An 1870 census record that I have for Thomas H Goodwin lists his birthplace as South Carolina, but living in District 3 of Humphrey's County, Tennessee. Since he was born in South Carolina and was raised in Tennessee, I am assuming that he possibly fought for the Confederate Army? I have found US Civil War records from the National Park Service database that lists a Thomas Goodwin as a private in the Confederate Army, serving in the 2nd Regiment of the South Carolina Troops for 6 months between 1863-1864, but I can't be one hundred per cent sure that this is the same Thomas Goodwin, since our grandfather was actually living in Tennessee during this time period. I am hoping that Jan can track something down for me that is a bit more concrete.
When the Civil War began most Americans expected it to be a crisis that came to a quick end. However, when the Union and Confederate armies began shooting in the summer of 1861, that assumption would quickly change. The war became a very costly struggle lasting four long years. When the war broke out, Thomas Goodwin would have been roughly 37 years of age, most certainly of fighting age.
The Civil War began April 12, 1861 with the Battle of Fort Sumter in the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina. By the year 1862, the war had spread and become a bloody conflict. The Battle of Shiloh on April 6th and 7th was fought in Tennessee and had major casualties On the Union side, 13,000 were killed or wounded in battle. On the Confederate side, there were 10,000 casualties.
The year 1865 brought about the end of the Civil War, as well as the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. April 9, 1865 General Lee surrendered to Grant at Appomattox Courthouse in Virginia. The nation rejoiced at the end of the war, but on April 26, 1865 President Lincoln would be shot and killed by John Wilkes Booth at Ford's Theater in Washington, D.C. The news would of his death would travel quickly throughout the nation by telegraph.
During the year that Lincoln was assassinated, Thomas Henry Goodwin would have been roughly around 41 years old. In the 1870 census, Thomas has gone from being a farmer to a blacksmith. I know from the 1860 census records that he owned his own property and it is listed as a $375 property value. In the 1870 census (at age 47) he is listed as a blacksmith and a few years later, he would be dead, at the age of only fifty.
According to the census records, during 1870 Thomas's sons, Henry (age 23), Robert (age 21), Christopher (age 19) and Lindsey (age 16) are all living in the home and working as "farm laborers". I am assuming that it was their jobs to run the family farm while their father worked in town as the blacksmith.
In the 1800's almost every town had a blacksmith, who not only created guns and horseshoes, but farm tools, wagon axles and more. Life could not function properly without a town blacksmith. It was their job to repair daily life items that dealt with metal or wood. So, it looks like our 2x great grandfather, Thomas Henry Goodwin (father of Felix Grundy Goodwin) was an important part of the community during the last years of his life. Sadly, our grandfather Felix would lose his father when he was only eight years old.
