Biographical Sketch of W. F. Goodwin, Johnson County, Missouri, 
Jefferson Township

>From "History of Johnson County, Missouri," by Ewing Cockrell,
Historical Publishing Company, Topeka, Cleveland, 1918.
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W. F. Goodwin, a prominent and highly respected farmer and stockman of
Jefferson township, is a son of one of the noblest pioneers who came to
Missouri.  He was born in Johnson county, Missouri, December 6, 1852,
son of Reverend B. F. and Elizabeth Goodwin.  B. F. Goodwin was born in
1821 in Kentucky and was reared and educated in that state.  He attend-
ed school in one of the primitive log schoolhouses, of Kentucky.  To
reach it, the children followed a "blazed" path through the forest. The
schoolhouse had a stick himney, clapbord roof, a greased paper widow,
and puncheon floor.  In side, the puncheon benches were placed around
three sides of the room and on the fourth side was a fireplace.  The
"master" sat in the center of the room and called the pupils to him to
"say their lessons."  The older pupils had a puncheon bench, or rather
shelf, on which to write, but the small children had no shelf, for of
course they could not write.  They had to study their "a-b-c's" all day
long and after that learn to spell.  The primitive schools of Kentucky
were what were known as "loud schools."  When the children were told by
the teacher to study their spelling lessons, every child in the room
would take his book and shout "l-a la, d-y dy, lady; s-h-a, d-y, shady"
and so on through the entire lesson.  If the noise became to great, the
teacher would rap on his puncheon desk and say, "silence," and the up-
roar would become a little less.  Unless a scholar was very bright and
apt at learning, he learned but little in those olden times.  B. F.
Goodwin was an exceptionally bright young man and soon learned all that
the "master" could teach.  He was always studious and a deep, religious
thinker and in early maturity entered the ministry as a Baptist preach-
er.  He was of Welsh lineage.  In 1845, he came to Missouri.  Three 
years after coming to this state, he was elected to the office of 
justice of the peace, which position he filled from 1848 until 1854
with the greatest satisfaction to his constituents.  Reverend Goodwin 
is one of the beest remembered of the early pioneer preachers, a man
whom all the settlers knew and loved.  He was welcomed in every home
and even the poorest pioneer was glad to share all he had with him.
Wherever he went, Reverend Goodwin was listened to with the greatest
respect and attention.  He possessed a winning personality and was a
natural leader of men and his life was not lived in vain, for many men
and women in Johnson county were uplifted and made nobler by his
teachings and inspired by his exemplary doctrines and life.  His death
in 1893 was the source of universal regret in Johnson county.  W. F.
Goodwin was a student at the Warrensburg State Normal School two terms,
in 1874 and 1875.  He assumed charge of his father's farm in 1882 and
has ever since been engaged in agricultural pursuits.  He is at the
present time owner of two hundred forty acres of land, which are well
improved and watered.  Eighty acres are in pasture land and Mr. Goodwin
devotes much time to the raising of Poland China hogs, Shropshire sheep
and Jersey and Shorthorn cattle.  The Goodwin home was built in 1884
and is one of the pleasant, comfortable, country homes of which Johnson
county is proud.  In 1882, W. F. Goodwin was united in marriage with
Ida Sullivan, the daughter of James Sullivan, of Kentucky.  James Sull-
ivan was the son of Horace Sullivan, a prominent citizen of Kentucky.
To W. F. and Ida (Sullivan) Goodwin has been born one child, a daughter
Vivian.  Sixty-five years ago, W. F. Goodwin was born in this county
and he has literally grown up with the country.  When he was a youth,
there was much open land and as a boy, he has frequently caught fish,
which were to be found in abundance in the pools that then existed in
all parts of the county.  He recalls the many deer chases in which he
participated in the days just after the Civil War.  He remembers all
the hardships the Goodwin family endured as the natural consequence of
war and early pioneer life and how nobly and uncomplainingly his father
and mother endured all the privations, hopefully looking forward to
brighter, happier days.  Little by little, life in the new country
began to change and as the people could travel about more conveniently
it became easier to sell that which they raised and buy what was needed
and no longer did they have to make everything for themselves.  The
coming of the railroads, telegraph, telephone, and other modern con-
veniences brought rapid changes to Johnson county, and all these have
been witnessed by Mr. Goodwin.  The brave, true lives, such as the
Goodwins', lives spent in toiling for the upbuilding of the county and
state, have made this beautiful country possible and they are deserving
of the greatest honor and praise.

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