William Goode (politician)

William Osborne Goode (September 16, 1798 – July 3, 1859) was a nineteenth-century American politician and lawyer from Virginia. Like most of the planter class, he was a slaveholder.

Personal life

Goode was born to John Chesterfield Goode and Lucy Claiborne Goode at their plantation "Inglewood" in Mecklenburg County, Virginia. Slaves were used for most of the labor.

Goode graduated from the College of William and Mary in 1819. He was admitted to the Virginia bar in 1821 and set up a legal practice in Boydton, Virginia.

Goode married twice. In 1820, while in law school, he married Sarah Bolling Tazewell of Williamsburg, Virginia. She died July 9, 1825, aged 22, after childbirth. In 1829 he married Sarah Maria Massie. They had several children together. She died April 14, 1844.

Political career

Goode served in the Virginia House of Delegates from 1822–23. He was re-elected in 1824 and afterward, expecting to serve through the term ending 1833. He gave up his seat to make an unsuccessful 1832 run for the United States House of Representatives. During that time, he also was a member of the Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1829.

Goode was re-elected to the House of Delegates (1839-41). He was elected as a Democrat to the United States House of Representatives in 1840, serving from 1841-43. He was elected again to the Virginia House from 1845–47, and was elected as Speaker. He served as delegate to the second Virginia Constitutional Convention in 1850.

Elected back to the US House of Representatives in 1852, he served three terms,from 1853 until his death in 1859. He became chairman of the Committee on the District of Columbia from 1857-58.

Goode died in Boydton on July 3, 1859. He was buried at his nearby plantation of "Wheatland".

Legacy and honors

• A cenotaph was erected in his memory at Congressional Cemetery in Washington, D.C..

References

• William Goode (politician) at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Jamerson, Bruce F., Clerk of the House of Delegates, supervising (2007). Speakers and Clerks of the Virginia House of Delegates, 1776-2007. Richmond, Virginia: Virginia House of Delegates. 

United States House of Representatives
Preceded by George Dromgoole	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Virginia's 4th congressional district March 4, 1841 - March 3, 1843	Succeeded by Edmund W. Hubard
Preceded by Thomas S. Bocock	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Virginia's 4th congressional district March 4, 1853 - July 3, 1859	Succeeded by Roger A. Pryor
Political offices
Preceded by Valentine W. Southall	Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates 1845 - December 31, 1846	Succeeded by John W. Jones