People who regularly research Cortland County’s history tend to rely on an 1859 book entitled Pioneer History; or, Cortland County and the Border Wars of New York by H.C. Goodwin. This book has a fantastic amount of information about the early settlement of Cortland County by those of European descent. The author, H.C. Goodwin, had access to people who came to this area as settlers and to the first generation born here. However, just like any resource that relies heavily on oral history, it’s best to use this book as a starting point and to seek out other resources that corroborate the evidence.
In the years I’ve spent at Cortland County Historical Society, I’ve often wondered about the identity of the author of his important work. Just who was H.C. Goodwin? Recently, I was mightily surprised to discover that H.C. Goodwin is interred at Glenwood Cemetery. It was my understanding that he was an itinerant writer who made the rounds and documented area history, but that is not accurate, and I don’t know how I came to believe that. In case you were also unaware that H.C. Goodwin was a longtime Homer resident, this article is for you.
Hermon Camp Goodwin was born on October 19, 1813, to Joseph Goodwin and Ruth Stout on the family farm in Ulysses, in neighboring Tompkins County. He was the fourth of nine children, and he was named after his father’s friend, Hermon Camp of Trumansburg. The young H.C. Goodwin received an extraordinary education for a farmer’s child. He completed his classical studies at Ovid and Geneva, reading Greek and Roman authors such as Cicero, Sallust, Livy, and Virgil. He learned French and later picked up Spanish as well.
H.C. Goodwin married twice, and his first wife, Jane Babcock, was also from Ulysses. They married on August 8, 1839, and enjoyed just ten years together before she passed away from consumption in 1849. Goodwin was grief stricken, weak, and strained from caring for her. Consumption, or tuberculosis as is it is known, is a wasting disease that often produces painful and protracted suffering before death. Jane had been a good partner to him and was remembered as being well educated and refined as well as kind and energetic. In the fall of 1850, he sold his belongings at auction and chose to travel the globe to regain his health and to come to terms with her death. His path covered several countries in South America and Europe as well as Russia, and when he returned to the United States, his health was much improved.
On August 8, 1851, he married for a second time. His new wife was Lucy Wilson who was originally from Otsego County. Lucy was described as genial and refined, with a “fine personal appearance” and energetic disposition. Again, H.C. had found a good match, and he and Lucy enjoyed many years together. As far as can be determined, H.C. had two children, one from each marriage. Benjamin Franklin Goodwin was the son of Jane and H.C., and Luella was the daughter of Lucy and H.C.
Goodwin was a prolific writer and wrote for several newspapers over the course of his lengthy career. A few of these were the Chemung Democrat, the Tompkins County Volunteer, the Cortland Gazette, the Cortland Banner, the Homer Herald, and the Cortland Democrat. In addition to his history of Cortland County, he published Ithaca As It Was and Ithaca As It Is and a work on the life of John Jacob Aster.
As was often the case for our ancestors, Goodwin simultaneously sustained a farm while working at a career. When he and Lucy married in 1851, they remained in Homer for the rest of their lives. The farm they purchased was located on Lot 27, and maps indicate that their property was in the vicinity of the intersection of Corl Hill Road and Forbes Road. Goodwin’s grandson and namesake, Hermon Camp Goodwin, remembered his grandfather as being about five feet five inches tall and weighing 140 pounds. He stood as straight as an arrow and had piercing blue eyes that cut through you when he spoke with you. He was an expert with a revolver and his humor was sharp and witty.
H.C. and Lucy lived happily on their farm until her death on July 4, 1887. She had spent six months nursing her ill sister, only to have her own health affected by the experience. She declined rapidly, but her suffering elicited no complaint from her; she even planned her own funeral. H.C. continued on without his beloved wife until he died from pneumonia on December 31, 1891, while visiting his son Benjamin at his home in Alfred. His body was returned to Homer for burial at Glenwood Cemetery, where he was put to rest beside his wife Lucy. A search on Find-A-Grave discovered that his first wife, Jane, lies in the Quaker Settlement Cemetery in Ulysses, as do H.C.’s parents Joseph and Ruth Stout Goodwin, along with his brother Benjamin P. Goodwin. Jane’s headstone lies broken in two, with the following written:
“She was a wife most kind and true
One of the chosen faithful few
Ten years we had in union here
Each other kindness to revere;
But now that union here is riv’n
Transfered from earth she reigns in Heav’n.”
H.C. Goodwin was lucky enough to find love twice in his lifetime. As a chronicler of history, he deserves to be remembered for the contributions he made with his pen to preserve the past. There is much more to his story than what is written here, but it would seem that the years between the dash of his life (1813-1891) were well lived. ~Tabitha Scoville, CCHS Director