[Naturally, I know more about my own grandfather than about his brothers. My mother and Aunt Rose talked about him a great deal and I found more material. He lived next door (in the Superintendent's house) when I was 3 to 8 years old. It was across the street from the Church of the Good Shepherd on Main Street in South Lee. -AMS]
RICHARD GOODHIND was born in Bradninch, Devonshire, England on November 26, 1842 and moved to Dartford, Kent with his family around 1848.[Unlike his brothers, he had not had time to serve his apprenticeship in the Phoenix mill before coming to America on March 5, 1860. However, he became the best known for his skill. The story is told that he wanted to join the army and go to Africa, so his parents sent him to his brothers in America! -AMS}
[Richard Goodhind was the only brother to fight in the Civil War. You can find out more about his service and the Massachusetts 2nd Infantry Regiment by choosing 'The Civil War' from the sidebar on the right. -TSG]
On May 11, 1861, he enlisted in the Union Army from Hampshire County and was mustered into service at West Roxbury on May 25, 1861 as a private in Captain Richard Cory's Company G 2nd Regiment Mass Volunteer Infantry. He was slightly wounded at Chancellorsville, VA but did not leave his command. He was captured May 25, 1862 during Bank's Retreat, was paroled and sent to Annapolis, MD. He rejoined his regiment at Stafford Court House during the Battle of Fredericksburg, VA on December 13, 1862. He was promoted to Corporal at Gettysburg, PA in July 1863 for meritorious service. He received an honorable discharge at Chattanooga, TN on May 23, 1864. (Massachusetts published the services in a large set of volumes available in many libraries.)
His citizenship papers were issued at Superior Court held at Lenox on the fourth Monday of October 1868 (the building is now the library). At that time he was a resident of Dalton, said born Devonshire. The Board of Registration stamped them at Holyoke on October 26, 1888 and at Lee on October 29, 1890. (Suppose he was registering to vote?)
His "Certificate of Record", compiled from "Official and Authentic Sources" by the Soldiers and Sailors Historical and Benevolent Society and signed in Washington August 18, 1904 by M. Wallingford, historian, gives the following information: "He has been superintendent of Hurlbut Division, American Writing Paper Company 16 years (i.e. South Lee), superintendent of Zenas Crane, Jr. Company 10 years (in Dalton); of Chester Paper Company in Huntington 3 years; of Hampshire Paper Company in South Hadley Falls for 4 years; of Beebe and Holbrook in Holyoke for 2 years. Each change meant an increase in salary. He was an example of a man rising to prominence through sterling character and persistent attention to business."
(I know that for a short time before the fall of 1878, the family was in East Lee. Aunt Rose said grandmother hated it. -AMS)
(In Grandpa's day, the superintendent was his own chemist. He was noted for his colors. The story is told that a client sent him a kid glove and ordered paper the color of the glove when stretched. Another anecdote is that the general manager in South Lee, a man named Eaton, used to say, "Tell me all about it, Dick, so I can talk intelligently." -AMS)
["Richard retired from the South Lee mill on January 1, 1911. He owned two houses in South Lee and two in Risingdale. My mother and Aunt Rose had occupied the single one with Aunt Rose's two boys before my parents' marriage. Later, Clarence took over. The other house was a three-family - 2 5's and a 6 next door. He converted the 2 5's for his own use and built a large barn, big enough to be converted later into an eight-room house. (He had a pretty little horse named "Jakey" and a seven-passenger Pope-Hartford car.) He also built a s[un]porch on the back and side of his unit. He had a very bad heart by then and could move around very little. He enjoyed retirement a very short time; he dropped dead on November 25, 1911. Flowers received for his birthday were used at his funeral. He is buried in Fairmont Cemetery on Fuller Street in Lee (walk down hill towards homes from the vault). Daughters Rose, Nettie and Alice are with him, as is my husband, Warren Sperl." -AMS]
The following is a copy of his obituary from the Lee newspaper, the Gleaner for November of 1911 (thanks to Liz Banas for this item):
"Death of Richard Goodhind
Superintendent of Hurlbut Mill in South Lee for Twenty Years
Friends in this village were shocked to learn of the sudden death of Richard Goodhind at South Lee Saturday afternoon. Mr. Goodhind gave up his position as Superintendent on the Hurlbut mill Jan. 1st because of ill health, being a sufferer from hardening of the arteries, but was about his house and the village and no immediate danger was anticipated. Saturday about 4:30 Mr. Goodhind went into the cellar of his residence to superintend some work in process there and as he reached the bottom stair he fell dead. The heart had stopped action, the culmination of the disease.
Richard Goodhind was born in England 69 years ago, came to this country when a young man and learned the papermaking business. He became an expert and was engaged with six paper plants in the following order - Zenas M. Crane, Byron Weston Paper Co. of Dalton, Chester Paper Co. of Huntington, Hampshire Paper Co. of South Hadley Falls, Beebe & Holbrook at Holyoke, and came to South Lee 20 years ago when the Hurlbut company was reorganized by Arthur Eaton. Mr. Goodhind was one of four brothers who came to this country and all eventually became superintendents of paper mills, and the skill of the deceased in his line of business was proverbial among the papermakers and he was widely known. Two of the brothers are left, Frank of Unionville, CT and John of Springfield.
In May 1861, Mr. Goodhind enlisted in the 2nd Mass. Regiment, Co. G, and he obtained an honorable discharge in 1864. He served on the quota of Russell, and at the time of his death was a member of Scott Bradley Grand Army post.
Mr. Goodhind was twice married. His first wife was Miss Charlotte Cook and his second wife, who survives him, was Miss Mary L. Stickles. By the first marriage he had five daughters, Mrs. Charles Woodward, Mrs. Wm. Garvey, Mrs. Charles Marsh and the Misses Alice and Nettie Goodhind, by the second marriage one son, Murray Goodhind is left.
The funeral will be held this afternoon at the church of the Good Shepherd, Rev. T.H.Yardley of Stockbridge to officiate assisted by Rev. O.F. Moore, Rev. C.J. Sniffen and Chaplain Charles Walkley. Music will be by a ladies' (quartette?)"
[Note of corrections to this obituary: his brother left alive in Unionville, CT was Frederick, not Frank. Mrs. Charles Woodward is actually Mrs. Edson (Rose) Woodruff, Mrs. Wm. Garvey is actually Mrs. Willis (Minnie) Gerry. Newspapers haven't changed in 100 years; they still can't get a name right -TSG]
[Richard Goodhind was twice married. Both families carried on with many descendants. For the sake of some small attempt at clarity, the two families will be separated onto two pages. -TSG]
Richard’s first family
Richard Goodhind married widow Charlotte (Martin) Cook, sister to his brother Frederick’s wife, on January 8, 1865, in Russell, MA. She was born on September 17, 1841 in Maidstone, Kent, according to her tombstone in Dalton, MA
[but a relative told me she could find no record. However, I have a postcard dated 1909 of a Maidstone church where (her sister Rose wrote) she was christened -AMS].
Her family was from Dartford. She died at Dalton of typhoid on October 15, 1878 and is buried in the extreme front right corner of the downtown cemetery. Buried with her is Bertha May Goodhind, an infant daughter born to Richard and his second wife, Mary L. Stickles.
[The pulpit in the South Lee Church of the Good Shepherd was given by Grandpa [Richard] in her memory (1901) -AMS]
In the 1870 census, the Goodhind name is misspelled as "Goodhue." Richard (27) was living in Dalton, MA with his wife Charlotte (28) and children Rose Ida (5) and Marie E. (misspelling of Minnie) (2). The census stated Richard "works in paper mill."
Richard and Charlotte had five daughters:
A. ROSE IDA GOODHIND was born on March 5, 1866 at Russell, she said, but her birth is recorded in the State House as Dalton, with her sisters. She married Edson Woodruff (born July 4, 1857 in Huntington, MA) on April 4, 1883 at Huntington.
(Due to marital problems, Aunt Rose left him. Along with their two boys, Clarence and Howard, as well as with my mother, Lottie, she went to South Lee, closer to her father, Richard. Both of her boys worked in the mill. For much of her life, Aunt Rose had no home of her own; she was at everyone's "beck and call." -AMS)
For several years, she lived with her half-brother Murray and his family in Amherst; she had also resided in a Lee, MA nursing home. She died in Kane’s Nursing Home on Lessey Street in Amherst on December 5, 1967 at the age of 101.
[You can read more about Aunt Rose at the link on the right sidebar or at the bottom of the page. -TSG]
1. CLARENCE EARL WOODRUFF was born in Huntington on October 18, 1884 and died across the street from his South Lee home during a flood on December 31, 1948.
[Because trains were not running, I didn't get there until after the funeral, which was huge; everyone liked him. -AMS]
He married Kittie Ingraham (born October 1, 1885; died in June of 1976 in Worcester, MA).
[This was not a fortunate marriage. They had been married several years when we moved into Grandpa's house in 1912. Kittie lived to be very old and I heard they were both buried in Lee. -AMS]
According to the 1920 federal census, Clarence (35) is found living on Main Street in South Lee, MA with his wife Kitty (34). His occupation is listed as a fireman in a paper mill. They had one child:
a. EVELYN WOODRUFF was born on November 28, 1924 in a Great Barrington hospital. She married George Nassar, an Armenian, in Florida. She died in 1979; George died on November 21, 1988 in Worcester, MA. They are buried in the Woodruff lot in Fairmont Cemetery in Lee. Their two children:
1) PATRICE EVELYN NASSAR
2. HOWARD WOODRUFF was born on October 5, 1886 in South Hadley Falls, his mother said, but his birth is not recorded.
(I remember that during World War I, he wrote his mother from Canada seeking some sort of proof. Perhaps it is recorded in Cornwall. -AMS)
He died at London, Ontario, in November of 1975. He married Ethel Hannah Hartel, born July 9, 1882 in Cornwall, Ontario, on November 28 (or 29), 1906. She died in March 1982.
[The story goes that while visiting Aunt Minnie in Cornwall, Howard discovered that the climate was better for him than in Berkshire County. -AMS]
They had five children:
a. WILLIS RICHARD WOODRUFF was born on November 1, 1907 in Cornwall. He married Dorthea Lewis (born in Aberdeen, Scotland on July 12, 1914) at Knox United Church in Calgary, Alberta on July 12, 1935. He died in November of 1980.
b. ROBERT STEPHEN WOODRUFF was born on February 4, 1909 in Cornwall. He married Thelma Yvonne Oakes on November 21, 1945. He died in March of 1973 in Calgary. Their three children:
c. ALBERT RICHARD ("Dick") WOODRUFF was born on December 3, 1911 in Cornwall. He married Wilma Norma Strang (born on March 2, 1918 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada) on December 3, 1934 in Calgary. He died at London, Ontario on May 19, 1971 and is buried in Calgary. Their daughter:
d. HAROLD EARL WOODRUFF was born on February 23, 1916 in Calgary and married Helen Pearl Croft (born on January 14, 1919 in Chester Basin, Nova Scotia) on March 6, 1940. He was a career officer in the Air Force. In December of 1965, he wrote from London, Ontario that he had returned 2 and 1/2 years before from overseas and expected to leave the Air Force on June 30. Harold passed away on February 16, 2000 in London. They had three children:
1) PATRICIA ROSE WOODRUFF was born July 7, 1941. She married to James Ferguson in 1961. Two children.
2) LIONEL WILLIAM WOODRUFF was born August 30, 1946 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. He presently resides in Vancouver, British Columbia.
3) DONNA LYNN WOODRUFF was born on October 9, 1953 in Portage La Prairie, Manitoba, Canada.
e. LIONEL HOWARD WOODRUFF was born on February 28, 1923 in Calgary and died on February 6, 1944, a member of the RAF. His plane crashed while dropping supplies to the French underground resistance movement and is buried in the town of Cornamont, in the Vasges mountains of eastern France. He shares a plot with his two crew mates.
(I have seen his name in the Book of Remembrance in the Capital at Ottawa. -AMS)
Many thanks to Lionel Woodruff for the above information on his family (December 2002)! -TSG
Rose's sisters take much less space!
B. MINNIE ELIZA GOODHIND was born on May 11, 1868 in Dalton. She married Willis Tecumseh Sherman Gerry (born on August 13, 1864 at East Hardwick, Vermont) on July 7, 1889 in South Hadley, MA.
In the 1900 federal census, Willis Gerry (35) is found living in South Hadley, MA with his wife Minnie (32), son Lester (6) and Minnie's sister Alice E. Goodhind. Willis is listed as a foreman in a paper mill, renting his home.
Will died at San Diego, California on November 30, 1912. Minnie died there on February 4, 1934. They are both buried in Village cemetery, off Main Street in South Hadley Falls.
[I do not know why they wanted to move to California; they had lived in Cornwall, Ontario for several years. They decided to stay as long as Grandpa lived. They had hardly arrived in California when Uncle Will died suddenly. -AES]
They had one child:
1. LESTER WILLIS GERRY was born on July 9, 1893 and died in September 29, 1904.
C. LOTTIE MARY GOODHIND was born September 25, 1870 in Dalton and married Charles Henry Marsh (born on October 15, 1870 in South Lee) on August 7, 1901 in South Lee, MA. He died on April 4, 1944 at a Pittsfield hospital, a resident of Dalton. She died at my home in Hyannis on March 28, 1945.
[Aunt Rose had lived with them for a few years as their health deteriorated. Without her, they could not have maintained a home for so long. She also came to Hyannis and was a great help to me. -AMS]
Both Charles and Lottie are buried at Lee in Fairmont Cemetery in the Marsh family plot.
1. One child, ALICE ELIZABETH MARSH (that's me), was born September 17, 1903 in South Lee.
[I married Warren Libbey Sperl (born March 12, 1900 at Newton, MA) in Dalton, MA on July 4, 1930. He died in a nursing home in Brewster on January 24, 1980 while I was living in Orleans, MA, having sold our home in Yarmouth Port when he left. Warren was a World War I veteran, and a graduate of Northeastern University, Boston, with a degree in Chemical Engineering but went on to Babsen Institute and turned to finance. He is buried in Lee in the Richard Goodhind family plot. I graduated with a BS in Education from what is now Bridgewater State College in 1926. -AMS]
Alice passed away on September 8, 1996; she is also buried in the Goodhind family plot aside her husband.
[You can read more about Alice by choosing the link at the bottom of the page -TSG]
D. NETTIE ANN GOODHIND was born on July 1, 1873 in Dalton and died in Holyoke on September 20, 1953; she is buried in Fairmont Cemetery in Lee.
[In her late teens, she became bedridden upon the advice of her doctor; he said her health was delicate. She remained bedridden for years. There again, Aunt Rose stepped in and occasionally stayed with Aunt Nettie. Upon her doctor's death, her new physician found no reason for her condition and she was able to go out again by the late 1930's. She never married. She worked in the American Writing Paper Company office in Holyoke. While bedridden, she made handmade greeting cards. -AMS]
In the 1880 federal census, Nettie (6) is found living in Dalton, MA with her father Richard (37), his second wife Mary L. (22) and siblings Rose Ida (14), Minnie E. (12), Lottie M. (9), Nettie Ann (6), Alice E. (4) and baby "No name", (1 month). ‘Baby No Name’ became Murray.
In the 1920 census, Nettie (46) is found living in Holyoke, MA. The census states she is the head of her single person household but has occupation listed as "none."
Nettie never married.
E. ALICE ELIZABETH GOODHIND was born on April 19, 1876 in Dalton, MA and died there on May 24, 1929; she is buried in Lee.
[She held business positions in San Diego, CA, Holyoke, MA and Springfield, MA, the last being head bookkeeper at a big insurance agency, Oppenheimer and Field, then Robinson, I think. She had cancer and during her lingering illness, she lived with my parents. -AMS]
In the 1900 federal census, Alice (24) is found living in South Hadley, MA as a boarder with her sister Minnie (32), her husband Willis Gerry (35) and their son Lester (6).
In the 1920 census, Rose (53) is found in Springfield in a rooming house on State Street. Her sister Alice (43) is a roomer in the same house.
Alice never married.
About papermaking
Do you know where he's buried? Yes, we do!
Richard's Civil War record
Richard Goodhind with nephew Alfred
Tombstone of Charlotte Martin Cook Goodhind, Dalton, MA
Learn more about Rose Ida Goodhind Woodruff
See the Woodruff Family Photo Album!
Lionel Woodruff's name in the Book of Remembrance