Goodhue, George Clinton

GOODHUE, THOMAS, MUNSON, FARR

Posted By: Volunteer Transcriber
Date: 8/29/2009 at 07:35:34

Goodhue, George Clinton

Since he came to Jasper County, over a half century ago, the gentleman of whom this sketch is penned has been a witness of very important changes in this vicinity, and his reminiscences of the early days here are most interesting and entertaining to a listener. But change is constant and general, generations rise and pass unmarked away, and it is the duty of posterity as well as a present gratification to place upon the printed page a true record of the lives of those who have preceded us on the stage of action and left to their descendants the memory of their struggles and achievements. The years of the honored subject are a part of an indissoluble chain which links the annals of the past to those of the latter-day progress and prosperity, and the history of Jasper County would not be Complete without due reference to the long, useful and successful life Mr. Goodhue has lived, having been adequately rewarded as an earnest, courageous laborer in one of the most important fields of endeavor, agriculture. Generous and big-hearted, kindly in disposition, he has never lacked for friends, and many of them will pursue his life record, as written here, with deep interest.

George Clinton Goodhue, the oldest living resident of Malaka Township, Jasper County, is the scion of a hardy and substantial New England family. He was born in Groton, Grafton County. New Hampshire, May 22, 1834, and there he grew to manhood and received such education as the early schools afforded. He came west with his parents in 1854 and settled at Marengo, Iowa County, Iowa, where his father and uncle established the family home, and since then the Goodhues have maintained their residence in the Hawkeye State.

David Goodhue, father of the subject, purchased, in partnership with an uncle of the latter, six hundred acres of choice land upon their arrival in Jasper County in 1854, for which they paid the sum of three thousand dollars. They bought two hundred and forty acres of David Betz for the sum of fourteen hundred dollars, and three hundred and sixty acres of Isaac Chenoweth for the sum of sixteen hundred dollars. At that time it was considered a very large sum for Iowa land. In 1856 the family settled in Malaka Township, where David Goodhue, the father, had purchased one hundred and ninety-five acres, for which he paid twenty-three hundred dollars, and here he became one of the substantial pioneer farmers and influential citizens.

The Goodhue family came west by railroad as far as Rock Island, Illinois, from which place the family walked the greater part of the way to Iowa City. They endured many of the hardships and privations encountered by all who cast their lot in a new country.

George Clinton Goodhue, of this sketch, grew to manhood on the home farm, where he found plenty to do as soon as he was old enough to handle a hoe or look over the plow handle, but he was quite a boy when the family started the development of their Jasper County farm and did much in getting the raw land under a good state of cultivation, and he has continued to make his home in this County, with the exception of two years spent in Massachusetts, where he followed the shoemaker's trade; he also learned the cooper's trade when a young man. Before he returned to Massachusetts he had purchased one hundred and twenty acres of land in Malaka Township, for which he paid nine hundred dollars. This land is now a part of Mr. Goodhue's home farm. He owns two hundred acres of valuable and well-improved land. He has been very successful as a general farmer and stock raiser and has a pleasant, well-furnished home.

Mr. Goodhue was married on April 11, 1865, to Lefea S. Thomas, who was born in East Wheatland, Illinois, March 31, 1847; and she died in Jasper County, Iowa, August 17, 1885. She was the daughter of Ira B. and Mary (Munson) Thomas, both natives of New York, from which state they came to Mt. Vernon, Iowa, and lived there the rest of their lives, both being now deceased. Mrs. Lefea S. Goodhue had one brother, Elihu B. Thomas, now deceased.

The following children have been born to Mr. Goodhue and wife: Mrs. Lizzie M. Farr, born in 1866, lives at Cummings. Iowa; Elmer C., born July 30, 1869, is living in Malaka Township, this County; Franklin Eugene, born in 1873, also lives in this Township; Edward Falor, born July 5, 1878, is the youngest of the family. These children were born and reared in Jasper County and they attended the local schools.

Mr. Goodhue has taken an active interest in public affairs. He was the first constable of Malaka Township, which office he filled with credit and satisfaction. He has also been road supervisor. He is a stanch Republican and he cast his first vote for John C. Fremont, "The Pathfinder." He is a member of the Church at Wittemberg. He has so ordered his actions among his fellow men that he has retained the respect of all with whom he has come into contact. Past and Present of Jasper County Iowa B. F. Bowden & Company, Indianapolis, IN, 1912 Page 1216