Northumberland-Philadelphia-Dauphin County PA Archives Biographies.....Goodwill, Robert 1827 - 1898
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Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com July 6, 2005, 11:19 pm

Author: Biographical Publishing Co.

ROBERT GOODWILL, who, prior to his death, was president of the Goodwill Coal &
Coke Company of West Virginia, was one of the most honored and respected
citizens of Shamokin, Northumberland County, Pa. The entire stock of the company
was owned by Mr. Goodwill and his family and was directed by the following
management: Robert Goodwill, president; Anthony G. Goodwill, vice-president;
Philip Goodwill, general manager and treasurer; William Goodwill, secretary. The
firm was organized, in 1886 by our subject, after having secured a lease of 800
acres of the famous Flat-Top coal lands from the Flat-Top Coal Land Association.

  Preparatory work was immediately begun by Mr. Goodwill in opening up the
mines, erecting the necessary machinery, buildings, coke ovens, etc., and such
other improvements as are necessary for the shipment of coal and coke. The
business was conducted as a firm until December, 1888, when it was incorporated
in accordance with the laws of West Virginia as the Goodwill Coal & Coke
Company. The first shipment of coal was made in September, 1887; since that time
the capacity of the mines has steadily increased until at- present the colliery
is capable of turning out 1,000 tons of coal daily. With the present shipments,
from ninety to one hundred men are employed. The plant contains 50 Bee Hive coke
ovens, erected in accordance with the requirements of the lease, which have a
weekly capacity of from 300 to 350 tons.

  The mines are systematically as well as advantageously laid out, and are
thoroughly-ventilated with a 15-foot fan. There are four main openings, with an
excellent track system connecting with two tipples, only one of which is used in
ordinary shipments. The company is fully equipped in every particular, having a
number of comfortable and suitable dwelling-houses, a convenient and
well-arranged store, offices, etc., commodius stables, saw-mills, mine cars, and
a fine artesian well which furnishes an excellent water-supply for all
requirements. Our subject continued as president of this company until death
called him to final rest, December 17, 1898. He was a man of high character,
having led a pure and moral life, and his loss was deeply felt by his family and
many friends.

  Robert Goodwill was born October 7, 1827, at Loan End, Northumberland County,
England. He was a son of Anthony Goodwill of Northumberland, England, and was
the tenth in a family of twelve children. At the early age of nine years he
commenced work in the mines of England and was engaged first in removing coal
from the mines in something like a tub or sled. At the age of thirteen he began
mining coal, was identified more or less in the business of coal mining up to
the time when death claimed him. His parents, although they came of humble
birth, were industrious and highly respected, being devout members of the Church
of England, and through them the son inherited the religious inclinations so
characteristic of the man. He was married July 27, 1847, to Catherine Wake, and
to them were born five children: three boys and two girls. The girls died in
infancy, but the three boys are living. Mr. and Mrs. Goodwill celebrated the
fiftieth anniversary of their wedded life on July 27, 1897.

  In the middle of May, 1852, our subject, with his wife and son, sailed for
America, arriving in Philadelphia on June 30, 1852. From there he went to Gold
Mine Gap, Dauphin County, Pa., where he worked three years at mining coal. From
Gold Mine Gap he moved his family to the Shamokin coal fields, where he was
employed at the Lancaster Colliery, better known as the Coal Run Colliery, about
three miles east of Shamokin. In 1857 he located in Trevorton, Pa., about eight
miles west of Shamokin, working as a miner and contractor. He remained there for
eight years, when, in 1865, he leased the tracts of coal land known as the
Greenough and Bear Valley tracts, about three miles west of Shamokin, and moved
his family there. He operated those two collieries very successfully until 1877,
when he sold out his interest to the Philadelphia & Reading Coal & Iron Company.
Although well advanced in years, Mr. Goodwill's active spirit would not permit
him to remain idle and, accordingly, he leased a tract of bituminous coal land
at Reynoldsville, Jefferson County, Pa., and operated it between four and five
years, until the coal on his lease was exhausted. He then leased what is known
as the Carson tract, just on the outskirts of Shamokin; that he operated for two
years, when he sold out to a New York firm. From that time until 1883 he was
engaged in various mining enterprises and next secured a lease in the now famous
Flat-Top coal field of West Virginia, being one of the early pioneers of the
coal development, with Capt. Welch, J. H. Bramwell, John Cooper, and John
Freeman, giving his personal attention for two years to his interests there,
when he turned the management over to his son, who is at present the general
manager.

  A. G. Goodwill, vice-president of the company and eldest son of our subject,
was born in Scotland in 1848, and accompanied his parents to the United States
in 1852. He attended the public schools of Pennsylvania, afterward graduating at
Dickinson Seminary, Williamsport, Pa. Returning to Shamokin he accepted a
position as bookkeeper, which he held for sixteen years, resigning to engage in
the hardware business in Shamokin, which he still carries on successfully. He
became a member of the Goodwill Coal & Coke Company at its incorporation, which
business connection he still retains. He married Miss R. C. Klase of Ashland,
Pa., in 1873, and has one son, Robert, now twenty-one years old.

  Philip Goodwill, second son of our subject, was born in Dauphin County, Pa.,
received a common school education and subsequently pursued his studies for two
years at Dickinson Seminary. His father, being engaged in mining and shipping
coal, naturally brought his sons in contact with every branch of the business
from the office to the more responsible positions about the mines. In 1874
Philip left Shamokin for Reynoldsville, Pa., where he took charge of his
father's large bituminous coal interests, and remained in that capacity until
1878, when he returned to Shamokin and engaged with his father in the coal
business again. Subsequently he entered the law office of Hon. W. H. M. Oram,
but never entered upon the practice of his profession, notwithstanding he was
duly admitted to the Northumberland County Bar in 1884. Some time after being
admitted to the bar he was elected teller of the First National Bank of
Shamokin, which position he filled with satisfaction until 1887, when he
resigned to assume the management of the Goodwill Coal & Coke Company, which
position he still retains. In 1887 he married the eldest daughter of W. H. Douty
of Shamokin, and immediately thereafter located in Bramwell, W. Va., where he
now resides, having one of the most beautiful and comfortable homes in that
pretty little town. Mr. Goodwill is a past commander of Ivanhoe Commandery No.
10, Knights Templar, of Bramwell; also a member of the blue lodge and chapter of
that place, as well as a member of Beni-Kedem Temple, U. D., of Charlestown, W.
Va. He is secretary of the Pocahontas Company and is associated with other
business enterprises. He is an influential member of the Presbyterian Church of
Bramwell and member of the board of education of Rock district, in which
capacity he was largely instrumental in securing the erection of the handsome
new graded-school building recently constructed in Bramwell.

  W. F. Goodwill, youngest son of our subject, Robert Goodwill, was born in
Dauphin County, Pa., and attended the public schools, after which he graduated
at Dickinson Seminary in 1875, taking a commercial course at the same
institution the following year. His school vacations were spent in working about
his father's mines in various capacities. After completing his commercial course
he returned to Shamokin and was employed in his father's office as bookkeeper,
in which capacity he remained until the colliery was sold to the Philadelphia &
Reading Coal & Iron Company. He was next employed by L. M. Shuman & Company,
grocers, for about one year; then engaged in business at Shamokin as a member of
the firm of Derby & Goodwill, in which he continued for some time; disposed of
his interest to enter the mail service, which occupation he followed for about
three years, leaving the service to accept a position as bookkeeper with J.
Langdon & Company, at Neilson Colliery, Shamokin, where he remained until 1889,
when he went to Goodwill, W. Va., as secretary and buyer for the Goodwill Coal &
Coke Company, the position he still holds. In 1879 Mr. Goodwill chose for his
wife and life companion Ida R. Klase of Ashland, Pa. His home is in Shamokin,
where his family resides. Mr. Goodwill has never taken an active part in
politics, but was elected in 1888 to the Shamokin borough council, and now holds
the position of notary public for Mercer County, W. Va.

  The publishers of this volume take pleasure in announcing that a portrait of
Robert Goodwill appears on a previous page, in connection with the above life
history.


Additional Comments:
Extracted from:

Book of Biographies of the Seventeenth Congressional District
Published by 
Biographical Publishing Company of Chicago, Ill. and Buffalo, NY (1899)

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