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My name is Linda Goin, and I've studied the origins of my family since I was age 14. At that young age, a cousin and I went to my paternal grandfather and asked him about his ancestors. He was the wrong person to ask, and everyone thought it was quite a good joke that we were asking a man about his past when he didn't want anything to do with his history.
When we asked him about his (and our) surname, he said it came from his ancestors always "goin' somewhere." Part truth in that, but for the most part not. In fact the Goin clan stayed in Buckingham and Appomattox Counties in Virginia for almost two centuries, and some of that family remains in the area today.
A handful of us still compare and study our genetics to learn as much as we can. But there are other surnames on the paternal side, such as Porter, Sizer, and Jones that are just as interesting. In sum, they came from Africa, England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, and Basque, among other regions.
To be honest, that Goin surname and associated surnames never really got further than three or four generations on some legs, maybe five or six on others. My mother's side of the family, however, proved to be much more interesting because I was able to go back much further with the Eanes, Littrell, and other branches. They originated from Scotland, Ireland, Europe, Sweden, France, and Basque.
The one thing that both sides of my family had in common is that every line came to Virginia from their origins. We're so ingrained in Virginia that it isn't a joke that many of us along the James River call each other cousin, because in many cases we are all fifth cousins, if not closer. Nor is it a joke that I'm related to most everyone buried at Liberty Cemetery in Appomattox.
When I began research into my family, we didn't have computers. I just asked people a lot of questions, and mostly got run-around answers or silence. Many of my most recent ancestors didn't have a clue as to their own ancestors, which wasn't surprising. Passing stories along wasn't a pastime in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries for many families.
That said, we've come a long way in our research capabilities. Why visit a graveyard when we have access to sites that show photos of graves as well as, if we're lucky, photos of some ancestors. When we cannot visit archives, we can call for information and receive copies of records. Family histories are so much more sophisticated now, but even now people can become confused or stonewalled by lack of information because records are missing or well hidden. Additionally, older genealogies can contain a lot of mistakes, because the authors relied on family knowledge rather than on actual facts.
Since I spent so much time on Virginia research, I thought I would share what I've learned over the decades (six going on seven). I am so open to anyone who knows of sites or information that I may have overlooked. Don't hesitate to contact me about any information you may have.
Just a note about my research capabilities...I am not a certified genealogist, but I do have a master's degree in history, and my thesis was on the Huguenots and the Baptists and their integration in Virginia. That reseearch was a ruse to learn more about my ancestors, of course. If you want to know more about me, please check out my resume.
I also have become quite enamored of Wikitree, and you can find me there as well as Goin-680.
Linda Goin, 28 December 2024
NOTE: Throughout the site, I've connected most individual names to their pages at Wikitree so you can get a more detailed picture of individuals who settled in or immigrated to Virginia. Wikitree is a free site. I also took liberal use of links to FamilySearch.