Goode Family Prominent In Wayne Township

One early family that stands out in Wayne Township history, as one with achievement and recognition is the Goode family.
The family consisted of six brothers, Philip, Gaines, Samuel, Burwell, John and Henry. They traveled from Charlotte County, Virginia, in 1805, and acquired land located east of Waynesville. This parcel was known as Military Survey No. 399.
This survey was located August 2, 1787, several months before the opening of the Military Reservation in Ohio. This particular event of the Military Lands was annulled by Congress in July 1788, but was later legalized, the first patent being authorized March 11, 1797.
All land between the Little Miami and the Scioto Rivers was termed the Military Reserve. These tracts were given to the American participants of the Revolution rather than monentary payment because of the empty treasury.
The original patentee (initial owner of new lands) was Clement Read, son of Colonel Isaac Read, of Charlotte County, Virginia. Read assigned his patent to Clement Carrington on March 11, 1797. In August 1805, Carrington conveyed his title to the Goode brothers.
Philip, the oldest, and Gaines, were both married previous to their emigration to Ohio. Philip was a wealthy, well educated man, and was associated with the more prominent men of the day. He was a business partner with George M. Bebb, outstanding jurist and United States Senator from Kentucky, a close friend to John Randolph, and a close acquaintance of Patrick Henry.
Philip was devoted to the violin and Patrick Henry was an accomplished flute player. Both men spent much time together.
Philip married twelve years previous to his moving to Waynesville. His wife was considered a wealthy and intellectual lady. She received as part of her marriage thirteen Negro slaves. To rid the family of the "institution of slavery," they moved to the Miami Country.
One could only envision the rather crude cabin the Goode brothers built. It very soon became a home that was surrounded with cultivation and refinement.
Silk gowns, with brocade petticoats, their stiffness the subject of conversations, imported from England before the War of the Revolution, were unfamiliar treasures for a log cabin in an unsettled environment.
A black silk gown with a blue satin petticoat, and an olive silk gown with a red brocade petticoat were included as part of Mrs. Goode's attire.
This small cabin was the religious center for all traveling Methodist preachers. Such men as Arthur Elliott, Russell Bigelow, John Strange, James Finley and Bishop Asbury were customarily entertained in this cabin home.
Because of better educational facilities, Philip and his family moved to Xenia in 1814, where he died ten years later.
His children carried on the family trait of community stature. One son, Patrick G. Goode, of Sidney, Ohio, was a member of the Ohio Legislature from 1833 to 1835, a member of Congress from 1837 to 1843, a Judge of the United States Supreme Court for seven years, and a Methodist preacher for twenty years.
Another son, Rev. W.H. Goode, was in the ministry for forty years. He filled every position in the church, and for many years served as missionary among the western Indians.
One grandson, G. Brown Goode, was Assistant Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. He was considered one of the brightest scientific men of the Nation.
Gaines, the second son, was a strong self-willed man, and when he thought he was right, he never backed down. A recorded incident in which he thought he was wronged was pursued and the event wound up in the Supreme Court.
In 1805, Jonathan Haines built the first mill on the site of Waynesville. He constructed the dam a few hundred yards above the mill. Haines disregarded the fact that he was to get permission from Gaines Goode, owner of the land on which the dam was abutted.
The following summer the Goode family suffered a great deal from malarial fever, possibly caused by the stagnant water in Haines' milldam. Gaines dug a ditch from a point a short distance above the dam and drained the water.
Haines' mill was forced to stand idle. He sold his mill property to John Satterthwaite, who promptly brought litigation against Goode for damage. Satterthwaite employed John McLean, thereafter Chief Justice of the United States, as his counselor.
In May 1808, the lower court determined against Goode. He immediately appealed to the Supreme Court, which ultimately decided in his favor.
His daughter, Narcissa, died in 1833 and was buried on his farm. Gaines made a deed to the trustees of the Methodist Episcopal Church of Waynesville for two acres, on which she is buried. This later became the nucleus of the Miami Cemetery. Gaines Goode died in 1837.
Burwell Goode was born in Prince Edward County, Virginia, in 1784. He was 21 years old when he moved to Waynesville. His connection with this small town had closer ties than any of his brothers.
He married, in 1807, to Elizabeth, daughter of Rev. James and Elizabeth Smith.
He was described as six feet tall, broad shouldered, large bones, and without an ounce of surplus flesh on his body. His physical being was virtually immune to fatigue. He loved work because it was work, always doing his chores the hardest way, presumably because it was the most work by doing it that way.
He would carry corn for a hundred head of hogs for a half-mile in a three-bushel sack every night and morning. He would cut his firewood and carry it to the house on his shoulder; he split rails and carried them to the location in the fence where he wished to use them.
He was described as a warm, social man who was "the very soul of hospitality." He was sincere in his own religious judgments. In times of need he would argue and quote from the Bible for hours. He was for many years County Commissioner. He was also magistrate of Waynesville for years. One of his decisions executed involved two men who had traded horses; both claimed that each had been defrauded.
After the testimony was given, Justice Goode stated they should simply trade their horses back. Both agreed. Certainly this law was not on the books at Waynesville, but neither party could charge prejudice.
Burwell was a devoted Methodist. He was not a deeply learned man, but was of a character that his family and friends could call upon for advice and charity.
The Goodes were Methodist by faith, an inheritance from their forefathers. Methodism amplified its religious direction over Virginia in 1776, and to this day has been passed down from generation to generation.

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This page created 7 September 2004 and last updated 28 April, 2014
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