The Little I Know About Goodwin

When it came to the sons of William Solomon II and wife Deanna Gordon Solomon, the one I know most about was Bennett, who was my direct ancestor.

That makes sense, of course, but to make sense of the brothers who left Franklin County, NC to go west and preach the gospel of the Lord Baptist style, I've been placing together their families and now the only one left is Goodwin. 

Goodwin is a good mystery. He didn't leave a will, we don't have a marriage document for him, but he appears to have possibly married twice, the last time to a younger woman. While William, Jordan and the widow of Bennett, his brothers, all kept on to Tennessee, Goodwin remained right here in Montgomery County, the part that became Stanly, for the remainder of his life. 

Luke Solomon was said to have been the oldest son of William and Deanna, but Goodwin must have been a close second, as he starts showing up in documents in Franklin County NC, very early on.

On January 13, 1791, ( No. 1061 p 124 Franklin County) , James Huckaby of Franklin County NC sold to Seph Williams of Wilkes County, Georgia two tracts of land, one being a 153 tract that joined the property of William Goodwin, Micajah Davis, Isaac Gordon, Goodwin's Uncle, and Goodwin Solomon, himself. The tract had been granted to William Russell and the witnesses were Bennett Hill and W. B. Hill. The Huckaby's, Russells and Hills were families intermarried or interwoven with the Solomons. I also wonder if there was a distant Goodwin ancestor as well. 

There's another interesting deed in Franklin County that predates this one but doesn't involve Goodwin that may have come into play. 

Deed Book 5, P 85, No. 429 John Edwards of Montgomery County NC, sold to William Solomon Jr (Goodwin's father), a 200 acre tract of land that he was already living on. This was dated July 24, 1782. I leads me to believe that John Edwards may have had something to do with the Solomon Brothers choosing Montgomery County.

On October 19, 1796, Goodwin Solomon was the bondsman for the marriage of Joseph Milton and Abigail Bass. Green Hill was the witness. I wonder why

 Goodwin stood bond, he was neither older nor wealthy at this stage of life. But he was married, from what it appears to be in the 1790 census.

Could Goodwin have been related to the Milton/Melton family, who also moved to Montgomery County? Perhaps a brother-in-law?

In 1804, Goodwin was in a list of purchasers, along with his father, of things in the estate sale of Thomas Wynne.

Also in 1804, Goodwin and his father are also seen as purchasers in the estate sale of their neighbor, Micajah Davis. No sign of Luke. I wonder if Old Josiah had been wrong, and that Goodwin was the oldest, as he was elderly when he wrote the letter and just a small child when his Uncles left Franklin.

Goodwin had long left Franklin when his father's Will was read in 1814, but he's mentioned within.

At the division of slaves, Goodwin drew Anaky, although I don't know if he ever returned to retrieve her.

The 1800 census shows Goodwin living in Louisburg, Franklin County, NC. Franklin borders Virginia. I also believe that Goodwin lived in Virginia at some point, between 1790 and 1800. I am looking for proof of that.

In this one, Goodwin appears to have a wife and 4 children.

Goodwin was in Franklin County in 1804 and in Montgomery County in 1805. In 1806, there is a suit against an Arthur Harris and William Boyd, filed in the Salisbury, Rowan County courts.

It's going to take some time to discover more about this suit.

In 1805, Goodwin Solomon was living in Montgomery County, North Carolina near George Crowell, John Howell and Samuel Kindall per a deed sold to George Crowell by Joseph Parsons of 200 acres on Cloverfork Creek off of Long Creek on the Southwest side of the Yadkin River. Warrant 6266 began at a white oak on Edward Moor's line, joined Drake Horn and bordered the properties of Goodwin Solomon and the others mentioned. 

Warrant 6721 issued December 11, 1809 was from Will Stone to Bennett Solomon, Goodwins' brother and consisted of 100 acres joining Samuel Carter and Bennett's own lines 'where Gooding (Goodwin) Solomon lives......begins at a poplar in Goodwin Sollomon's line. It joined George Crowell, and was near Samuel Carter. Samuel Carter and John Bruster were chain carriers and these two names were crucial in linking certain of the Solomons together.

Goodwin Solomon was in the 1810 census for Montgomery County, North Carolina. It appears Goodwin was between 26 and 44 and had a wife of the same age group. There was perhaps a daughter between 16 and 25, another daughter between 10 and 15, a son between 10 and 15 and one under 10. By this time, some of the older children were probably grown and on their own. 

There was no 1820 census for Montgomery County, NC. They probably had one, but it was lost in time, probably in one of the many courthouse fires or some other manner. There was one in 1830, however, and Goodwin was still alive and still in Montgomery County, NC.

Goodwin is shown as a man in his 60's, however the adult female in the home is now in her 20's and there are three little boys under 9 and two little girls under 5. It appears as if he lost his first wife, and remarried one much younger, which wasn't unheard of, and started a new, young family. 

 Listed near Goodwin is Allen Stoker, and Eldridge Parker (Bennett Jr's wife, Nora Elizabeth Parker was supposedly the daughter of an Eldridge Parker), John Bullen (one of his brother Bennett's daughters married a Bullen), Jarrett Carter, Labon Carter and William Solomon (son of Bennett, who had passed away by this time).

Goodwin doesn't make it to the 1840 census. He was an old man by then. What happened to his wife and his children, however?  My theory is that some went to Tennesee, but later, after their cousins, and others remained in the area. I refer to them as "The Lost Solomons". 

I believe Bennett Solomon Jr. born in 1797, was the son of Goodwin. Bennett had a son named Bennett already, one younger than Jr., one whose children's names reflected their McGregor heritage. Another was Henry, who was also in Montgomery County after Ava and her younger children had left. Some folks also link Goodwin Solomon Jr. who moved to Grainger County, Tennessee as a son of Goodwin. I will look at all of them. 

To be continued.