Samuel and Sylvia Goodspeed were the first in our direct line to leave the original home of the Goodspeeds in Barnstable, Massachusetts. Goodspeeds had been living in Barnstable since 1639. It was not until the end of the 18th century that Samuel and Sylvia moved to Vermont.
Samuel Goodspeed was the youngest of six children, born in
Barnstable on December 14, 1757 to John Goodspeed (1708-1799) and Rebecca Goodspeed (1714-bef
1800). John and Rebecca were second cousins. Samuel grew up to become a
mariner. When the Revolution began, he was 19 years old, but apparently did not
sign up with the Continental Army. According to the Goodspeed Genealogy,
“It is a tradition that when the Revolution broke out, he was away on a whaling voyage, and that the captain, on his return with a cargo of oil and bone, found Boston in possession of the British and put to sea again to save his cargo. It is said that he went to South America or elsewhere, Samuel going along, and disposed of his oil.”[Goodspeed Genealogy, p. 267]
As the Revolution wore on, it is thought that Samuel
Goodspeed may have been a “privateersman.” Privateers were American sailing
vessels that harassed and attacked ships belonging to the British or their
allies, like the Spanish, especially if they came near the American coast.
Once the war was well and truly over, Samuel Goodspeed
apparently gave up the sailing life and settled down to marry his first cousin on February 15, 1785. She was Sylvia Goodspeed, born
on February 19, 1768 to Josiah Goodspeed (1744-1826) and Jemima Blossom
(1745-1826). She also came from a family of six children, only she was the
fourth, rather than the last. Both families were residents of Barnstable,
Massachusetts, so Samuel and Sylvia probably knew each other from a very early
age. Sylvia was only 17 when they married, while Samuel was 28, suggesting that
Samuel had to bide his time after the war before he could marry.
Their first child, Jemima (named for Sylvia’s mother), was
born on August 24, 1786. The second child, born on May 24, 1788, was named
Chloe, an unusual name in the Goodspeed family (it is an ancient Greek name
that came into popular use during the Protestant Revolution). She was born
probably just after the death of another Chloe, daughter of William Goodspeed,
Samuel’s second cousin, also a resident of Barnstable.
The third child of Samuel and Sylvia Goodspeed was named
Zenas (also a Greek name), born November 14, 1789, followed by Susanna on April
21, 1791, Mercy on October 21, 1792, Heman on May 22, 1794, Hannah on January
21, 1796 and Josiah, born May 21, 1798, all in Barnstable. (The first Goodspeed
to be named Heman was born in 1743 to Jabez and Reliance Goodspeed.)
Sometime between May 1798 and May 1799, Samuel and Sylvia
Goodspeed moved to Wells, Vermont. This was probably instigated by Sylvia’s
parents, who also made the move. Other Goodspeeds from Barnstable who joined
them were cousins Ansel, Winslow and Stephen Goodspeed and their families.
These three, along with Josiah, were early members of the Universalist Church
which served the residents of Wells and neighboring Pawlet, Vermont. (Sylvia’s
second cousin, once removed, David Blossom, was also an early settler.) Sylvia’s
father Josiah Goodspeed became very influential in Wells, where he served as
town clerk for 46 years. He was also Selectman from 1798 to 1807, and a justice
of the peace.
Along with their eight children, Samuel and Sylvia Goodspeed
brought Samuel’s very ancient father John Goodspeed. He was close to 90 years
of age. Samuel’s mother Rebecca had died earlier, date unknown. Why it was that
Samuel Goodspeed had charge of his elderly father, rather than the siblings who
remained in Barnstable is a mystery. As one might expect, John Goodspeed did
not survive the trip for long. He died on May 18, 1799 at Wells, Vermont at the
age of 90 years 6 months and 2 days. (Sadly, his burial place has not been
recorded on Find-a-Grave.com.)
Having determined to stay in Vermont, Samuel and Sylvia
Goodspeed sold the first of several lots of land in Barnstable, on January 23,
1800 (Samuel signed his name on the deed, but Sylvia made her mark). The last
of their lots was sold in March 1800.
At some point, Samuel and Sylvia moved to Pawlet, Vermont which
is the town just south of Wells. Exactly why I cannot say. Perhaps there were
better land opportunities there. (I have not researched the deeds of Samuel
Goodspeed. It would be worth the effort to discover exactly where they were living.)
Once settled in Vermont, Samuel and Sylvia Goodspeed had
more children--twelve in all, rather poetically appropriate since they each
came from families with six children. As mentioned earlier, they had their
first eight children at Barnstable. At Pawlet, they had a daughter Rebecca on
Feb. 13, 1800. They had three more children after that, Sylvia, Phebe and John,
born 1804, 1805 and 1808, but all of them died as children. Perhaps this was a
reflection on the fact that life in Pawlet had to be much harsher than it was
back in Barnstable. It is always surprising to me how often families were willing
to forsake the comforts of an established town to try their luck on the
frontier, where amenities were scarce.
Samuel had to rely on his three sons (Zenas, Heman and
Josiah) to help him run the family farm. The eldest, Zenas, remained there, and
took the farm over after the death of Samuel Goodspeed on April 16, 1816, age
58. At that time, Samuel’s children were all reaching or in early adulthood. By
1816, Zenas had already started his own family, with three children already
born to his wife Anna Betts. They had ten altogether, including a son named
Harry, born in 1818. Sylvia Goodspeed lived to be 76 years old, dying at the
home of son Zenas in Pawlet in May 1844.
Samuel Goodspeed was buried in the Mountain View Cemetery in
West Pawlet, Vermont. The inscription on his gravestone reads:
In memory of
Samuel Goodspeed
who died April 18
1816 aged 58 years
4 months & 4 days.
-----
He's gone, yes gone, forever gone
To us no more for to return
O! that we might prepared be
To enter our eternity.
Oddly enough, his wife Sylvia’s gravestone is not listed
with the many other Goodspeeds buried in this cemetery. One would expect her to
be buried next to her husband, but it will take a trip to Pawlet to make sure.
The cemetery is located a short way northwest of Pawlet, near the border with
New York State. Granville, NY is nearby.
The other two sons of Samuel and Sylvia, Heman and Josiah, did not remain in Pawlet. Once
they reached adulthood, they were ready to try their chances further west, in
New York State. Heman Goodspeed, the father of Herschell Goodspeed, will
be the subject of the next article in this series.
After pondering the map, I am beginning
to think a trip to Pawlet, Vermont in the fall would be a lovely way to learn about the home of
Samuel and Sylvia Goodspeed. It would be worthwhile to have a look at the deeds and probate records for this family, especially a will and inventory.
Note: See Paul Hiland and Robert Parks, History of Wells,
Vermont for the First Century After Its Settlement, Wells, VT: Tuttle &
Co., Job Printers, 1869. This is a free Google book. I have relied on it for
the early history of this place.
Postscript, July 31, 2013:
After this post was published, Ben Zimmer discovered that Samuel Goodspeed was insolvent at the time of his death. He discovered this notice in the Bennington “Vermont Gazette” for July 16, 1816.
I was surprised to read that the assignees would meet with
the creditors at the widow Sylvia’s home. In New Jersey that sort of thing
usually took place in the nearby tavern. I suppose they did that in order to
determine what possessions the family had that could be sold to settle their
debts. It must have made Sylvia’s bereavement even more difficult.
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