Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Site Questions -
What exactly is contained in this web site? This web site contains the entire contents of the Goodner Family Book published by Hubert Lacey in 1960. A copy of the book was scanned in page by page, moved into Word 2000 format, scanning mistakes were corrected, and web pages were created from the Word 2000 documents. These web pages are the cumulative result of this effort.
Who put this site together? I did, Jay Goodner.
Is this a for profit site in any way? Not at all. It was something that I wanted to do for my family, known and unknown to me, so that we can more fully enjoy our familial and cultural heritage. I don't make any money from this site at all; indeed, it costs me to keep it on the Internet.
Is this site affiliated with any other works done on the Goodner family? No. This is simply a web reproduction of Mr. Lacey's work. It is not affiliated with any other researches into the Goodner family or name.
Do you mind if I link to your site? No, not at all. Just ask me first please; just the usual Internet courtesy.
Goodner Family Questions -
Where did the Goodner family come from originally? We came from Germany, from the Palatinate. We are what are commonly called Palatine Germans. The Eighteenth Century saw a lot of immigration from this part of Germany, and the Guettener's (changed to Goodner) were among the many families who came to America at that time. Mr. Lacey indicated that the Guettener's might have originally come from Sweden, which is entirely plausible. A lot of Swedes came to Germany during the Thirty Year's War (1618 - 1648) and eventually settled there. Mr. Lacey didn't pursue our origins past Oberbetsbach.
What exactly is the Palatinate? It is a region in western Germany, bordering on France, and is sometimes referred to as the Rheinland-Pfalz. There is a great many sites for the Palatinate on the Internet; Google brings up dozens of them, many genealogical in nature. However, you may want to start with this one if you're interested; by the way, it helps to be able to read German.: http://www.genealogienetz.de/reg/RHE-PFA/rhein-p-his.html.
Does the Goodner family have a family crest? Not that I'm aware of. Mr. Lacey alluded to one, but no description of it exists. He thought there may be one in Sweden, but didn't look at heraldry there.
What about the family crests for Goodner that I have seen on the Internet? I personally don't believe they are valid for this branch of the Goodner family. I've seen this family crest for sale and this history that we came from England and that Goodner is an English name. Well, there may be some Goodner's who did come from England and for whom Goodner is a variant of Goodrum, Goodnow, and so forth, but that is not true of the people in this book. We are of German descent, not English, but if there are Goodner's out there who can trace the name in another national direction, I'd love to know about it. In sum, if you're in this book, or your parents, or your grandparents, you're of Palatine German extraction.
Goodner Family Book Questions -
How do I find someone in the Goodner Family Book? Well, it helps to know which of the founding members the person you seek is descended through. For example, I am descended through John Goodner, Junior, so to find reference to me or my immediate family, I click on John Goodner, Junior, and do a search on my name. If you don't know who the person you're seeking is descended through, click on each of the founding members in turn and search for their names.
I've looked, and I'm not listed anywhere in the book. Why not? Well, it could be an oversight by Mr. Lacey, but that's not likely because he did such a thorough job of researching the family. More than likely, you're too young to be in it. The book was published in 1960, and never updated, so if you're under forty years of age or so, you're probably not included.
Do you plan to update the book? I don't know yet. That would be a huge undertaking that I am not sure I want to tackle. I think the chief value of the Goodner Family Book is that it is something of an historical document, frozen in time. I just mainly wanted to make it accessible to more people.
Can I get a hardcopy of the Goodner Family Book? I don't know. My parents purchased ours in 1961 or so when Mr. Lacey first published it. Unless you can find someone willing to part with the original, I don't know of any other way to get an original of the book. I may put it on the Internet in Word 2000 format available for download, but it depends on my server size restrictions.
Are there other books out there on the Goodner family? Yes, there are, but there is only one that I know to be of real interest to us, and that is the work published by John Goodner. In his work, he has also included a copy of Mr. Lacey's book as well. I have seen these shrink-wrapped genealogies that can be purchased off the Internet and such, but having looked at them, I've concluded that they are mostly bogus, at least for our family name. Personally, I think Mr. Lacey's work and John Goodner's subsequent works are the gold standard for genealogy of the Goodner's, and I'd trust their work. If there are other, more recent works on the Goodner family other than John Goodner's material, I would very much like to know about it.
Did you include any of John Goodner's work in this site? No, I did not; it is not within the scope of this project. I wanted to focus exclusively on Mr. Lacey's work.
Is there any material on this site that is not in the Goodner Family Book? Yes, there is, and it is clearly marked as such. Although a bit out of scope, I included some old pictures and family heirloom materials that relate to my branch of the family exclusively. I put these out there for my family members to access, but of course, anyone else is welcome to view them as well. These photographic materials go back to my great-grandfather, Joseph Leal Goodner, who died in 1890, and some of the documents go back as far as the 1830's.