Background

John was born on May 27, 1829, in Bedford County, Virginia, United States. He was the son of John and Ann M. Leftwich Goode, and a descendant of the John Goode who settled in Virginia in the seventeenth century.

Education

After graduating from Emory and Henry College in 1848, Goode attended the Lexington Law School (now Washington and Lee University School of Law), and in April 1851, was admitted to the bar and commenced to practice at Liberty, Virginia.

Career

Goode's election, six months later, to the state legislature marked the beginning of a public career of half a century, during which he was to champion his people’s rights and do his duty without fear or favor.

When he had finished his work as a member of the Virginia Secession Convention, he enlisted in the ranks of the 2nd Virginia Cavalry, fought at First Manassas, and subsequently was called to the staff of Gen. Jubal Early. While at the front he was elected to represent the Bedford district in the congress of the Confederacy and served until the dissolution of that body.

After the war, he moved to Norfolk, and for fifteen years engaged assiduously in law and politics, participating in a number of celebrated Virginia criminal cases, and, an eloquent speaker and debater, taking an active part in state and national campaigns.

He served in the Virginia legislature in 1866, in the "Whig and Democratic Convention" at Richmond (1867-1868), as Democratic national committeeman from 1868 to 1876, and was elected seven times a delegate to Democratic national conventions.

In November 1874, Goode was elected to Congress from the 2nd Virginia district, which he represented, wrote James Barron Hope, "in a manner worthy the best days of Virginia." During the Forty-fourth Congress, he was appointed to the committee on banking and currency, and participated in the discussion growing out of the Hayes-Tilden contest; during the two succeeding Congresses, he was chairman of the committee on education and a member of the committee on naval affairs. Defeated for re-election, he moved to Washington and practiced his profession there until shortly before his death.

In May 1885, he was appointed solicitor-general of the United States, retaining the office until August 1886, when the Senate, by a strict party vote, refused to confirm his nomination. During President Cleveland’s second term, he served on the Chilean Claims Commission.

In July 1898, Goode was made president of the Virginia Bar Association; but probably the highest honor conferred upon him was his election, without opposition, to the presidency of the Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1901-1902, which position he filled with the wisdom, moderation, and fidelity that characterized the performance of his numerous lesser public trusts.

His more important addresses are included in his autobiographical "Recollections of a Lifetime" (1906). Besides this scholarly and penetrating, though loosely connected, series of impressions of men and events, possessing narrative interest as well as genuine historical worth, he wrote for the Richmond Times-Dispatch a series of articles on "The Civilian Leaders of the Confederacy," but never published them in book form.

Achievements

• John Goode Jr. was known for his service as a colonel in the Confederate Army and was a Congressman in the First and Second Confederate Congresses. He was appointed Solicitor General of the United States by President Grover Cleveland.

Works

More photos

• book

  • War History 1902
  • Recollections of a lifetime 1906

Politics

Good was a member of the Democratic Party.

Personality

John's integrity, simple but devout faith, and cultivation of intellect were matters of common knowledge. It was said at his death that no man living knew more of the history of his time, state and national, or of the leading men - practically all of whom he had known - of the preceding fifty years.

Physical Characteristics: Goode was a fine specimen of the old-school Southern gentleman, his classical features, massive brow, open and expressive countenance bespeaking character no less plainly than his vitality and manly bearing indicated unusual physical strength.

Connections

On July 10, 1855, Goode married Sarah Urquhart. The couple had three children.

Father:

John Goode

Mother:

Ann M. Goode

Wife:

Sarah Urquhart Goode

1832-1890

Son:

John Breckenridge Goode

1864-1917

Daughter:

Annie Walton Goode

1869-1871

Son:

James Urquhart Goode

1873-1944

References

• Biographical Dictionary of the Confederacy
  1977