth & Gentry Counties, MO, as follows: "I do certify that on the 24th day of June 1833 I joined together in holy bonds of marriage James Sego and Lavina Goodman according to law. (signed) Amos Goodman." Below that - "State of Kentucky, Hart County - I, J.M. Brents, clerk of the county court for said county do certify that the above is a true and perfect copy of the minister's return of the marriage of James Sego and Lavina Goodman, as is found of record in my office. Witness my hand and seal of office this 24th day of August 1870. (signed) J.M. Brents, Clerk, Hart County Court.". Amos M. Goodman. son of Amos I. Goodman, was born in 1824, so was too young to be the one who performed the marriage. Likewise, Amos Goodman, son of Arthur Goodman, was born in 1818, and was also too young to perform a marriage. This leaves Amos I. Goodman as the only plausible person of an appropriate age to have been the minister performing this marriage.

Amos I. Goodman and his 2nd wife, Mourning Jones, are both buried side-by-side in the Goodman Cemetery, located at 1520 Hammonsville Rd., Munfordville, KY 42765, on the old Amos Goodman farm, which still owned by one of his direct Goodman descendants. See map to Amos Goodman Cemetery below. The cemetery is just southeast of the old Goodman home. From I-65, take exit 65 (US 31W) to Munfordville. In the center of town, take Hwy 357 (E. Union St) northeast, which turns into Hammonsville Rd. Drive about 2 miles to 1520 Hammonsville Rd, a small spur road on the right of Hwy 357. Before visiting the cemetery, stop at the adjacent big white house to check in with the current owner. You can also get a Google Streetview of the property from the road by entering 1580 Hammonsville Rd, Munfordville, KY into maps.google.com. In one early map of Munfordville, Hammonsville Road is shown as Bardstown Road.

For more on the two wives of Amos I. Goodman, their ancestors, and a list of burials in the Goodman Cemetery in Munfordville, Hart Co., KY, see:

Sarah Conway, 1st wife of Amos I. Goodman

Mourning Jones, 2nd wife of Amos I. Goodman