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                                                            GOOD 
                                           Family History and Surname
 

While this article is primarily concerned with the Good family of Scottish origin it is important to realize that in the United States the Good surname is shared by families originating from countries with very diverse ethnic characteristics including Germany, England, Greece and several others.  This diversity can lead to confusion among people tracing their genealogy where one person might be convinced, for example, that Good is a German name and another convinced that it is a Scottish name when in fact both people could be right. 

A relatively large number of individuals with the surname of Good and Goode were in Virginia before the Revolutionary War.  Most of these individuals emigrated from England and many were the descendants of John Goode who was born north of Cornwall, England and came to Virginia before 1660.  The English Goods spread rapidly-particularly through North and South Carolina, Alabama and Georgia.  Today they comprise a large family with many descendants still living in Virginia. Some of the descendants have dropped the "e" and use the Good surname while others have retained the Goode surname.  A history and genealogy of the English Good family through the year 1887 is contained in one of the classic genealogy books, Virginia Cousins, by G. Brown Goode. 

In the 17th and 18th centuries a large number of Germans of the Mennonite faith emigrated to other countries including Switzerland, England, Scotland, Ireland and to America (primarily Pennsylvania) to escape religious persecution.  Some of these emigrants had the surname of Gude, Gutte and Guth and many of these within only one generation of living in the Pennsylvania and Maryland areas changed the spelling to Good, Goode or Goody.  The German Goods like the English Goods spread rapidly throughout America. Today, the German Good family is very large and is well documented. 

The vast majority of persons in the United States with the Good surname are either of English or German origin and believed to comprise about 80% of the total, divided approximately equal between these two countries. The remaining 20% are divided among several countries of origin including Scotland. 

The Scottish Good family that is a sept of Clan Boyd probably has very distant roots in England and the surname is most likely based on an evolution of the Old English personal name of Goda or Gode. Less likely, the Good surname was shortened from a personal name such as Goodman, Goodrich, or Goodwin and it is even less likely that it is based on some moral virtue. This is the opinion of an expert on Scottish surnames, George Black, the author of The Surnames of Scotland. The evolution of personal names into surnames took place in the 12th and 13th centuries, and from the 16th century there have been recorded references to individuals in Scotland having the surname Good or its antecedents. For example, as cited in George Black's book, there was a George Gude in 1517, a Thomas Gude in 1533, a John Gud in 1555, a Herbert Guid in 1561 and in more recent times a George Good in 1893 who was the author of Liberton in Ancient and Modern Time. There are even earlier references in English history to individuals with the name of Goda, e.g. Goda, Earl of Thane in 988 A.D. and a Goda who lived in 1007 A.D. and is named in the Historical Collections of Walter de Coventry. The Good surname is found in the Domesday Book compiled in 1086 A.D. by William the Conqueror.

Russel and Leota Good Janzen authors of, Good 1610-1997, give another possibility for the surname's origin. They speculate that the surname may have had its birth when Robert the Bruce knighted James Douglas (1286-1330), a major supporter, as "The Good Sir James" on the eve of the battle of Bannockburn fought on June 24, 1314. The authors write, "One can therefore imagine that the name James Good may have been thus derived. Did some young Scottish follower or descendant of 'The Good Sir James' elect to have the name Good as his family surname? It is very possible."

By the seventeenth century there were two main Good communities in Scotland.  One community was in County Fife and one in County Ayrshire where they were neighbors of the Boyd family.  The earliest Ayrshire christening found is documented in the Old Parish Registers (OPR) where a William Good, son of Hew Good, was christened on June 21, 1642 in Dalmellington. From this date through the eighteenth century there are many other OPR records of Good christenings and marriages in Dalmellington and other Ayrshire locations including New Cumnock, Old Cumnock and Kilmarnock. An out of print Scottish history book, Traditions of The Covenanters by Reverend Robert Simpson, discusses how in circa 1750 another William Good, a Covenanter of New Cumnock, with the help of his wife Anne Campbell concealed himself from troopers who were searching for Covenanters with the intent to arrest and in some cases kill them.

Some descendants of the Good family from County Ayrshire immigrated to Colonial America circa 1740 and settled first in Maryland.  Later, during the Revolutionary war four brothers, Henry, John, Robert and Thomas served in the South Carolina militia.  Over 1600 descendants of Robert and John Good are documented in the family history book, Robert Good and His Descendants, written and published by this writer.  A descendant of the Good family from County Fife, Dave Good, immigrated to Virginia probably between 1770 and 1780 and remained loyal to England.  In 1783, Dave along with his wife Jane and infant daughter Elizabeth sailed from Long Island to Canada in a fleet organized to evacuate loyalists.  Many descendants of Dave Good live today in Canada as documented in the family history book, Good 1610-1997, by Russell and Leona Good Jansen.   

Jim Good
April 8, 2001
[email protected]

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The following information was obtained from Scots Origins on 21 Mar 2001.
Their source was the OPR:  The dates are Christenings.

1. Margaret Good b. to Hugh Good and Jean Thomson on 1 Jun 1694, Kilmarnock parish. Extract 1053206

2. Mary Good b. to Hugh Good and Jean Thomson on 24 Dec 1699, Kilmarnock parish. Extract 1053207

3. Georg Good b. to Hugh Good and Jean Thomson on 5 Oct 1701, Kilmarnock parish. Extract 1284338

4. John Good b. to John Good and Agnes Morton on 13 May 1705, Old Cumnock parish. Extract 1284344

5. Ellison Good b. to John Good and Mary Crichton on 26 Jun 1720. New Cumnock parish. Extract 1922225

6. Bessy Good b. to John Good and Mary Crichton on 26 Feb 1718, New Cumnock parish. Extract 1581551

7. Hugh Good b. to John Good and Mary Crichton on 19 Sep 1714, New Cumnock parish. Extract 1581553

8. John Good b. to John Good and Mary Crichton on 22 Jan 1723, New Cumnock parish. Extract 1922235

9. James Good b. to William Good and Ann Campbell on 8 Jan 1734, New Cumnock parish. Extract 2278501

10. John Good b. to William Good and Ann Campbell on 3 Aug 1735, New Cumnock parish. Extract 2278503

11.  Thomas Good b. to William Good and Ann Campbell on 24 Jan 1748, New Cumnock parish. Extract 2651976

The classic book, Traditions of The Covenanters, by Rev. Robert Simpson has further details on William Good
(records 9, 10, 11 above) on page 329: "In the immediate vicinity of Dalegles is Little Mark Lane, which was
the residence of William Good and his wife, Anne Campbell.....William Good was a Covenanter." This quotation
is taken from the "New Edition: Illustrated" printed by Gall and Inglis of Edinburgh. No publication date is given.

Regards,

Jim Good
 

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