Richland-Wabash County IL Archives Biographies.....Goodart, John F. 1842 - ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/il/ilfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00001.html#0000031 October 28, 2011, 2:46 pm Source: See below Author: Lake City Publishing Co. JOHN F. GOODART, who owns and operates one hundred and forty-seven acres of land on sections 26 and 35, was born in Wabash County, Ill., near Friendsville, January 4, 1842, and is the only child of Gotlieb and Mary (Oman) Goodart, the former a native of Germany and the latter of Pennsylvania. The father of our subject was a weaver by trade. In 1832 he crossed the Atlantic to America in a sailing-vessel. It took three months to make the voyage, and before they reached their destination the provisions were all consumed. At length they landed in Philadelphia. Mr. Goodart first located near Zanesville, Ohio. He was a poor boy, without money or friends, and was dependent upon his own exertions for a livelihood. He first provided for his own maintenance by working on a canal. In 1839 Mr. Goodart left Ohio, and went to Wabash County, Ind., where he worked in a castor-oil factory for a number of years. In 1842 he removed to Marion County, and spent about a year near Salem. Going to Hancock County, Ill., he located near the present site of Hamilton, where he engaged in farming until the autumn of 1848, when he came to Richland County, and located in Noble Township. Here he entered eighty acres of Government land on section 26, paying the regular price of $1.25 per acre, and after the erection of a log cabin, 16x20 feet, began the development of a farm. In that home he lived until his death, which occurred September 5, 1866. He was laid to rest in Blaine Cemetery in Richland County, where a monument has been erected to his memory. He had been reared in the faith of the Lutheran Church, but after coming to this country joined the Christian Church, to which his wife also belonged. In politics, he was a Republican. Mrs. Goodart died January 31, 1878. Our subject was a lad of six summers when with his parents he came to Richland County in 1848. He was reared to manhood upon the farm which is still his home, and in the summer months he aided in the labors of the field, while in the winter seasons he acquired an education in the district schools. He attended the first school taught in this district. The building was a log structure and was furnished with split-log seats. At the breaking out of the late war, Mr. Goodart left the home where his boyhood and youth bad been passed to enter the service of his country, and became a member of Company B, Ninety-eighth Illinois Infantry, under Capt. D. D. Marquis. He was mustered in at Centralia, and going to the front, participated in the battle of Hoover's Gap, where he was wounded in the left thigh by a shell from the enemy's guns. He was first taken to the field hospital, but on the succeeding day was sent to the hospital in Murfreesboro, Tenn., where his wound, a very serious one, confined him from June 24, 1863, until February 25, 1865. On that date he received an honorable discharge from the service. Mr. Goodart then returned to his home in Noble Township. His father died the following year and he then took charge of the farm, which he has since owned and operated. He now has one hundred and forty-seven acres of land, which is under a high state of cultivation, and he also raises a good grade of stock. On the 20th of April, 1865, Mr. Goodart was united in marriage with Miss Jane Wheeler, a daughter of Wasson and Annie Wheeler. Nine children were born of their union, but four are now deceased, namely: Sarah, the eldest, and Oscar, Mary and Sidney, who were the fourth, fifth and sixth in order of birth. Those still living are Annie, Ira, Nora, Roy and Bessie. As every true American citizen should do, Mr. Goodart takes quite an active interest in political affairs and keeps well informed on the issues of the day. He exercises his right of franchise in support of the Republican party, but has never been an aspirant for the honors of public office. Socially, he is connected with the Grand Army of the Republic and is a member of the Christian Church. Almost his entire life has been spent in Richland County, and as one of its early settlers, he has witnessed much of its growth and development. During the forty-five years of his residence here he gained a large circle of friends and acquaintances and for his sterling worth is held in high regard. Additional Comments: Extracted from: Portrait and Biographical Record of Effingham, Jasper and Richland Counties Chicago: Lake City Publishing Co. 1893 File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/il/richland/bios/goodart1699gbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/ilfiles/ File size: 5.0 Kb