Richard Goodell (July 18, 1784 – January 25, 1826) was an American military officer and politician who served as

Speaker Speaker most commonly refers to: * Speaker, a person who produces speech * Loudspeaker, a device that produces sound ** Computer speakers Speaker, Speakers, or The Speaker may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * "Speaker" (song), by David ...

of the

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Ass ...

Biography

Born 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 ...

on July 18, 1784, he was the son of Richard Goodell, Sr. (a veteran of the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

) and Mercy Parkhurst Goodell. Goddell lived in

Adams, New York Adams is a town in Jefferson County, New York, United States. Named after President John Adams, the town had a population of 5,143 at the 2010 census. The town contains a village also named Adams. The village and town are south of Watertown. ...

and owned a farm. He served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

and

New York Militia The New York Guard (NYG) is the State Defense Force (SDF) of New York State, and is one of the four branches of the New York Military Forces (NYMF), the other three branches being the New York Army National Guard, New York Air National Guard a ...

, and attained the rank of

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

. He was a veteran of the

23rd Infantry Regiment The 23rd Infantry Regiment is an infantry regiment in the United States Army. A unit with the same name was formed on 26 June 1812 and saw action in 14 battles during the War of 1812. In 1815 it was consolidated with the 6th, 16th, 22nd, and ...

in the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

, and participated in the

Second Battle of Sacket's Harbor The Second Battle of Sacket's Harbor, or simply the Battle of Sacket's Harbor, took place on 29 May 1813, during the War of 1812. A British force was transported across Lake Ontario and attempted to capture the town, which was the principal docky ...

. A

Democratic-Republican The Democratic-Republican Party (also referred to by historians as the Republican Party or the Jeffersonian Republican Party), was an American political party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the early 1790s. It championed l ...

, he identified with the

Bucktails The Bucktails (1818–1826) were the faction of the Democratic-Republican Party in the US state of New York opposed to Governor DeWitt Clinton. It was influenced by the Tammany Society. The name derives from a Tammany insignia, a deer's tail wo ...

, the faction opposed to the policies of

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

DeWitt Clinton DeWitt Clinton (March 2, 1769February 11, 1828) was an American politician and Naturalism (philosophy), naturalist. He served as a United States Senate, United States senator, as the mayor of New York City, and as the sixth governor of New York. ...

. He was a member of the New York State Assembly from Jefferson County from 1820 to 1821, and from 1823 to 1825. In 1824, he was elected Speaker. In 1825, he was appointed Keeper of

Auburn State Prison Auburn Correctional Facility is a state prison on State Street in Auburn, New York, United States. It was built on land that was once a Cayuga village. It is classified as a maximum security facility. History In 1816, assemblyman John H. Bea ...

. He died suddenly in Auburn on January 25, 1826. He is buried at Adams Rural Cemetery. His epitaph reads: ''Sacred to the Memory of the Hon. Richard Goodell, who departed this life 25th Jan, 1826 in the 42nd year of his age.''
''Here lies a soldier''
''Here a brave man rests'' In April 1826, the State Legislature ordered the payment of the remainder of his annual salary to his widow, Hetty Tyler Goodell (1783-1856).Connecticut Town Marriage Records, pre-1870 (Barbour Collection), entry for Richard Goodell, Jr., retrieved February 26, 2014

References

Sources

*John Stilwell Jenkins: ''History of Political Parties in the State of New-York'' (Alden & Markham, Auburn NY, 1846)
Richard Goodell
a
''Political Graveyard''
February 7, 1826

mention at History of Adams N.Y.
Google Books ''The New York Civil List''
compiled by Franklin B. Hough (Weed, Parsons & Co., Albany NY, 1858)
''The Laws of New York''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Goodell, Richard 1784 births 1826 deaths United States Army officers American militia officers United States Army personnel of the War of 1812 Speakers of the New York State Assembly New York (state) Democratic-Republicans People from Pomfret, Connecticut People from Adams, New York Politicians from Jefferson County, New York Politicians from Auburn, New York 19th-century members of the New York State Legislature