In 1855, Isaac's sister, Lucinda Goodnow Parkerson, her husband William, and their two young girls traveled to Kansas Territory. Just two years after their settlement in Manhattan, Lucinda passed away, leaving the two girls, Etta and Harriet, motherless. At the time, Etta was four years old, and Harriet (Hattie) was two years old.
While their father maintained care of Etta, who experienced health problems throughout her life, Isaac and Ellen adopted their niece, Harriet. |
Etta Parkerson's DiaryEtta Parkerson kept a journal from January 2, 1874 to July 25, 1875. During the time of the writing, she worked as a housekeeper for her uncle, William Goodnow. They resided in the 1861 south part of Isaac and Ellen's stone home on Claflin Road. Etta's journal was transcribed by Ellen Payne Paullin and published in two installments in the quarterly publication for the Kansas State Historical Society in 1980.
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Harriet "Hattie" Arms Parkerson was born to Lucinda Goodnow and William E. Parkerson on January 27, 1855 at Westerly, Rhode Island. When Hattie was eleven months old, the Parkerson family moved to Riley County, Kansas to join Lucinda's brothers, Isaac and William Goodnow.
After her mother's passing, Hattie was adopted by her aunt and uncle, Isaac and Ellen when she was just two years old. She lived in the Goodnow's small cabin on Wildcat Creek until they moved into the limestone home on Claflin Road in 1861. Hattie was active in a variety of community organizations including the Daughters of the American Revolution, charter member of the Domestic Science Club of Manhattan, the Riley County Historical Society, the Manhattan Grange, and the College Hill Women's Club. She was also a lifelong member of the Methodist Church. Although she never married or had children of her own, Harriet adopted Etta's son, Louis Parkerson, after her sister's passing. The Goodnow house passed to Harriet after Isaac and Ellen's death (1894 and 1900, respectively). Harriet lived in the Goodnow home until her passing in 1940, with the exception of a few years spent in Neosho Falls, Kansas. Harriet is buried in Sunset Cemetery in Manhattan, Kansas. |