Eli Franklin Goodwin

Husband of Amanda Clementine Holder. Son of Peter Goodwin and Christina Fulbright.

Eli Franklin "Frank" Goodwin was born 25 January 1818 in Tennessee or Missouri to Peter and Christina E. (Fulbright) Goodwin, and died 4 September 1894 in Laclede County, Missouri.

Family stories say that when Frank was 18, he homesteaded on 80 acres, then bought another 80 about a mile from his parents' farm. This property bordered the Dry Glaize Creek and also the land contained two good springs of fresh water. There were some friendly Indians in the area who passed by the springs in their travels and on a few occasions stopped and talked with Frank.

Before Frank married, his mother, Christina E. (Fulbright) Goodwin, came from her nearby farm and stayed with him part of the time to help him get started on his new farm.

Before 1849 Frank married Eliza Angelina (Givens) Wilson, born about 1822 to Mr. & Mrs. Alexander Givens. She was the widow of S. W. Wilson and had 5 sons by him. In the 1850 census the five Wilson boys are listed as James A., age 11; Gilbert L., 9; Benjamin J., 7; John S. P., 6; Josephus S. 3.

    Frank and "Widow Wilson" had two daughters. 1. Mary E. Goodwin was born 1849/1850 in Laclede County, MO. Mary married William Albert Partlow. Children: Joanne (married Anthony Wayne Vanlor Darrow), Jim, Benjamin F., Clementine, Hugh, and Etta (married Ed Cotton). 2. Clarissa "Clarcey" C. Goodwin was born about 1852 in Laclede County, MO. Clarcey first married John R. Tenison/Tennison on 8 July 1869; they seem to have had at least three children: Eliza, Theodore and John. On 31 January 1878 in Laclede County, Clarassia married Bill Morgan and had at least one child, a son named Lee.

    Eliza Angelina (Givens) Wilson Goodwin died before 1857. There is no available information on what happened to her five sons after her death. The daughters were reared by Frank and his second wife.

Eli Franklin Goodwin & Amanda Clementine Holder

On 18 May 1857, in Lebanon, Laclede County, Missouri, Frank married Amanda Clementine Holder, who was born 21 January 1839 in Tennessee to Mr. & Mrs. Davis Holder. Amanda died 14 December 1897 in Laclede County, Missouri; she and Frank are buried in Goodwin Cemetery.

Frank Goodwin was a small man and evidently was in frail and uncertain health for years. It is said that he was often too weak to walk up the tongue of a wagon. He was physically unable to serve in the army during the Civil War. He was fearful of the soldiers and especially the bushwhackers. Often Frank would sleep out in the woods for fear that the bushwhackers would come and take him away, beat him up or kill him. During this time, young Amanda was alone with the children. During the war, soldiers would go to farms and take half of the available food and grain and other supplies to feed the army. Once Amanda got word that they were coming. She had 13 hams or sides of meat hanging in the smokehouse; she put six of them under the floor of the house. The soldiers came and saw 7 sides of meat hanging; they took 4 and left 3.

Every summer after the corn had been gathered, Frank and his daughter, Eliza, would take a wagon load of corn to a still that was located by a spring near Turner School. Frank would trade the corn for a few jugs of whiskey. It is said that Frank didn't drink a lot, but he took a swig every morning to get him going. He said he needed a swallow before he put his boots on.

Frank saw the need for education and donated land for a school. Three generations of Goodwin descendants attended Goodwin School before it closed in 1948. The old school building now houses Goodwin Calvary Baptist Church.

    Frank and Amanda had eight children, all born in Laclede County.

The Goodwin Family --by Vera Harrill

• Updated from Find A Grave Memorial via son John Eli 'Bud' Goodwin by SmartCopy: Mar 21 2015, 23:59:38 UTC