Roswell Eaton Goodell

Goodell was born in October 21, 1825 in Abington, Connecticut to Roswell and Olive Goodell.[3][4][5][6][7][8] His father was a farmer.[7] His great-great-great grandfather had settled in Abington in 1699, and had been one of the early settlers of the area.[9]

In 1834, he moved with his parents to Ottawa, Illinois.[4][6][7][9] He was educated in public schools in Ottawa.[5] Goodell's father died in 1838.[7] To support the family, until the age of 15, Goodell worked on a farm in the summers.[6][7]

At the age of fifteen, he became Deputy Postmaster of Ottawa.[7][8] He then clerked at the J. Y. Sanger & Company general store in Chicago, before returning to Ottawa and becoming Deputy LaSalle County Recorder.[6][7]

From 1846 to 1847 he served in the Mexican–American War.[5][6] He served in the company headed by Theophilus Lyle Dickey.[6][7] He was appointed by John J. Hardin to serve as secretary of the First Regiment of Illinois Volunteers.[7] While stationed at Buena Vista, he was appointed postmaster of the Northern Division of the United States Army.[7] During the Battle of Buena Vista, he closed his postoffice and joined his regiment to fight on the battlefield.[7]

Politically, Goodell was a Democrat.[6][10]

In 1848, he served as Deputy Sheriff of LaSalle County.[6]

In 1850 he was elected LaSalle County Sheriff, serving from that year until 1852.[4] His brother-in-law (the husband of his sister) Alson Woodruff had previously held the same position from 1836 through 1838.[4]

Goodell served as the Secretary of the Illinois Senate from January 3, 1853 through 1854.[4][5][6][11] His confirmation had been unanimous, 20–0.[11]

While working as Secretary of the Illinois Senate, he met the Mary Jane Matteson, daughter of Governor Joel Aldrich Matteson, who he married on November 1, 1853 in Springfield, Illinois.[4][7][9][10] Mary changed her name to Mary Matteson Goodell after their marriage.[9] He and Mary would have six children.[7] They had five daughters, the eldest of which, also named Mary, would be born on July 9, 1857, and would marry James Benton Grant.[7][9] The other daughters were Jennie (who married Albert Allmand Blow), Clara (who married John Clark Mitchell), Olive (who married Zeph Turner Hill).[7] They also had a son named Roswell Eaton Goodell, Jr (who married the former Mabel Atkinson).[7]

In 1854 he served as the Secretary of the Illinois Canal Commission, after being appointed by Governor Matteson, by now his father-in-law.[5][6][7][8] The task of the commission was to record testimony of canal claims against the state.[7] He worked alongside Abraham Lincoln in this capacity, as Lincoln was Commissioner of the Illinois Canal Commission.[7] The two became friends during this experience, despite belonging to different political parties.[7][8] Their friendship was strong and long lasting.[7]

He moved to Joliet, Illinois.[4] He worked in 1854 as the cashier at Joliet's Merchants' and Drovers' Bank.[6][12]

He served as treasurer of the Chicago and Alton Railroad from 1854 through 1856, and director from 1856 through 1859.[4][6][7] In 1858 he also became the railroad's superintendent, and in this capacity he placed the first-ever order for a Pullman Company coach.[5][6]

In 1858, he was a member of the Illinois Board of Visitors to West Point.[6][7]

In 1861, he organized the Twentieth Regiment Illinois Volunteer Infantry.[5][6] For the duration of the American Civil War, he worked to fill government contracts for war supplies.[5][6]

In June 1864, he served as a secretary at the Democratic State Convention in Springfield.[13]

After the end of the Civil War, he lived for a while with his family in Europe to provide his daughters with. finishing education in France and Germany.[7]

He amassed significant wealth from real estate investments.[7]

In 1871, he formally moved to Chicago.[6] He soon lost much of wealth in the financial crash Chicago experienced in the aftermath of the Great Chicago Fire.[4][7] In Chicago he became prominent in banking.[4] He served as president of the Fourth National Bank of Chicago from 1874 through 1875.[6] From November 22, 1975 through June 5, 1876, he co-headed the Chicago Police Department as Chicago City Marshall.[3] During the Samuel Tilden 1876 presidential campaign, he served as the acting chairman of the Illinois State Democratic Committee.[7] In 1876 and 1877, he was chairman of the Chicago city and Cook County Democratic Party commissions.[6][7]

In 1878 he moved to Leadville, Colorado amid a mining rush there.[6][7] His family joined him in Leadville the following year.[7] In Leadville, he was involved in mining and other investments and was a booster for local improvements.[7] In Colorado, he and his wife were well-involved in social clubs, philanthropy, and politics.[7] He was a prominent figure in Colorado.[7]

On January 19, 1881, his eldest daughter Mary married James Benton Grant.[9] Two years later, Grant would be sworn-in as Governor of Colorado, making Goodell's daughter, now named Mary Goodell Grant, the First Lady of Colorado.[9]

From April 15, 1886 through April 15, 1890, he served as postmaster of Leadville, Colorado.[1][5][7][14]

He was involved in getting the federal government to establish a national fish hatchery at the base of Mount Massive in Leadville, which was established in 1889 by executive order of President Benjamin Harrison.[6][7][15] He then ran the fish hatchery.[6]

In 1891, he lost his daughter Olive, who died in Denver.[7]

He was one of the Commissioners from Colorado for Chicago's World's Columbian Exposition from 1890 through 1893.[6][16][17] He was nominated for the position by Governor Job Adams Cooper and appointed by President Benjamin Harrison.[16] He was also on the board of managers from Colorado for the World's Columbian Exposition.[7]

He moved to Denver in 1894.[6] He was elected president of the Denver Stock Exchange.[5][6][7] While in Denver, he continued to be involved in mining enterprises.[6]

In 1899, his daughter Jennie Blow, while in London, was involved in effort to send the Maine as a hospital ship to serve in the Second Boer War.[7]

Goodell died in October 19, 1903 in Denver of Bright's disease.[3][4][8] He was 77 years old at the time of his death, and was less than two weeks shy of what would have been his 78th birthday[3]