JOHN MILTON GODDARD

The subject of this review was one of the early pioneers of northern Michigan, his arrival and the settlement of Antrim county being contemporaneous events. He took an active part in the material development of the country, contributing largely to the early growth and business prosperity of Elk Rapids, and lived to see the town grow into an important industrial and commercial center and the county become one of the fairest and most prosperous sections in the northern part of the state.

John Milton Goddard was a native of New England and a descendant of one of the oldest families of that part of the Union, his ancestors having come to America early in the colonial period and settled at Granby, Connecticut, a suburb of Hartford. The father of the subject was Artelus Goddard, a hero of the Revolutionary war, and the mother before her marriage bore the name of Rebecca Messenger, John M. was born in the town of Granby, December 12, 1816, and grew to young manhood in his native state, obtaining the meanwhile a good education in the public schools. Sometime in the 'thirties he went to Ohio, where he engaged with a publishing house to sell maps, his territory including a large part of that and other western states. In the capacity of salesman he traveled quite extensively over a large and sparsely settled territory, experiencing many vicissitudes and hardships and meeting with interesting and thrilling experiences not a few.

On August 23, 1849, at Twinsburg, Ohio, Mr. Goddard was united in marriage with Miss Elizabeth Porter, daughter of Arba and Atlanta (Beecher) Porter, of Connecticut, the mother a member of the same family to which the noted Henry Ward Beecher and his distinguished sister, Mrs. Stowe, belonged. Mrs. Goddard was born at Prospect, Connecticut, on January 9, 1832, but in early life went with her parents to Ohio, where she grew to womanhood. Shortly after their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Goddard returned to Connecticut and spent three years at Granby, at the expiration of which time he went back to his territory in the interest of the house he formerly represented, finding the sale of maps an exceedingly profitable business. While thus engaged he was also interested in the manufacture of lumber in his native state, having owned a saw mill at Granby which he operated with success and financial profit for a number of years.

In 1854 Mr. Goddard came to Michigan and located at Battle Creek, where he ran a grocery house until the following year, when he disposed of the business and moved to the new town of Elk Rapids. Here he engaged in the grocery trade and, being one of the first merchants of the place, soon built up a lucrative business, which he continued during the ensuing ten years, when he sold out and in 1866 purchased a tract of land about one and a half miles south of the town on what is now known as the Traverse City road. Mr. Goddard first purchased eighty acres and at once addressed himself to the task of its improvement, an undertaking involving a great deal of hard work and not a few hardships. In due time, however, he succeeded in clearing and reducing to cultivation fifty acres, and later added to his realty until the farm contained one hundred and twenty acres, its present area. Finding stock raising a more certain source of income than agriculture, Mr. Goddard did not farm very extensively, but instead devoted considerable attention to cattle and sheep, from the sale of which he soon placed himself in comfortable circumstances. He worked hard, provided well for those dependent upon him, and in the management of his business affairs exercised sound judgment and discretion, earning an honorable reputation as a farmer stock raiser and citizen. Mr. Goddard took an active interest in public matters and kept himself well informed on the leading questions and issues of the day, having always been a great reader, a close observer of current events and a profound student of history and politics, especially the latter. He was zealously and intensely Republican and so thoroughly did he believe in the principles of his party and the justice of its mission that he had little patience and less tolerance for the opposition. The word Democrat had for him a peculiarly offensive sound and he never saw it in print without thinking of the record of the party which he believed tried to disrupt the union and the policies of which had always interfered with the nation's prosperity and progress. It is said that when the Australian election law went into effect, he mutilated his first ballot by tearing off the Democratic ticket, his dislike of the party being so great that he preferred losing his vote to putting into the ballot box the name for which he had such an antipathy. As already indicated he was a great reader and among the many papers he constantly perused he chose the Chicago Inter-Ocean as his principal political guide.  He was also fond of argument and, being thoroughly informed, those who engaged him in a political discussion found him a keen, logical antagonist and it is said that in the majority of these discussions his adversaries invariably came out second best.  Mr. Goddard's knowledge of the world's best literature was both general and profound and as a Shakespearian scholar lie had few equals. He studied with critical care all the plays of the immortal bard; could repeat page after page of each verbatim, and experienced no difficulty whatever in locating any quotation he might hear, giving the play, the chapter, and in most cases the exact lines in which it could be found. He believed in morality and religion, but never united with any church, although for many years a regular attendant of the Methodist congregation at Elk Rapids. In many respects Mr. Goddard was a unique character and he enjoyed life as did few men. He spent much of his time out of doors, being an ardent lover of nature, and his ready wit and happy disposition caused his company to be much sought after by the social circles where he was always a prime favorite. He had a melodious voice and was a fine vocalist, and his stirring songs will long be remembered by those who heard them. One of his chief missions was to make others happy and it can be truthfully stated that his life was a continuous ray of sunshine and that the world is better and wiser by reason of his presence. He was a man of domestic tastes and a great lover of home and his hospitality was tendered to all who claimed it with a freedom that sweetened the welcome to his guests. Mr. Goddard's life was fraught with much good to his fellow men and he impressed upon the community as did few if any of his contemporaries.

He also left his name on the geography of his adopted country, Goddard's Point, on Elk lake, being so called in compliment to him, also the naming of the Township of Milton, in which he made the first purchase of real estate and cleared the first farm.

The death of this sturdy old pioneer and representative citizen occurred on the 23rd day of November, 1897, at the age of eighty-one years, and it is needless to state that his departure was deeply lamented by the friends and neighbors among whom he had lived so long and whom he had so frequently benefited by his wise counsel and judicious advice.

Mrs. Goddard is still living and, for one of her age, retains to a remarkable degree the possession of her physical and mental powers. She resides with her married daughter in the old homestead and, like her husband, is popular with all who know her, having a large circle of friends who prize her for her beautiful character and blameless life.

Mr. and Mrs. Goddard had two children, a son by the name of Burr Beecher, who died when five years old, and a daughter, Jessie B., now the wife of Charles D. Webster, who farms the home place. Mr. Webster was born in Summit County, Ohio and at the breaking out of the great rebellion enlisted in the Twentieth Ohio Light Artillery, with which he served in the Army of the Cumberland, until disabled by an almost fatal wound at the battle of Franklin, Tennessee. In the heat of that bloody engagement he was struck on the left of the nose by a musket ball which penetrated that organ and part of the face and came out over the right ear, inflicting a terrible injury which his comrades supposed to be fatal, hence he was left on the field for dead and reported as such at the close of the engagement. Mr. Webster was left behind when the Federal forces marched from the scene of battle, and for three days thereafter lay as one bereft of life, unconscious the greater part of the time, but at intervals fully cognizant of his condition. At the expiration of the period noted he was discovered by the enemy, who took him prisoner, but twenty-five days elapsed before his wound received any attention or surgical care, during which time he almost recovered from the injury. Mr. Webster's escape from death was indeed narrow and every surgeon that examined the wound pronounced his recovery almost phenomenal.  He attributes his escape to a naturally strong constitution, pure blood, and regular habits, without any one of which his life would certainly have gone out on the field of battle.

Since his marriage Mr. Webster has superintended the Goddard homestead and is now one of the leading agriculturists and representative citizens of the community in which he lives. His wife, who was born June 16, 1856, is the oldest native resident of Elk Rapids, having spent the greater part of her life near the place of her birth. She was educated at Elkhart, Indiana, and Oberlin, Ohio, and is a lady of intelligence and varied culture, being especially proficient in music, having few equals as a pianist. Mr. Webster is also a musician of much more than ordinary talent and for a number of years has given lessons in vocal culture and in various kinds of instruments. Their home is characterized by an air of refinement and, as stated in a preceding paragraph, it has long been a popular place of resort in the community.