Edward and Tabitha moved from Montgomery County Maryland to Frederick County, Virginia near Winchester around 1798. They walked to Clarksburg, Virginia, (W.Va.) to live with their son, John.
The Goodwin Family surname has been traced to "The Domesday Book " of 1086 AD ordered by William The Conqueror after his conquest of England. The Goodwins were Saxons and were likely oppressed by the Normans.
Various spellings of the name are Gooden, Godwyn, Godwin, Gooden, Gooding, Goodwine and others often changing the spelling of their names even between father and son.
Harold, King of England who lost the Battle of Hastings to William the Conqueror was the son of Godwyn, advisor to King Edward the Confessor. Harold was often called "Goodwyn's Son". The name Godwyn appears on the Bayeaux Tapestry.
Norman oppression and other persecutions led to the migration of many Goodwins to Scotland and on to Ireland.
In Ireland the name became quite common in the Ulster region in the 16th and 17th centuries.