Aaron Goodrich Explained

Aaron Goodrich (6 July 1807 – 24 June 1887) was an American lawyer, jurist and diplomat.

Biography

Goodrich was born in Sempronius, New York, in 1807. In 1815, the family moved to a farm in western New York state, where Aaron attended country school and read law books with enthusiasm. At about age 20, he moved to Stewart County, Tennessee, completed his studies, and began practising the law.^[2]

He was a member of the Tennessee House of Representatives from 1847 to 1849. He was appointed as Chief Justice of Minnesota Supreme Court on March 19, 1849, by President Zachary Taylor.^[3] He presided over the first court session in Stillwater, Minnesota Territory, in August 1849, deciding 60 cases in six days.^[4] However, he failed to see out his four-year term. Several prominent Minnesota attorneys demanded Goodrich be removed for "incompetency, unfitness and improprieties committed on and off the bench",^[5] in 1851.^[6] After a failed attempt at impeachment, President Millard Fillmore used his executive power to remove Goodrich from office;^[7] Goodrich subsequently took the matter to court in an attempt to obtain the salary for the remainder of his term.^[3] He was a freemason,^[8] and in July 1849, became one of the founding members of the local Masonic Lodge (Saint Paul Lodge Number Three^[9]). He was also a unionist, and anti-abolitionist,^[10] and a founding member of Minnesota Historical Society^[11] and Minnesota Republican Party.^[12] Goodrich was a Minnesota delegate to the 1860 Republican National Convention that nominated Abraham Lincoln, but cast his vote for William H. Seward.^[13] At Seward's behest,^[14] Goodrich was appointed secretary of the United States legation in Brussels, Belgium, by President Lincoln in 1861, remaining there until 1869.^[10]

He died on 24 June 1887, and his body was interred at a graveyard in Genesee County, Michigan.

Memorials

• Goodrich Avenue, St Paul, Minnesota.^[12] F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald lived at 626 Goodrich Avenue from 1921-22 during which time their daughter was born and F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote his novel The Beautiful and Damned.
• The Goodrich campus at St. Paul Academy and Summit School, located at 1150 Goodrich Avenue, St Paul, Minnesota.
• Goodrich cemetery in Genesee County, Michigan^[15]

Works

• Book: Goodrich, Aaron . A history of the character and achievements of the so-called Christopher Columbus . D. Appleton and Co. . 1874 .

Sources

• Biography of Aaron Goodrich
• Pederson, Kern. Makers of Minnesota. St. Paul: Minnesota Territorial Centennial (1949)
• Political Graveyard biography
• Web site: The History of Genesee County, Michigan (Chapter XXVI - The Villages of Genesee County, Part II) . 27 December 2007 .
• Book: Greiner, Tony . Howard Mohr . The Minnesota Book of Days: An Almanac of State History . Minnesota Historical Society Press . 2001 . 242 . 0-87351-416-5.
• Web site: Saint Paul Lodge Number Three. 27 December 2007. https://web.archive.org/web/20071210143812/http://www.saintpaulthree.org/lodge.html. 10 December 2007. dead. dmy-all.
• Book: Schurz, Carl . Reminiscences . McClure Publ. Co. . 1907 . On pp. 143–147 Carl Schurz, then a Wisconsin politician and a recent (1852) immigrant from Prussia, relates his 1859 experiences campaigning on behalf of state office seekers in Minnesota in partnership with Judge Goodrich, whom he referred to as “one of those ‘originals’ who at that time seemed to abound in the new country.”

Notes and References

1. Web site: Chief Justice Aaron Goodrich - PDF . Hampton . Denis . 2019-06-28 . religiondocbox.com . https://web.archive.org/web/20190628195106/https://religiondocbox.com/Latter_Day_Saints/93368418-Chief-justice-aaron-goodrich.html . 2019-06-28 . live . 2019-06-28.
2. http://www.lawlibrary.state.mn.us/judgebio.html#goodrich Biographies of Judges and Justices of the Minnesota Appellate Courts
3. Web site: 58 U.S. 284 . 2008-05-10 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100517222814/http://bulk.resource.org/courts.gov/c/US/58/58.US.284.html . 2010-05-17 . dead .
4. Web site: Building Location Details . 2008-05-10 . 2024-05-27 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240527113017/https://www.mncourts.gov/?page=CourtHouseProfile&ID=40084 . live .
5. Web site: MPR: Appellate court judge charged with swindling woman . 2008-05-10 . 2024-05-27 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240527113528/http://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/features/200202/26_stawickie_coajudge/ . live .
6. Web site: MPR: For the Record . 2008-05-10 . 2024-05-27 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240527113536/http://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/features/199908/13_stawickie_fortherecord/ . live .
7. News: From Washington--Appointments for Minnesota. . The New York Times . 25 October 1851 . 23 April 2010 . 8 April 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160408010818/http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9B01EEDD1431E13BBC4D51DFB667838A649FDE . live .
8. http://www.mpls19.org/grand_lodge Grand Lodge Of Minnesota
9. Web site: Saint Paul Lodge Number Three - Minnesota's Oldest Masonic Lodge . 2009-10-07 . 2024-05-27 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240527114057/https://saintpaullodgenumberthree.wildapricot.org/ . live .
10. Web site: Tennessee State Library and Archives: History and Genealogy - Manuscript Materials on Microfilm 100 - 199 . 2008-05-10 . 2012-09-02 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120902050731/http://tennessee.gov/tsla/history/manuscripts/mguide02.htm . dead .
11. http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/prehistory/minnesota/minnesotaarchaeology/minnesotahistoricalsociety.html Minnesota Prehistory
12. http://www.monkeyouttanowhere.com/twincities/archives/2005/06/history_of_st_p.html Twin Cities Liver: History of St. Paul Street Names
13. Web site: Welcome to the home of the Goodrich Family Association – Person Page 153 . 2008-05-10 . 2024-05-27 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240527114607/http://www.goodrichfamilyassoc.org/p153.htm#i3825 . live .
14. See footnote 45 at http://www.lib.rochester.edu/index.cfm?PAGE=470
15. http://www.hooker-ancestors.com/Goodrich_Cemetery/Goodrich_Cemetery_DG.htm Goodrich Cemetery