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WHO WAS - Ira R. Goodwin
in Plum Township
Venango County, Pennsylvania
By Howard Strawbridge Feb. 7, 1959

Ira Ricketts Goodwin, a highly respected and prosperous gentleman, was born Sept. 25, 1841, on the same farm in Plum Township where he spent his entire life. His parents were Daniel D. and Sarah McIntosh Goodwin, who were natives of Pennsylvania, but who moved with their respective parents to Ohio. It was in that sate that they married, and in 1825 they came to Venango County.

The Goodwins originally came from the British Isles. Three brothers sailed from either Scotland or England to America. One settled in Pennsylvania (the ancestor of the local Goodwin family), the other went south, and the third went west. It is said they had no contact with each other again after parting.

When Daniel and Sarah Goodwin came to Venango, they settled in that portion of Jackson Township which was formerly included in Plum. they lived there several years, and at least half or most of their children were born there. Their six children were: William M. Goodwin, Andrew Jackson Goodwin, John W. Goodwin, David W. Goodwin, Ira Ricketts Goodwin and Mrs. Mary Catherine Alcorn. Ira's middle name, Ricketts, was taken from his maternal grandmother's maiden name.

Subsequently Daniel's family moved up to a farm slightly over a mile southeast of Diamond which has been in the family name ever since. It was here that Ira was born. This farm today is the home of Dr. and Mrs. A. W. Goodwin and daughter, the former being a grandson of Ira. Five generations have now lived on the place.

Switch Becomes Tree

Daniel first came up to this new farm on horseback. The horse commenced lagging, so Daniel broke off a switch from a wild silver maple to prod the horse faster. When he arrived at the spot where he intended to build, he stuck the switch into the ground where it rooted and grew into the large silver maple that stood in the front yard. It was taken down several years ago.

Daniel had become a prominent farmer and held many of the early township offices. For several years he was a class leader in the Fairview Methodist Episcopal Church, and was highly respected by all who knew him. He died Feb. 5, 1862, aged 60. Sarah was born Dec. 19, 1805, and died Jan. 1, 1879.

They lost their son, John, by death before they themselves passed on. John developed an intestinal ailment. One day he rode on horseback to Meadville and back on an errand. He died shortly after arriving back home. The ride proved too much for his trouble. His date of death was Aug. 29, 1859 - just lacking two days of reaching his 28th birthday.

After Daniel's death his large land holdings were divided among his children. Ira stayed on the old home place. The road extending east and west through Goodwin's Corners today was then situated across the fields nearer to the Goodwin buildings, and it came out at the curve just east of the present Melvin Patterson home. The driveway then into Ira's farmstead extended north from the old road.

Ira married Miss Jane Alcorn on Sept. 10, 1863 at the Sunville M. E. parsonage with Rev. G. M. Elberman officiating. Mary Jane was born in Cherrytree Township on April 13, 1841, a daughter of Andrew and Jane Kerr Alcorn. She spent her childhood on the place where buildings once stood immediately south of the abandoned Alcorn Cemetery.

Mary had a close call once when a little girl. While the Fairview M. E. Church was being built in 1845, services were held in the upstairs of John Alcorn's barn. During a service little Mary wandered about the barn. She fell through a hole and landed down in the basement. She wasn't hurt much, but it disrupted the service.

Ira and Mary both united with this Fairview Church as young people prior to their marriage. They remained members until their deaths.

They had three sons as follows: Frank Wilbur Goodwin born March 14, 1866; and twin sons, Daniel Bert Goodwin and Andrew Wert Goodwin, born July 11, 1869. All three received fine educations. Frank received his Ph. D. at Oxford, England, where he spend two summers. He was a longtime schoolteacher. He taught awhile at Edinboro State Normal School, Erie County. He married Miss Flora Thompson of near Guys Mills, and they had two daughters, Mrs. Donald Stewart of Pittsburgh and Mrs. James Sperry of Arlington, Va. Frank died in January, 1947.

Daniel attended the Grove City College and became a lawyer. However, before he was admitted to the bar he had to serve an apprenticeship for some time with a veteran lawyer. Daniel served three terms as district attorney of Venango County, and also two terms as a representative in the state Legislature at Harrisburg. He married Miss Frances Henderson of Oil City, and they had two daughters, one of whom reached maturity. Mrs. Davis Kiser of Oil City. Daniel died Nov. 5, 1935.

Andrew attended the Grove City College, too, then taught school for a few terms. Later he attended the Ohio State University at Cleveland where he received medical training and became a physician. Dr. Goodwin first entered practice at Pleasantville with Dr. Luper, then he moved to Oil City where he always maintained his practice. He married Miss Clara Ingraham of New Brighton and they had five children, one of whom, Dr. A. W. Goodwin, was named after his father and also became a physician. He maintains his office in Oil City. The other four children are Frank Goodwin and Mrs. Arthur Conrad of Grand Rapids, Mich., and Mrs. Walter Ross and Miss Mary Jane Goodwin of Pittsburgh. Dr. A. W. Goodwin, Sr. died June 18, 1934.

Ira and Mary also reared three girls at different intervals. First, they took his niece, Miss Emma Goodwin, who was later the wife of John Wright, Jr. Then, during the 1890s they reared Miss Bessie Tuggle who lives today in the state of Texas. Lastly, they reared Miss Bertha Goodwin, who moved into the Goodwin home in 1902, and remained there until her marriage to Clarence Hancox in 1913. Mr. and Mrs. Hancox live today in Cherrytree Township, and she remembers many facts pertaining to Ira and Mary.

Ira and Mary first lived in the log house built by his father. The present log house was built northeast of the old one sometime during the 1870s. Ira hired Bonum Kerr and his brother from Gresham to carpenter it. Mary had to keep close watch of the little boys because they were bound to wander in or about the rising structure.

A wonderful spring is on the place. It fed water to a large pond below the present driveway which Ira made during the mid 1880s and stocked with fine trout. However the trout seemed not to thrive well, so he put carp in the pond and they thrived well in it for many years. For awhile during the 1890s he had a smaller plank-sided pond above the driveway for trout. Again, the trout were not successful. The big pond was drained out a few years after Ira's death and it doesn't exist anymore.

In the early spring of 1888 Ira erected a two-story building to be used as an apiary. At the height of his bee business he kept about 100 hives. But, ordinarily he kept 50 hives in the apiary. He sold honey in Oil City and Titusville, selling two sections for 25 cents. He had an extractor and extracted a share of his honey, selling strained honey.

Years later the apiary building was moved down in the grove of trees near the carp pond and used as a tenant house. The top story had been removed.

Near the spring there sat a two-story building called the "wash-house". The top story had a work-bench in one end, and the other end was used for cutting up meat at butchering times. The top story of it was cut off and the remainder moved down against the tenant house as a kitchen. The entire tenant house is gone now.

During the 1890s Ira made maple syrup. His sugar bush was in the hollow southeast of the house. He boiled the sap in the big stone fireplace that was in the wash-house. One day a bad storm raged through the area and blew down many of his maples. This ended the syrup making.

Ira was also in the apple business. He had a large orchard and sold quantities of apples. He also took apples to Cooperstown and had apple butter made. He loved honey and apple butter.

Being the successful farmer and saver that he was, one can understand how he managed to put his three sons through a wonderful education.

In 1855 Ira bought 30 acres west of Diamond for $1,000 from William and Lucina Smith. This is the present Ender place. While Ira owned this place nobody lived in the house. He pastured young cattle and sheep there and farmed the eastern field. There being no water in the pasture then, he rented a corner of the Jared Welsh farm so the stock could have spring water. Ira sold this place to Mr. and Mrs. Guy Willey in 1908.

Ira was over six feet tall and weighed only 124 pounds. He was very thin, but a good looking man. He had long black whiskers which never got gray. He was a slow talker, an easy-going man with no temper whatever. He was as honest as they came, and his word was always good. He was a man who mostly stayed at home, and attended very few social gatherings. He was a charter member of the Diamond Grange which organized April 19, 1906.

He hardly ever drank any water. He would just take a sip at a time. He had coffee for breakfast and tea for dinner and supper.

He formerly carried an attractive gold Hamilton pocket watch, and his son, Frank, carried a solid silver pocket watch. Ira thought Frank ought to have the more attractive gold one, so they traded. Ira carried the silver watch the rest of his life.

Ira always kept a hired man during the summers. Some hired men he employed were Walter Tarr, a Mr. Pringle, John Guild, John Davison, Clarence Hancox and Frank Wheeling. Another many who worked occasionally for Ira was Jackson M. Bearce who still lives on the farm beside Ira's farm. Mr. Bearce used to take some of Ira's honey to Titusville to sell for him. He also set up buckwheat behind a drop reaper for Ira the fall that Ira had his last illness.

Mrs. Bearce's father, Billy Bearce, used to operate the old Grove gristmill nearby, and Ira occasionally brought grists there for grinding. Ira gave honey instead of cash to M. Bearce as payment. Ira would also take buckwheat to Cooperstown to have flour made. He used to buy his fertilizer from J. M. Shriver, a dealer at Diamond.

Now comes the most unusual trait of Ira Goodwin. He was probably the best marksman with a muzzle-loading rifle in the area, yet he was not a hunter! He would shoot game or predators if they strayed around his buildings, but he didn't take to the woods or fields to hunt, except perhaps on a very rare occasion. Here are four examples of his ability to shoot.

One time Ira stood by his barn and shot a rabbit over by the old sugar bush which was many, many rods away.

Most men at hog butchering time must have the pig stand "in such and such a position to get the proper shot". Not so with Ira. The pig could be standing in any position and Ira could place the shot so it would be fatal.

One time the Goodwins turned a barrel over to put a hen and her little chicks into it. One night the hen and chicks raised an awful fuss. Ira got his gun and had Bertha carry the lantern out. There a skunk was raising havoc in the barrel. The light of the lantern caused the skunk's eye to glare. Ira aimed and shot the eye right out of the skunk.

Now the fourth and classic example: A large flock of passenger pigeons once lit in the southwest portion of Goodwin's Corners. A rail fence was along there and pigeons covered it. Ira and a man named Ace from East Troy went up to the corners and looked the situation over. Ira stepped over in good line with a group of pigeons perched on a certain rail. He aimed and pulled the trigger. The rifle ball cut down 17 of the pigeons!

Ira's wife was quick-spoken. she was often called upon as a mid-wife. She was a good neighbor woman and fulfilled her duties as the early farmwife. She was often known as "Aunty" Goodwin.

Sometime during the 1890s Ira sold some timber off his farm to Ernest E. Archer of Titusville who had just commenced in the lumber business then.

One the afternoon of June 26, 1900, Ira's barn was struck by lightning and burned with all its contents. He had the present barn built the next year with Amos Hancox as the carpenter. It was built of plank, hence there was not public raising for it. After the first barn burned Ira built a good-sized wagon shed for which there was a raising.

Ira's son, Frank, helped to lay out the plans for the new barn. Sherman Davison, who lives in Titusville today, helped to do the cement work in the basement. Then a young fellow, Sherman lived on the farm just south of Goodwin's Corners.

Indeed this new barn was stuck by lightning a few years later, but it didn't burn. Some of the rafters were split. The bolt followed the hay track and went down the drain-spout pipe.

On Sept. 25, 1911, after not feeling well for some time, Ira took to bed with a pain in his left side, and he never got up again. His case baffled doctors, and a specialist from Cleveland was called over. He announced that since Ira drank but very little water, certain little particles of his body which were supposed to carry nourishment throughout his system had dried up and were not functioning. Nothing could be done and Ira just wasted away until his death on Saturday forenoon, Nov. 11.

The funeral was on Wednesday afternoon in the Fairview M. E. Church with Rev. J. M. Critchlow, a Free Methodist minister and a fast friend of Ira's officiating. He was buried in the church cemetery.

Mrs. Mary Goodwin took sick in August, 1917. She had an operation which showed malignancy of the liver. She died on the following March 5 at the home of her son, Dr. A. W. Goodwin in Oil City.

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.