Edward Goode III (abt. 1718 - 1796)

Born about 1718 in Whitby Plantation, Henrico County, Virginia

Ancestors

Husband of Judith (Morton) Goode — married 1744 in Amelia County, English Province of Virginia

Descendants

Died 1 Feb 1796 at about age 78 in Mecklenburg County, Virginia, United States

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Genealogical Note: This family was formed by the marriage between a step-brother and his younger step-sister. As they were not "blood relatives," their union, although unusual, was perfectly legal and natural. They were part of a prominent "old planter" family in colonial Virginia and North Carolina. See: Ancestral Lineage & Descendants of Calvert Thomas Goode & Merla Ione Fewkes,

Biography

Edward Goode III was a Virginia colonist.

Edward (aka Edmond) Goode III was born in 1718 in Henrico County, English colony of Virginia, North America. His father was Edward Goode Jr., a wealthy colonial tobacco plantation owner (Whitby Plantation) along the James River, Henrico County, and his mother was Edward Goode Jr.'s first wife: Agnes, whose surname, unfortunately, is not known. Agnes (Unknown) Goode was the mother of all of Edward Goode Jr.'s six children. She died in about 1727, shortly after the birth of her last child, Margareta Goode. Young Edward was only 9 years old when he lost his natural mother.^[1]

In 1741, in Richmond (Henrico), Virginia, Edward Goode Jr. remarried to a well-to-do widow, Elizabeth (Woodson) Morton. She was the mother of at least six children by her 1st husband, also a tobacco planter, including Judith Morton, born in 1727 in Charlotte County, Virginia. This "Brady Bunch" composite family lived in a large plantation home and were well-considered among young Richmond society.

Living together but not blood-related, Edward Good III and step-sister, Judith Morton, fell in love and decided to marry. This was unusual but not unheard of and, as they were not blood relations, their union was not contrary to natural law or religious morals. They married in 1744, shortly before Elizabeth (Woodson) Morton Goode passed away. They married in Amelia County, where they set up residence.^[2]

The couple initially lived south-west of Richmond in Amelia County, Virginia, on land that Judith had inherited from her father, Thomas Morton. In about 1748 they sold that land and moved further south to Lunenburg County, where Edward came to possess a large estate, over 1,000 acres of arable land, largely planted with tobacco. Their plantation land was included in the newly-formed Mecklenburg County when Lunenburg was divided in 1765.

Edward Goode III and his wife Judith (Morton) Goode had 11 children:^[3]

1. Joseph GOODE b: 1745 in Amelia Co., Virginia
2. Janey GOODE b: Abt. 1746 in Amelia Co., Virginia
3. Edward GOODE b: 1749 in Lunenburg Co., Virginia
4. Judith GOODE b: 1751 in Lunenburg Co., Virginia
5. Agnes GOODE b: 1753 in Lunenburg Co., Virginia
6. Richard GOODE b: 1754 in Lunenburg Co., Virginia
7. Mary GOODE b: 27 Feb 1756 in Lunenburg Co., Virginia
8. Thomas Jefferson GOODE b: 12 Feb 1760 in Lunenburg Co., VA
9. Elizabeth GOODE b: ca. 1762 in Mecklenburg Co., Virginia
10. John GOODE b: 1763 in Lunenburg Co., Virginia
11. Robert GOODE b: 17 Mar 1765 in Mecklenburg Co., Virginia

For more than 200 years the Goode family, largely descended from Edward III and Judith, have been prominent in Virginia and North Carolina society, business and agricultural life and politics. All 5 of their sons migrated west to Rutherford County, North Carolina, where they established farms and businesses. Descendants are still found there in the 21st Century.

Judith (Morgan) Goode died in 1790 in Mecklenburg Co., Virginia. Edward survived her passing for another 5 years. He died intestate (without a registered Will) on January 2, 1796 in Mecklenburg County, Virginia. His heirs gave power of attorney to two Virginia friends of the family to sell his then-760 acre estate and distribute the proceeds. All of the couple's five sons had moved to Rutherford County, NC by that time. Daughter Mary Fontaine and her husband lived in Halifax County, Virginia; while Elizabeth and her husband, William Wood, lived in South Carolina. Two unmarried daughters, Judith and Agnes Goode, were still living in Mecklenburg County, Virginia in 1796. ^[4]

Sources

1. ↑ One family genealogy names her as "Agnes Cole" but with no source information. See: Baked Beans on RootsWeb - Agnes Cole
2. ↑ Ancestors, cousins, and family relations of John E Robison on RootsWeb - Edward Goode III
3. ↑ Goode Genealogy on RootsWeb - Edward Goode III
4. ↑ See preceding Note.