In the books' own words, not ours, with obvious scanning errors fixed. The later printing (1910) is folded below the first. Families often supplied these stories to the publisher, so check key dates.
From Young's history of Lafayette County, Missouri (1910), History of Lafayette County, Mo., carefully written and compiled from the most authentic official and private sources, including a history of its townships, cities, towns and villages, together with a (1881)
JAMES W. GOODWIN,
Middleton township. The subject of this sketch was born in Rappahannock county, Va., February 1, 1834, and came with his father, James Goodwin, to Marion county, this state, in 1839, where he lived until the fall of 1847, when he came to Lafayette, where he has since remained, and is one of the largest land owners in the county, having some 1,600 acres of the finest land. He was married December 6, 1857, to Lucy A. Corder, a native of Virginia, and a daughter of John and Sarah Corder, who came to this county in 1840. By this marriage they have four children: John G., Minnie, Sallie E., and Fannie; the two oldest are married. Mr. Goodwin is a member of the Presbyterian church.
As printed in History of Lafayette County, Mo., carefully written and compiled from the most authentic official and private sources, including a history of its townships, cities, towns and villages, together with a (1881). See the original pages. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.
JAMES W. GOODWIN.
In the person of the man whose name heads this sketch is found one of the largest landholders in this county. He is a man whose efforts have been persistently crowned with success and who has been long known as one of the best managers of farming property in this section of the state. In land and farming he finds the best investment of his accumulating profits and can bear strong testimony to the pecuniary advantages of farming,
James W. Goodwin was born in Rappahannock county, Virginia, February 1, 1834, a son of James and Elizabeth (Corder) Goodwin, his mother dying when he was only two years old. James Goodwin was born January 10, 1804, and ran a saddle and harness business in Virginia. In 1839 he came to Missouri, and spent the first winter in Cooper county, then came to Lafayette county, and bought land in Davis township, part of it from the government. In 1866 he moved near to Waverly, and later to that town, where he died on November 20, 1895. He was chiefly a hemp farmer and cultivated about five or six hundred acres of land.
When he first bought his land the only house was a cabin and the land was in a wild state. He improved it to a high state of cultivation and added good buildings. Before the war he was a Whig, afterwards a Democrat, always strong for Southern rights, although a Unionist in belief. He was a member of the Presbyterian church. He was first married to Elizabeth Corder, who bore him five children, later to Evaline Corder, by whom he was the father of five children and for his third wife he those Martha Marshall, who was the mother of eight children. Nine of the entire family are living. Two of his sons, George and Calvin, served in the Confederate army. Calvin was killed at Atlanta, Georgia; George is still living.
James W. Goodwin attended the common schools in this and Marion counties and grew up on the farm. In 1854, when twenty years of age, he began to farm for himself, but remained with his father until 1858, when he moved to a two hundred-acre farm which he had bought, and has continued to add to this until he now has seventeen hundred and eighty acres and at one time owned twenty-three hundred acres. For forty-five years, since 1865, he has been a cattle feeder, in which he has found much profit and a satisfactory way of keeping up the fertility of his fields. He has interests in the Bank at Blackburn, of which he is a director.
On December 6, 1857, Mr. Goodwin was married to Lucy Corder, daughter of John and Sallie (Reamy) Corder, who came in 1840 to this county from Virginia. Three children were the result of this union: John G., of Marshall, Missouri, in the grain and feed business; Minnie, and Sallie, also of Marshall. Mrs. Goodwin died May 16, 1909. The family are members of the Presbyterian church and Mr. Goodwin is a Democrat.
Mr. Goodwin has given most of his attention to his farm and its operation and has taken little part in politics. His excellent managing has brought to him his prosperity. He is a very entertaining talker, and has very many friends.
As printed in Young's history of Lafayette County, Missouri (1910). See the original pages. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.
The printed record stops around 1910. We trace your line from there down to you, with every source cited.