Goodwin George
Goodwin George, son of an unknown man perhaps named Charles and a woman probably named Charlotte.
His name
S. George: attested as such in the 1860 federal census.
Goodwin George: attested as such in the 1870 and 1880 federal census.
S. Goodwin George: attested as such in his 1877 marriage record.
His birthplace
The earliest, but uncertain, evidence is the 1860 and 1870 census entries for someone appearing to be our Goodwin George, which record a Kentucky birthplace. The 1880 census gives his birthplace as Missouri. But his daughter Charlotte George's 1900 census entry again gives her father's birthplace as Kentucky. (Other information in that entry is erroneous.) His 1896 voter registration record gives his birthplace as Kentucky. Goodwin's 1897 cemetery records his birthplace as Hamburg, Iowa. His son Colbert George's 1930 census entry lists a Colorado birthplace.
His birth year
The 1860 census gives his approximate birth year as 1843.
The 1870 census gives his approximate birth year as 1845.
The 1880 census gives his approximate birth year as 1850.
His 1896 voter registration gives his approximate birth years as 1839.
Missouri
1860: No Goodwin George appears in the 1860 census. Instead, we see an entry for an "S. Goodwin." He is the last person recorded in an entry beginning with 45-year-old Charlotte George of Massachusetts. This entry shows them living in Ward 5, St. Louis, Missouri. Goodwin's occupation is clerk, his age 17, his birthplace Kentucky. They are living with a family surnamed Thum, whose members appear after Charlotte, and two other people ages 17 and 16 who are also surnamed George. These may be siblings of Goodwin George, Hellen C. and Charles H. respectively. The wide range of reported approximate birth years for Goodwin may be explained in part by the proximity of his age to those of his siblings. Some misreporting may be taking place.
1870: A Goodwin George appears in the 1870 federal census, Missouri, St. Louis County, Township 3 W. St. Louis Subd. 7, page 251. Goodwin in this entry lives with a 55 year old woman named Charlotte George, who is keeping house. She was born in Massachusetts in roughly 1815. The two live together with a family surnamed Thumb. I am unable to read the occupation given for Goodwin.
1877: His marriage record to Izetta Davis gives the date of the marriage as July 25, 1877, recorded on March 27, 1878. The record was made by Duncan Brown, Minister of the Gospel, Holt County, Mound City, Missouri. His name in this document is given as "S. Goodwin George." The only men of the right age with surname George in the 1870 census in Missouri with first names beginning with S are named Samuel or Spencer.
Iowa
1880: Goodwin must have moved from Missouri to Iowa before 1880, since Colbert is born in Iowa in circa 1880. (Izetta’s family had made the same move, but presumably something like 4 to 14 years before.) Goodwin George, Izetta, and "infant" (Colbert) appear in the 1880 census: Iowa, Fremont, Other Townships, District 68. He is listed as 30, she 18, the child 1/12. Goodwin is listed therein as a grain dealer. Izetta’s family appears immediately above them in the census record.
Goodwin's mother and the rest of his family are in Iowa as well, Fremont County, Hamburg: Charlotte George, age 72, appears as the mother-in-law of H. B. Blood, who has married her daughter Helen.
Colorado
1880s: He does not appear to be in the Colorado 1885 census, but the family is there in 1887, as Charlotte is born there in that year.
According to the family story, Izetta’s husband was a "military man" and not around all that often. Does this mean that he joined the military after ending a career as a grain dealer at the age of 30? Is this why they left Missouri for Colorado? Specifically, Charlotte recalls Leona Jane asking Charlotte George about whether she had known her father well, and Charlotte replied, "No, he was in the military." I have found no evidence for this.
1890: Did Goodwin bring his daughter Charlotte back to Chicago in 1890, to visit his "Mama George"? This is how I read the letter (page 1 & page 2) from Charlotte’s grandmother to Izetta. This is his last attestation. He is not listed in the 1890 Denver City Directory.
We have an unlabeled picture (see right) of two unknown women standing in front of a sign that says "Forest Preserve of [.....] County". On a pure guess, is this two of Goodwin George’s relatives (therefore unrecognized by later family members) in, for example, Cook County, Illinois?
California
1896: The California Voter Registration rolls for El Dorado County, South Placerville Precinct, name a Goodwin George, Miner, Age 57, height 5'9", born in Kentucky and living in Placerville, registering on August 10, 1896.
His family
Goodwin married S. Izetta (Isettia) Davis.
Children from this marriage were Colbert C. George (born circa 1880 in Iowa) and Charlotte George, whom we may suppose is named for Goodwin's mother.
His death
He does not appear with Izetta and Charlotte in their 1900 census entry, where they are lodgers with another family in Denver. Nor does he appear with Izetta when she is in Massachusetts in the 1910 census entry. In both entries, Izetta is listed as widowed. This presumably means he died at some point between 1890 and 1900.
The California Mortuary and Cemetery Records on ancestry.com produced this listing:
George, Goodwin (?) Born Hamburg, Iowa. Died Placerville, July 14, 1897, aged 54 years. Buried in I.O.R.M. Lot, Union Cemetery, Placer- ville, California. Information secured by Mrs. King Becker, 1933.
I take this entry to imply that Goodwin was a member of the Improved Order of Red Men. This cemetery entry led me to the Union Cemetery, Placerville records, which contain the following entry:
Goodwin George Birth: unknown Hamburg Fremont County Iowa, USA Death: Jul., 1897 Placerville El Dorado County California, USA The Mountain Democrat July 17, 1897 Obituary Goodwin George who died at his hotel in this city last Tuesday was a mining expert and had been in the county about a year. He had been quite successful and was well and favorably known to operators in the mines. He leaves a son who was with him when he died and a daughter now in Georgetown but a resident of Denver, in Colorado, the former home of her father. He was originally from Hamburg, Iowa, and was 52 years of age. His funeral last Wednesday was conducted by Rev. B.D. Sinclair of the Episcopal Church. He was interred in Union Cemetery.
Future Searches
I have searched everyone with the the surname "George" in the 1850 census who is in Missouri and born in Kentucky in 1840 +/- five years, with no results. Likewise for those in Kentucky in 1850 and born in Kentucky in the same range, with no apparent results.
