When a Goodman Is Hard To Find, Let The GPS Be Your Guide

When answers to our genealogical research questions do not come easily, the elements of Genealogical Proof Standard (GPS) can provide guidelines for evaluating the strength of our research and its conclusions. The GPS requires rigor in our research methodology.

In this case study, the parents of peddler Alexander Goodman, who first appeared in Lancaster (in the 1850s) and later in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, were unknown. No direct evidence of his origins was found in any USA records. No one record provided the answer. Efforts to solve this case involved utilizing many types of records for numerous people and several families in two countries over four generations. The solution lay in correlating evidence from many records and making the connections that the GPS requires. Now we have a family for Alexander Goodman! An archaeologist by training (B.A., and M.A.), Emily Garber is a Jewish family history researcher, writer and speaker. She holds…