GOODMAN, ALFRED THOMAS

GOODMAN, ALFRED THOMAS (15 Dec. 1845-20 Dec. 1871), historian and secretary of the WESTERN RESERVE HISTORICAL SOCIETY, was born in Washington, Pa. the son of John and Ann (George) Goodman. They came to Cleveland so that Alfred could attend primary and secondary school in the city. Shortly after high school graduation in 1864, he enlisted in the Union Army, serving in the 150th Regiment of the Ohio National Guard in Washington D.C. After the war, he worked as a reporter on the Daily Patriot and Union in Harrisburg, Pa., returning to Cleveland in 1868. He studied law with Judge Rufus Ranney for a time and was elected Secretary of the Western Reserve Historical Society, then a Branch of the Cleveland Library Association. Goodman began the society's autograph collection with the signatures of all U.S. Presidents and acquired coins, maps, pamphlets, and books for the society. A gifted writer he contributed more than 100 sketches for Drakes American Dictionary of Biography. Through his extensive acquaintance with manuscript sources, he prepared the Journal of Captain William Trent through Ohio in 1782, published by William Dodge of Cincinnati and wrote a history of General Harmar's campaign to the Maumee River in 1790. He also contribued several tracts to the Western Reserve Historical Society's publications before his untimely death at age 26. Goodman never married.