Lemuel Goodell (November 27, 1800April 9, 1897) was a farmer and politician in

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

and

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

who also worked as a teacher, restaurateur and law enforcement officer.

Background

Goodell was born on November 27, 1800, in

Pomfret, Connecticut Pomfret is a town in Windham County, Connecticut with a population of 4,266 according to the 2020 United States Census. The town is part of the Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region. It was incorporated in 1713 and was named after Pontefract ...

, the youngest of 12 children. He attended local

public schools Public school may refer to: *Public school (government-funded), a no-fee school, publicly funded and operated by the government *Public school (United Kingdom), certain elite fee-charging private schools in England and Wales *Great Public Schools, ...

, but dropped out at the age of 15, going to work at an older brother's nearby farm and teaching school in the winter. He went to work for a

general store A general merchant store (also known as general merchandise store, general dealer, village shop, or country store) is a rural or small-town store that carries a general line of merchandise. It carries a broad selection of merchandise, someti ...

Alexandria Bay, New York Alexandria Bay is a village in Jefferson County, New York, United States, within the town of Alexandria. It is located in the Thousand Islands region of northern New York. The population of the village was 1,078 at the 2010 United States censu ...

, and in 1828 moved to

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

. In Detroit he operated a restaurant for a couple of years with his brother, selling that out to go to work for a hotel. He was appointed a

constable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. ''Constable'' is commonly the rank of an officer within a police service. Other peo ...

patronage Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, art patronage refers to the support that princes, popes, and other wealthy and influential people ...

job) in 1831, and began a political career. He took office as a

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland, the , which is common ...

, a

prison warden The warden ( US, Canada) or governor ( UK, Australia), also known as a superintendent (US, South Asia) or director (UK, New Zealand), is the official who is in charge of a prison. Name In the United States, Mexico, and Canada, warden is the m ...

and other positions.

Wisconsin political career

Goodell moved to

Green Bay, Wisconsin Green Bay is a city in Brown County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. It is located at the head of Green Bay (Lake Michigan), Green Bay (known locally as "the bay of Green Bay"), a sub-basin of Lake Michigan at the mouth of the F ...

, in the early 1840s, later moving to Stockbridge, where he bought a farm of 120 acres where he would live the rest of his life. He was a delegate to Wisconsin's first constitutional convention in 1846, representing Calumet County. After Wisconsin's admission to the union in 1848, he was a member of the

Wisconsin State Assembly The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The Assembly is controlled by the Republican ...

in the

1st Wisconsin Legislature The First Wisconsin Legislature convened from June 5, 1848, to August 21, 1848, in regular session. Members of the Assembly and Senate were elected after an election on February 1, 1848, that ratified the proposed state constitution. Wisconsi ...

that same year representing the county. He was a member of the Democratic Party. He was elected to

Wisconsin's 1st State Senate district The 1st Senate district of Wisconsin is one of 33 districts in the Wisconsin Senate. Located in northeast Wisconsin, the district comprises all of Door County, Wisconsin, Door and Kewaunee County, Wisconsin, Kewaunee counties, as well as nearly ...

(

Brown Brown is a color. It can be considered a composite color, but it is mainly a darker shade of orange. In the CMYK color model used in printing and painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors Orange (colour), orange and black. In the ...

, Calumet, Manitowoc, and

Sheboygan Sheboygan may refer to: Places in Wisconsin * Sheboygan, Wisconsin, city * Sheboygan (town), Wisconsin, town * Sheboygan County, Wisconsin, county * Sheboygan Falls, Wisconsin, city * Sheboygan Falls (town), Wisconsin, town * Sheboygan River ...

counties)) for the

2nd Wisconsin Legislature The Second Wisconsin Legislature convened from January 10, 1849, to April 2, 1849, in regular session. Senators representing odd numbered districts were newly elected for this session and were serving the first year of a two-year term. Senato ...

meeting in 1849-1850, replacing fellow Democrat Harrison C. Hobart (his Assembly seat was taken by Whig Alonzo D. Dick).

Personal life

Goodell was married two times. It was reported that his first wife was killed in 1841 by hostile

Indians Indian or Indians may refer to: Associated with India * of or related to India ** Indian people ** Indian diaspora ** Languages of India ** Indian English, a dialect of the English language ** Indian cuisine Associated with indigenous peoples o ...

in Detroit "on the common where Capitol square is now" (presumably Capital Park) and her brother taken into captivity (and held for two years) in the same attack, although in fact by 1841 the state capitol had been in that location for three or four years. Goodell died on April 9, 1897.

References

External links

The Political Graveyard
{{DEFAULTSORT:Goodell, Lemuel People from Pomfret, Connecticut People from Stockbridge, Wisconsin Democratic Party Wisconsin state senators Democratic Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly 1800 births 1897 deaths Politicians from Detroit Michigan sheriffs American prison wardens People from Michigan Territory 19th-century members of the Wisconsin Legislature