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WHO WAS - E. D. Goodwin
in Plum Township
Venango County, Pennsylvania
By Howard Strawbridge October 2, 1959

Edwin D. Goodwin was born in the Fairview vicinity of Plum Township on Dec. 15, 1864. He was the eldest of two sons of William M. and Sarah Holder Goodwin. Edwin's marriage application gives his middle name as having been Dilworth, but a person closely associated with the Goodwin family states that this is in error: that his middle name was Dildine, which was a name connected with the Goodwin family in the early years.

Edwin's father had received a course at Allegheny College, then taught for years in Pennsylvania, Iowa and Illinois. He then settled on a farm at Fairview and devoted his full time to farming. He with a brother, David W. Goodwin, owned a stave mill for a few years.

Edwin was reared on the farm, and he received his elementary education in the nearby Fairview schoolhouse. He was a good student. A record of 1876 states that the Fairview teacher, Alice Alcorn, listed Edwin among the five most advanced pupils. In 1880 his teacher, Mary Minnigh, also listed him among the most progressive pupils. Possessing a desire for further education, he then attended Dempseytown High School and was graduated from there.

He later attended Allegheny college at Meadville and was graduated from that institution. Thus did this youth achieve an exceptionally fine education which was rather uncommon for the rural youth of four score years ago. His education had included among other subjects the languages, science and music. He was a fine pianist, violinist and singer.

Edwin, or "Ed" as he was always called by his friends, taught what may have been his first term in the Chapmanville school. He taught there in 1885. He taught at the Fairview school for a number of terms - 1887, 1893, 1903, 1904 and 1905 are known years he taught that school. During the period of 1900s, a former pupil states that Ed was noted to get angry just once. When the Titusville RD 5 mail carrier, Mr. Conaway, stopped to leave mail in a mailbox located there for a neighbor, Harry Hirst, Ed generally walked out to see if there was any mail for himself. Once while he was out, one of the boys took hold of another boy and yanked him back and forth. Ed came back inside and caught him in the act. He promptly told the offending youth that he could stay after school. He did not use violence.

Around 1898 Ed taught the Chase school in Cherrytree Township, and the Alcorn school of that township for two terms, about 1908 and 1909. Following that he taught at Breedtown. He once got a chuckle as a hardy youth recklessly stepped on a patch of ice just off the porch and took a terrible spill. The youth had made fun of the others using caution to step off, and he was going to show them that he wasn't scared of the ice!

Ed taught at Diamond once. He walked from his home to Diamond, as well as to the Fairview and Alcorn schools. He believed a lot of walking was good for a person. Once when walking back from Diamond on a cold winter day, his ears became frozen. His uncle Ira Goodwin told him to hold a couple of snowballs against his ears to thaw them, which he did. The skin later peeled off his ears.

Ed also taught at West Hickory, but record cannot be found just when that teaching took place. On April 25, 1904, Ed opened term of 10 weeks with 30 pupils enrolled. This was a fine opportunity for eighth grade pupils to prepare for the examinations of the county superintendent, and also for young teachers to improve upon their certificates. Ed taught at least two select terms in the academy, if not more.

Ed had once belonged to a group called "The Educational Committee of the Fairview Church Lyceum." This group, which held lectures and programs met in the Fairview Methodist Church. In November, 1887, they elected officers, and Ed was elected as organist.

Even while teaching Ed farmed at this home. His father died in 1900, and Ed continued keeping cattle and some sheep. The old farmstead stood many rods back a lane from the public road. His brother, John N. Goodwin, maintained a store for awhile in a separate building on the homestead. No buildings have stood on that place for many years now.

On Oct. 15, 1902, Ed was married to Miss Manda Hancox of Cherrytree Township. She was a daughter of Newton and Ella Greene Hancox, and was one of six children, four of whom reached maturity. Manda was born on Jan. 9, 1877. Their wedding took place in the Hancox home with Rev. S. H. Prather of Titusville performing the rite. They then moved into the Goodwin home where Ed's mother was becoming more crippled due to strokes. She died in 1909.

Ed was a religious man. He united with the Fairview Methodist Church in June, 1877, when he was not yet 13 years old. He was also baptized that same month with 18 others at Wallaceville, undoubtedly at the creek. In 1884 he experience a rebirth of communion with his church when Rev. I.G. Pollard conducted special meetings over his charge at which many people experience conversion.

Ed had served as Fairview Sunday School supt., and he was the church organist there for years. He played the organ for practically all the funerals held in that church in that time, including his uncle Ira Goodwin's funeral in 1911, at which Ed was sorrowfully reluctant to do so. He also sand in the choir, during the times that the church did have a choir.

For a time the prim church did not have any Sunday School. It was situated in a sparsely settled region, and has since been razed. In early June, 1909, the pastor, Rev. G. W. Chapin, and an evangelist, Rev. Parsons of Grove City, conducted revivals there. This created more enthusiasm, and Ed reorganized the Sunday School later that month.

He used to drive around the countryside in his horse and buggy, giving organ or piano lessons in several homes at 50 cents a lesson for one hour. He played the piano with charm and a quality which swelled the emotional elements of people. He wished his pupils to learn church music, and if one had a tendency to liven the hymn up with a little swing tempo, he would rap the fingers of the pupil.

At times during his career he conducted a few vocal classes in addition to the tutoring of piano and violin pupils. He also composed some music. His wife, Manda, also played organ and piano and gave a few lessons, but she was not as prominently known in the circles of music as was her husband.

Ed Goodwin was an individual stoutly built with a height of probably five feet, eight inches, and a weight of probably 180 pounds. He generally wore a bushy mustache, and he was bald during his last many years. The accompanying photograph shows him when he was younger. he was a good visitor, and could discuss practically any subject of the day. As a teacher he was serious but never mean. He sometimes was quite jovial. He always maintained good health. Only a few days prior to his untimely death he remarked that he had never felt better.

In April, 1905, he was sworn into the office of Plum Township clerk. It is thought that he was the last person to hold that position, because that office was annulled around that period of time.

In June, 1909, he and L. N. Ribb were sworn into the offices of Plum Township school directors. While a director he suggested and motioned more than once that the board replace many of their school books with a better series of books. The motions were always carried.

In August, 1909, he made the motion that an extra year be added to the operating status of the Sunville High School. This too carried.

In 1911 he made the motion that the board hire W. Clyde Richey to be principal of the high school. This carried, and Mr. Richey was to teach there for three years.

Ed left the director job in December, 1911. Terms then were for three years, and that was the first year that school directors were to be sworn into office instead of June.

With the education that Ed had, his cousin, Frank W. Goodwin wondered why he stuck to teaching the little one-room schools. Ed replied that he didn't want to leave home. When Frank once offered Ed a chance to take a larger school away from home with a fatter pay-check, Ed refused.

However, Ed did the very thing in 1914 that he had previously said he didn't want to do. He and Manda left here and were gone for 17 years (except on occasional visits back). It appears that his last teaching prior to his leaving was at the Prather school in Cherrytree Township in 1912.

In January, 1913, Mrs. Elmer Greene died in North Dakota. Her husband was an uncle to Manda. Elmer then wanted Ed and Manda to come out to North Dakota to assist him in his business interests. Ed and Manda went. Soon Elmer came to Pennsylvania, and in 1914 he bought Ed's old farmstead.

Ed took up the educational work in North Dakota. He first taught school near the Knife River there. he often went skating on the frozen river with the school children. Then they moved to Stanton where he became principal of the high school for a few years. He then became superintendent of the Mercer County, N.D., schools, a position he held for several years.

Later they moved to Barton, N. D., where he taught a large school. He taught eight subjects, including general science and Spanish. He used to speak about how his pupils could talk in Spanish.

He and Manda attended teachers meetings in Bismark where they heard lectures by the governor of the state, a Russian count, and solos by great tenors.

Ed And Manda used to vacation in Canada where they pitched a tent and forgot the cares of the world. He drove a roadster while out there.

Ed always loved animals. He had a large backyard, and he kept a couple of dogs named "Jewel" and "Lady," pet goats and tame Leghorn chickens. He had two tame white rabbits which, strangely, liked to ride in the seat of the roadster with him.

In 1930, Ed and Manda left North Dakota and came back to Pennsylvania to live. He carried out a longtime desire - to purchase and equip a farm in his home area. In August he bought from Lester Daniels a 53-acre farm just west of Diamond. This farm was sold by Harry I. Sharp to Daniels only a year previously. This is the place presently occupied by the Mike Ender family.

Ed made the mistake of keeping a portion of his savings in the small western banks too long. During the so-called, "bank holiday," at the time of the depression, he lost those savings out there.

Nevertheless, he managed to stock 8 or 10 head of cattle, purchase machinery, and he then sent milk to a dairy. He kept a team of old gray horses which he drove leisurely, generally holding the lines low and speaking almost too softly to them to get going.

was also a substitute teacher in the Sunville High School during this period of time.

In April, 1936, he sold 13 acres located in the rear section of his farm to a neighbor, Lloyd Kightlinger.

After moving to Diamond, he and Manda joined Diamond Grange and untied with the Diamond United Brethren Church. He became the church pianist, and he also taught the Bible class of the Sunday school. He delighted in reciting many beautiful passages of scripture and explaining them to the members of his class.

He and a Diamond resident, Mrs. Elizabeth B. Shriver, used to render music at a number of church and grange functions. Mrs. Shriver was a soprano soloist, and her Scotch accent added a desirable quality to her vocalizing. Ed accompanied her on the piano and sometimes sang with her. They once performed at a special service in the Chapmanville Methodist Church at which she sang "The Holy City." Just three weeks before Ed's death they attended Venango County Pomona Grange at Wesley where both of them sang a favorite of his - "The Sweetest Story Ever Told." Ed was then lecturer of his home grange.

On Thursday, Oct. 22, 1936, Ed went to work on a WPA road project in the Chapmanville area. It is thought that this was his very first day of work on the roads.

He rode home from work with a neighbor, Otho Little. When Mr. Little stopped in front of Ed's home to let him off at 4:40 p.m., another car stopped behind Little's car. Ed alighted from Little's car, hurried around the rear of the car to cross the road so he wouldn't hold up the second car. He neglected to look for oncoming traffic, and as he started to cross he was struck suddenly by a car coming from the east and thrown several feet into the ditch.

A nurse who happened to be on hand, the undertaker, C. H. McKinley of Chapmanville, and the Venango County coroner, were all of the opinion that death was instantaneous.

On Sunday, the 25th, the funeral was held. A prayer service was held at his late home, then the procession departed for the Diamond church where the funeral took place. What a huge affair it was. It was the largest funeral held in Diamond in a number of years. All sitting and standing room was taken, and many people had to remain outside the church. A total of 442 people were counted as they passed his bier following the sermon.

This writer was then a little fellow and he recalls attending that service with his folks and standing in the back of the church.

Mr. Goodwin's pastor, Rev. Walter D. Black, officiated and he was assisted by Rev. John L. Murray, the Methodist pastor in Chapmanville. Interment was in the Goodwin family plot in Fairview Cemetery.

Principally through the efforts of Mrs. Elizabeth Shriver, who was then president of the Goodwin Bible Class, a certificate of recognition of Mr. Goodwin's class was made and signed on Nov. 27, 1936. Mrs. Shriver, herself, survived Mr. Goodwin by only six months, when she died unexpectedly. The class is still known as the Goodwin Bible Class.

Mrs. Manda Goodwin survived her husband by nearly 18 years. She died on June 14, 1954.

Transcribed by Penny Kulbacki Minnick
minnick862@verizon.net

Disclaimer:there may be errors due to transcription ofinformation from both early and late (current contributors) work.