Family Tree Maker's Genealogy Site: Genealogy Report: Descendants of Franklin Charles Goodell

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Descendants of Franklin Charles Goodell

Generation No. 1

1. FRANKLIN CHARLES¹ GOODELL was born September 15, 1815 in New York, and died June 02, 1894 in Decatur, Burt County, Nebraska. He married MARY A. RUNDELL. She was born 1817 in New York, and died Bet. 1860 - 1870 in Nebraska.

Notes for FRANKLIN CHARLES GOODELL:
In the 1850 Federal Census, the Franklin Goodell family was living in Hudson, Lenawee County, Michigan. Franklin (34) was a Tailor, wife Mary (33), son Francis (11), son Stephan (8), and daughter Sarah (11 mo) owned property valued at $1000. Between 1854 and 1860, the family had moved to the Nebraska Territory. Here they lived in DeSoto, Washington County. (Which is now known as the Fort Calhoun area)
Son Francis married in 1858, Stephan A. (18) was living at home working as an engineer, and Sarah was 11, presumedly in school.
Franklin kept on with his tailoring business, until after the death of his wife Mary, sometime in the 1860's. After Mary's death, Franklin moved in with his son Francis and his family on their farm in Decatur, Burt County, Nebraska.
Franklin operated a general store in the town of Decatur. He traded with the Indians, sold them supplies when they went on their hunting trips, and would trust them until they returned in the fall. Then they would pay him in furs and hides. It was very seldom that they would not pay him. He was known to the Indians as "White Bear". He was quite a large man, not too tall, and wore a white beard.
He died June 2, 1894, at the home of his son Charlie at the age of 79 years 9 months. He was buried at Decatur, Nebraska.

" The family always seemed to think maybe great grandfather had buried some money in Decatur as he would go out in the grove and dig, and when they would ask him what he was digging for, he would say....that money" John Clyde Goodell 1889-1971

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                        BELL HISTORY

This is the history of the bell on the Presbyterian Church in Tekamah, Nebraska. It was the first bell in the county. This story was printed in the Plaindeal Paper.

In the early summer of 1867, a steamboat called "The Saint Mary" from St. Louis, Missouri loaded with hardware and merchandise for the mining camps near Fort Benton, on the upper Missouri River, struck a snag just below Decatur, Nebraska, where it sank, but not until they had run anose on a sandbar on the Nebraska side of the river.
Mr. Goodell of Decatur was the adjuster for the steamship insurance, and he immediately took action to save what he could salvage for the company. Among other things, he took the boat's bell, a fine sweet sounding one which all steamboats carried at that time.
Mr. Goodell sold the bell to the people of Decatur, but they got in a dispute over whether it should be on the school house or the town hall, so Mr. Goodell loaded it on a wagon with other things and started to Omaha. He stopped at Tekamah for dinner at the home of G.P. Thomas who kept the stage station. This was where they changed horses that were carrying mail from Omaha to Sioux City on the Nebraska side of the river.
Mr. Goodell told the story in my store and said the bell was for sale "cheap". Mr Thomas suggested that a few chip in and buy the bell just to best Decatur.
The bell was of the best metal, made in Baltimore, and weighed about four hundred pounds. These four men bought the bell; G.P. Thomas, Will Harrington, Godfry Grovvenor and myself. We paid $87 for it. After we had it, we didn't know what to do with it, but we beat Decatur. That was enough, as Decatur and Tekamah were friendly rivals. The bell was left with me, and since I had no place to hang it, I laid it on the platform of my store.
We decided to give it to the first denomination which would erect a church building in Tekamah. The Lutherans were the first to accept it. But, in the early spring we had a big wind storm which blew it flat. They were unable to rebuild it, so they abandoned the undertaking. So we still had the bell on our hands.
The Presbyterians were the next to attempt to build in 1870. C.K. Conges was the principal factor in the movement, but he did not know of our offer when let the contract for the church without a belfry. Jim and George Suterland were the contractors. When they heard of the bell proposition they said they would build the belfry for $75, and donate it to the people just to beat us out of the bell, and that is how we got rid of it.

More About FRANKLIN CHARLES GOODELL:
Burial: Decater, Burt County, Nebraska
Census 1: 1840, Plymouth, Wayne County, Michigan
Census 2: 1850, Huson, Lenawee County, Michigan
Census 3: 1860, Richland, Washington County, Nebraska
Census 4: 1870, Widower living in Decater, Nebraska with his son Frank and his family
Census 5: June 1880, Was a widower living in the Village of Decater, Burt Co. NE working in a General Store
Occupation: Tailor and Store keeper

Children of FRANKLIN GOODELL and MARY RUNDELL are:

2.	i.	FRANCIS (FRANKLIN) CHARLES² GOODELL, b. November 17, 1838, Michigan; d. November 27, 1907, Craig, Burt County, Nebraska.
3.	ii.	STEPHAN ARTHER GOODELL, b. December 31, 1841, Michigan; d. October 1910, Florence, Douglas Co., Nebraska.
	iii.	SARAH A. GOODELL, b. August 1849, Michigan.

More About SARAH A. GOODELL:
Individual Note: She died young

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