GOODMAN or GOODWIN?

I love the World War I Draft Cards. Not only do they contain a lot of important information, but they give a description of the person and are signed by them, so you have their own signature verifying that it is true. Since the information is provided by the person themselves (as opposed to death certificates where someone else gives the information) and it is an official government document, I usually give it my genealogy program's highest surety rating.

Of course, I know that they sometimes did not tell the truth, especially about their age. They might be underage lie to get to join service (like my uncle did), or they might lie to avoid the draft. I am not sure what is going on here with Edwin G HUDSON’s middle name.

On his death certificate and his obituaries Edwin’s middle name is GOODMAN. He is GOODMAN on several trees I have found, but perhaps they just used the data on the Death Certificate and the obituaries. On his World War I Draft Card it is GOODWIN, written and signed in his own hand. Since this is probably a family name, someone who researches this family will probably have to decide which is correct. A Bible record or a Birth Certificate would settle it.

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Copyright © Teresa McVeigh 2009