JOPLIN, Mo. —
In the late 1880s the Goodspeed Company of Chicago published an astounding number of books about the history of counties throughout our nation. Writers were hired to visit each area, research the records and interview the leaders.
After collecting info about the county formation and its geology, waterways, early towns, churches and businesses, those details were compiled in a book. Sometimes, the data on adjacent counties was combined.
The writers also compiled biographies of the early leaders. Although the biographical entries are extremely helpful, that type of info needs to be taken with a grain of salt since the company used entries written by the leaders and their families. Each family paid a fee to have its entry included. Thus, only the wealthier individuals are included, and the entries are often skewed to enhance the leader's past.
Imagine that you are an early leader, and you are writing your entry. What type of info would you include? You will probably describe the rosier aspects of your life, and you may leave out some important facts. You may be wrong on a few details, too. Despite this weakness, the biographies provide a wealth of clues for family research.
Many free websites post information from the Goodspeed books. When recently researching settlers in Benton County, Arkansas, I did a search by typing these words: Goodspeed biographies Benton County Arkansas. This method could be used to search for Goodspeed books of counties in all the states.
I learned that the USGenWeb site for Benton County posts all the biographies from the Goodspeed book for that county and has arranged them alphabetically. That site is found at www.argenweb.web/benton. When the site opens, click on “Biographies and Family Group Sheets.” When the next screen opens, click on “Goodspeed's Biographies of Benton County.”
A website called Arkansas Genealogy includes other sections from the book. Those sections are about hospitals, mills, roads, towns, ferries, trials, crops, livestock and Civil War battles. The site notes that the old book about Benton County also includes Washington, Carroll, Madison, Crawford, Franklin and Sebastian counties. The site is www.arkansasgenealogycom/benton. When the site opens, click on Benton County.
Query: Linda Hendricks of Neosho is searching for info on a stagecoach station located southwest of Pineville. She remembers going to the grey stone house with her father about 40 years ago. At that time, the owners were planning to restore the station and barn for a bed and breakfast. The house was located on a narrow road lined with large trees in front that still had the iron rings once used to tie up horses. She would like to know if the house still exists, and if so where it is located. Contact her at hendrickslinda885@gmail.com.
Suggestions or queries? Send to Frankie Meyer, 509 N. Center St., Plainfield, IN 46168, or contact: frankiemeyer@yahoo.com.
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Frankie Meyer
Discussion
Frankie Meyer: Goodspeed books sometimes contained errors
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