Jonas Platt Goodsell (1819November22, 1869) was an American

civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing i ...

and politician from

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. He was

New York State Engineer and Surveyor The New York State Engineer and Surveyor was a state cabinet officer in the State of New York between 1848 and 1926. During the re-organization of the state government under Governor Al Smith, the office was abolished and its responsibilities trans ...

from 1866 to 1867.

Life

He was born in 1819 in

Utica, New York Utica () is the county seat of Oneida County, New York, United States. The tenth-most populous city in New York, its population was 65,283 in the 2020 census. It is located on the Mohawk River in the Mohawk Valley at the foot of the Adiro ...

, the son of Dr. Thomas Goodsell (1775–1864) and Susan (Livingston) Goodsell (1864). He was educated at the Utica Academy. He began work on the survey for the enlargement of the

Erie Canal The Erie Canal is a historic canal in upstate New York that runs east–west between the Hudson River and Lake Erie. Completed in 1825, the canal was the first navigability, navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, ...

in 1840, and continued there until 1842. Then he removed to

Mobile, Alabama Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. After a successful vote to annex areas west of the city limits in July 2023, Mobil ...

, to improve his health, and staid there until 1844. On November 27, 1845, he married Lavinia Maria Smith at Durhamville. He was appointed Second Assistant Engineer of the State Canals in 1846, and from 1850 to 1853 was Resident Engineer at

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It is located on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River. Albany is the oldes ...

. From 1853 to 1856, he was Chief Engineer of the Cape Fear and Deep River Railroad in

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

. From 1856 to 1860, he was Division Engineer of the Eastern Division, and from 1862 to 1866 of the Middle Division of the New York State Canals. In 1863 and 1864, he was Supervisor of the Town of Utica. He was State Engineer and Surveyor from 1866 to 1867, elected in

1865 Events January * January 4 – The New York Stock Exchange opens its first permanent headquarters at 10-12 Broad near Wall Street, in New York City. * January 13 – American Civil War: Second Battle of Fort Fisher – Unio ...

on the Republican ticket, defeating

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

Sylvanus H. Sweet. Goodsell died on November 22, 1869, in

Durhamville, New York Durhamville is a hamlet located in Oneida County, New York, United States. The population was 584 as of the 2010 census. The Hamlet of Durhamville is in the southern part of the county and is approximately 1.75 miles north of Oneida on Route 4 ...

Sources

Engineer's bios, at Rochester history

Political Graveyard

Livingston family tree
''Life Sketches of State Officers, Senators, and Members of Assembly in the State of New York in 1867''
by S. R. Harlow and H. H. Boone (pages 43ff; Weed, Parsons & Co., Albany NY, 1867) {{DEFAULTSORT:Goodsell, Jonas Platt 1819 births 1869 deaths New York State Engineers and Surveyors Politicians from Utica, New York American civil engineers 19th-century American railroad executives Livingston family Town supervisors in New York (state) New York (state) Republicans 19th-century American politicians