Samuel Goodnight's life and family are only partially documented, or at least I've not found all that I need to make a definitive post for his family. However, I'm not sure I will be able to complete the research that is needed so this post is, again, bread crumbs for a future researcher.
Samuel is the son of Christian and Mary Magdalena Gruenholtz, born in 1760 in Germantown, Pennsylvania. He would have been of the right age to have been in the Revolutionary War, but I've not located any military records for him in any of the usual sites I utilize. There is a hint in one registry that says his service must be proven. He married Magdalena Berkheimer, the daughter of Leonard and Catherine Kerger Berkheimer, in 1785 in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. This was likely not far from Germantown, as the county itself was formed in 1784 from part of Philadelphia County. At least four children were born to Samuel and Magdalena there, and census records indicate there may be children not currently known to us.
Martha is the first known child, born in 1786. As far as I can tell, she never married, but she is found in 1840 in Fayette County, Ohio, aged 50-59, with another female 20-29 living with her. Sadly, in 1840 relationships were not stated. By 1850 she is still in Fayette County, with a five year old male, William Watson, living with her. He was born in Ohio. So the question is, who is William Watson, and what was his relationship, if any, to her? I have no answers at this time. I have not located any records for Martha after 1850.
Leonard was the next born, possibly in 1788. He married Martha ("Matty") Fernough. There are many spellings for this name, but she appears to be the daughter of Johannes or John and Christiana Clover Virnau. They have a large familly, including, Mary, Christian, John, Hannah, Rosanna, Samuel, Catherine, David, Elizabeth, Ortena, and another Christian. He died in 1827 in Fayette County, Ohio.
Christopher is also shown with a 1788 birthdate, but about 10 weeks after Leonard. I wonder whether these might be baptism dates, and perhaps Leonard was born in 1787.) He married Jane Mason, the daughter of Andrew and Mary Light Mason. Their children are Elijah, William, Andrew, Mary, William, Samuel, Matilda, Josephus, Sarah, Aaron, and John. Christopher died in 1868 in Clinton County, Indiana.
The last known child is Catherine, born in 1793. (Note that there is a gap of almost five years here, when it is possible that there were one or more children born to the couple, who perhaps did not survive childhood.) She married Jacob Dunham, the son of Samuel and (probably) Hannah Ruble Dunham. They have at least six children-Catherine, Jacob, Amos, Samuel, Mary Ellen, and David. Catherine died in 1870 in Tipton County, Indiana. Tipton County and Clinton County border each other so it is likely that Christopher and Catherine kept in close touch.
Census records of Samuel in 1810 (Berkeley County, Virginia now West Virginia) show that there were 6 people in his household young enough to be his children. One may or may not be a Samuel. There are quite a few Samuel Goodnights in subsequent census records but none I can say is definitely our Samuel, if there is one. I don't have any clues as to the other male, if indeed he was a son.
It is thought that Magdalena died about 1830 and that Samuel may have gone to Fayette County, Ohio, to live with either Martha or Christopher, until he died about 1833.
Once again, we have an apparently incomplete family, but perhaps someone reading this will have the answers to our questions, or perhaps this post will help someone else find the answers! This is my last post on the Goodnight line, as the Beeks family descends through Catherine Goodnight Dunham, but corrections and additions are welcome.