Ancestry/Genealogy

csziggy

(34,189 posts)

32. Goody was short for Goodwife

Sat Oct 6, 2012, 12:14 PM

Oct 2012

Goodwife (Scots Guidwife), usually abbreviated Goody, was a polite form of address for women, formerly used where "Mrs.", "Miss" and "Ms." would be used today. Its male counterpart is Goodman. However, a woman addressed by this title was of a lesser social rank than a woman addressed as Mistress.

"Goodwife" and "Goody" were used in England, Scotland, and Colonial America, with the earliest known use circa 1325.[1] By the mid-18th century they had become archaic outside Scotland, and they are perhaps best known today as the forms of address used in Arthur Miller's historical fiction The Crucible, in Nathaniel Hawthorne's short story "Young Goodman Brown", the novels Magnus by George Mackay Brown and The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goodwife

Edit history

Please sign in to view edit histories.

Recommendations

0 members have recommended this reply (displayed in chronological order):

38 replies

= new reply since forum marked as read

Highlight:

Just found out that an ancestor testified in the Salem Witchcraft Trials [View all] csziggy Jan 2012 OP

One of my ancestors Coyote_Bandit Jan 2012 #1

as was an ancestor of my kids shanti Oct 2012 #34

I also have an ancestor back in that mess. I recommend reading "Salem Possessed: The Social jwirr Jan 2012 #2

I'll have to look for it csziggy Jan 2012 #5

Rebecca is one of the "witches" in my tree. Concidences! In fact this land thing you speak of is jwirr Jan 2012 #6

You might want to check out the Salem Witch Trials website csziggy Jan 2012 #8

Thank you. Marked it for reading later. jwirr Jan 2012 #12

I just spent 3 hours reading the site you suggested. INTERESTING. And unfortunately scary. With jwirr Jan 2012 #18

I think about the hate that people from this country have encouraged here and abroad csziggy Jan 2012 #20

Very frightening. jwirr Jan 2012 #21

Rebecca Nurse is also one of my ancestors! Nt WolverineDG Oct 2012 #35

Well, different circumstances, but I understand your feelings. Denninmi Jan 2012 #3

I have the same feelings about my ancestors who owned slaves csziggy Jan 2012 #4

I have family Sherman A1 Jan 2012 #9

Quite a few of my ancestors fought in the Civil War csziggy Jan 2012 #10

It was my Mom's family that links Sherman A1 Jan 2012 #11

Keep an eye on Fold3.com - used to be Footnote.com csziggy Jan 2012 #13

Appreciate the suggestions I will do as you suggest Sherman A1 Jan 2012 #14

That would be one very interesting research project to find out what happened to them etc. I would jwirr Jan 2012 #7

Fascinating. Thanks! frogmarch Jan 2012 #15

That's interesting! And I've found that Sidney Perley was one of the experts on Salem csziggy Jan 2012 #16

I agree! frogmarch Jan 2012 #17

Maybe some century humans will become truly rational csziggy Jan 2012 #24

Even in the late 1970s frogmarch Jan 2012 #25

When I first began digitizing our family trees in the mid 1980s csziggy Jan 2012 #26

We must also remember that way before Salem Europe was burning its "witches" at the stake. jwirr Jan 2012 #19

My father's paternal line were slave owners kdmorris Jan 2012 #22

Nearly all my Mom's ancestors were slave owners csziggy Jan 2012 #23

Are we cousins? CarlJamesweather Apr 2012 #27

Let me go through the surnames, but from what you describe, we're only distantly related csziggy Apr 2012 #28

Huffman ancestors dgibby Oct 2012 #29

Not that I've been able to verify kdmorris Oct 2012 #30

Very interesting. Maybe you have an answer to my Salem Witch Trial question: whathehell Oct 2012 #31

Goody was short for Goodwife csziggy Oct 2012 #32

Thanks for the link & the information -- I love uncovering the meaning behind these historic details whathehell Oct 2012 #33

Had some ancestors that defended TuxedoKat Jan 2013 #36

Here is a wonderful source for the witch trials csziggy Jan 2013 #37

Thanks! TuxedoKat Jan 2013 #38