Herschell Goodspeed and Sarah Noble Whitaker

Herschell Goodspeed
from the Goodspeed Genealogy

Herschell Goodspeed was born on July 17, 1828 in Lockport, Niagara Co., New York. His father, Heman Goodspeed, was a farmer, but had in his youth worked on the Erie Canal. Herschell was the third of eleven children, and spent his formative years working on his father’s farm. In 1846, his elder brother Ansel, who was then age 20, left home to find work. Three years later, his next oldest brother, Marshall, age 24, left for Iowa. The following year, 1850, the census was taken and Herschell was shown as age 21, working on his parents’ farm in Newfane, New York. His brother Ansel had returned and was also working on the farm. Their father Heman was 56 and their mother Louisa was 41 (Louisa was only 15 when she married). The youngest child in the family was Theron, age 7.[1]

Meanwhile, Samuel Whitaker, whose family came from England, and his wife Sarah Noble, were living in Eaton, Madison Co., NY, when their daughter Sarah was born on January 8, 1829. They had 8 children, with Sarah being second to last.[2] Since Heman Goodspeed had spent time in Eaton while working on the Erie Canal, I suspect he may have become acquainted with Samuel Whitaker there. Samuel Whitaker and his family may have moved to Michigan in 1835, for a man by that name acquired 80 acres of land from the Detroit Land Office that year in Van Buren Township, Wayne Co.[3]

Samuel Whitaker was living in Ypsilanti, Michigan when he died on October 4, 1844. Sarah Noble Whitaker died there on May 4, 1850. They were buried in the Highland Park Cemetery in Ypsilanti. There is no death record for either Samuel or Sarah Whitaker on file in Michigan, but there is one for their daughter Sarah, stating that she was the daughter of Samuel Whittaker and Sarah Kim. The Goodspeed Genealogy said she was Sarah Noble. I have not had any luck researching either name.

Sarah Noble (or Kim) Whitaker/Whittaker died in May 1850, but she was not listed in the 1850 Mortality Schedule for Michigan, or anywhere else. Her daughter Sarah would have been 21 years old, presumably living with her mother when she died. But she does not appear anywhere in the 1850 census for either Michigan or New York. She must have been somewhere in the vicinity of Herschell Goodspeed, for she married him on October 12, 1854.[4]

Herschell Moves to Ypsilanti [5]

On March 28, 1851, a major fire in Ypsilanti, Michigan destroyed the north side of Michigan Avenue, from Washington to Pearl Street, and from there spread all the way to the Huron River. This was devastating for the town since Michigan Avenue was the business district, on the main road from Detroit to Chicago. The town immediately began to rebuild.[6] No doubt a call went out for carpenters and laborers to do this work, and Herschell Goodspeed seems to have answered this call. It was not long before he got a reputation as a skilled carpenter and became a well-known contractor and builder in Ypsilanti. He found plenty of work. One of the new buildings in 1851 on West Michigan Avenue was No. 106, a three-story brick structure in teh Italianate style.[7] Herschell Goodspeed may have helped to build it. That would be nice, since he and his sons located a store there in 1892 (see below). In 1859 another disastrous fire destroyed the Normal School building. It was quickly rebuilt, probably with the help of Herschell Goodspeed, and reopened the following year.

Herschell Goodspeed and Sarah Whitaker started their family in 1857, when their son Delbert Cranmer Goodspeed was born, on July 25th. (I do not know where the name Cranmer comes from. It certainly is not a Goodspeed family name.) Their second child, John Whitaker Goodspeed, was born on May 30, 1859. The family was counted in the Federal Census for Ypsilanti in 1860. Herschell Goodspeed was a 31-year-old carpenter, his wife Sarah was 30, Delbert was three years old and John was one.[8]

During the Civil War

On May 10, 1861, a third son was born to Herschell and Sarah. He was named Harrison LeGrande Goodspeed. This was just as the Civil War was beginning. It is hard to know why the name Harrison was chosen; usually it was done to honor president Wm. Henry Harrison, but he died in 1841, so that seems unlikely. As for the name LeGrande, that seems even more unlikely. But then, Herschell’s name also seems to come out of nowhere. He was the first Goodspeed to have that name. Harrison, son of Herschell, was usually called Harrie, and that is the way his name is spelled on his gravestone. (Some census records show Harry instead.)

Shortly after the birth of Harrie in 1861, a fourth son was born, named Abram Lincoln Goodspeed, born about 1862. He died as a child, sometime after June 13, 1864, because on that date, Herschell’s mother Louisa Albright Goodspeed wrote him a letter saying she would “like to hear how little Abram Lincoln is getting along, and all the rest of the folks.”[9] This letter brought the news that Herschell’s brother Theron had been killed at Spotsylvania.[10] He was killed on May 12, 1864. Just three days earlier, on May 9, 1864, Herschell and Sarah Goodspeed had a son whom they later named Theron Herschell Goodspeed. I imagine that when news came of the death of Herschell’s brother, the parents decided to name their new child after him.

Herschell Goodspeed was himself listed in the draft for Michigan’s 3d Cong. District on July 17, 1863. He was 34, married, born in New York, and employed as a “mechanic.” But he was not called to fight. Perhaps he found someone to volunteer for him. It was not uncommon for men who had family or business obligations to find a volunteer to substitute for them in the Civil War.

Herschell’s father Heman Goodspeed survived to see the end of the war, but he died at Newfane, Niagara Co., NY on March 31, 1869, at the age of 74, leaving his widow Louisa, age 60. Two months later, on June 2, 1869, their daughter Sylvia, wife of Charles H. Rhems, also died; she was only 32.

--- continued on part two ---

1]  U.S. Federal Census, Newfane, NY, p.390, dwelling 280, family 286
2]  Information on the Whitaker family comes from The Goodspeed Genealogy, p. 265 ftnt.
3]  Twp 3-S, Range 8-E, section 32. The original survey map can be found at the official State of Michigan website.
4]  The Goodspeed Genealogy, p. 254; I have not been able to locate a marriage record yet; it would tell us where the marriage took place; was it Michigan or New York?  
5]  Ypsilanti, in Washtenaw County, Michigan, was founded in 1823. It was named for Demetrius Ypsilanti (1793-1832), hero of the War for Greek Independence.  
6]  James Thomas Mann, Ypsilanti: A History in Pictures, Arcadia Publishing, 2002, p.24. 
7]  Historical Notes about the City of Ypsilanti.
8]  U. S. Federal Census, Ypsilanti, Washtenaw MI p. 124 dwelling 907 family 906. Herschell was not the only Goodspeed counted in the Michigan census in 1860. There was also Joseph B. Goodspeed, 34, teacher; wife E. A. Goodspeed, 33;  son Seymour W 7, (#200-213), and Abigail Goodspeed, 55, all born in Connecticut, (#651-708)--all living in Ann Arbor. I could not locate this family in the Goodspeed Genealogy.
9] I do not know where Abram was buried; it was not in the Highland Park Cemetery where his parents can be found.
10] The letter was beautifully written and will be published here in another post.