George Alfred Gooding. Upon section 3, Wagner Township, is situated one of the valuable farms of Clayton County. It is the property of Mr. Gooding, who, settling here in 1853, purchased a tract comprising one hundred and sixty acres of his present farm. To this he afterward added ninety-eight acres, making a total acreage of two hundred and fifty-eight. During the more than forty years covering the period of his residence in Wagner Township he has devoted his attention to the raising of cereal and stock, making a specialty of the latter department of agriculture, in which he has met with considerable success.

The Gooding family is of English origin. Our subject’s father, Josiah Gooding, was born in Playford, near Ipswich, England, and passed the days of his boyhood in the land of his birth. When eighteen years of age, he crossed the ocean, accompanied by his brother William and sister Jane. After landing in this country he spent some time in New York City, where he was employed in driving a dray. While living there, he was united in marriage, October 12, 1823, with Miss Amelia Cooper, who was born in Dutchess County, N. Y., October 10, 1803. They continued to make their home in New York until 1832, when they moved to Ohio and settled in Seneca County. Upon a farm there his death occurred December 6, 1841.

There were eleven children in the parental family, concerning whom the following is noted: The eldest, Mary, who died in 1886, was the wife of John Beigh, of Steuben County, Ind.; they had nine children, seven of whom are living. George A. Is the next in order of birth. William Henry died in childhood. Sarah Jane, deceased, was the wife of Michael Bowerman, a resident of Steuben County, Indiana. Catherine is the wife of Daniel Wyant, of Seneca County, Ohio, and they have had six children, of whom two sons are now living. Josiah, an agriculturist of Seneca County, Ohio, married Mary Ann Pettycord, and they had six children, one of whom is now deceased. Amelia, whose birth occurred in Seneca County, Ohio, April 26, 1837, was married in Adrian, Mich., to Hiram S. George, who is deceased. They had two children: Frank F., of Michigan, and Milo I., a resident of Idaho. Lydia married Augustus Hoppas, a farmer of Henry County, Ohio, and they became the parents of four children, of whom one is deceased. Elizabeth died when two years of age. John C., whose wife bore the maiden name of Amanda Snavely, is engaged in agricultural pursuits in Seneca County, Ohio. The youngest child in the family died in infancy.

During the residence of the family in New York, George Alfred Gooding was born Dutchess County, December 2, 1827. At the age of five years he accompanied his parents to Sandusky County, Ohio, where he grew to manhood upon a farm. There he was united in marriage with Miss Mary Sophia, daughter of Moses and Elsie George, natives respectively of Vermont and New York. Mrs. Mary S. Gooding was born February 15, 1831, and passed away February 24, 1894. The only one of her father’s family now living is Jane, Mrs. Lyman Sturtevant, who has three children and lives in Brookfield, Linn County, Mo, By this marriage our subject had two children, viz.: William Henry, who was born December 20, 1850, and assists his father in the cultivation of the home farm; and Thomas C., who was born February 5, 1854, and died December 27, 1862.

In 1853 Mr. Gooding removed from Ohio to Iowa, and settling in Clayton County, purchased a portion of his present property in Wagner Township. As above stated, he is especially interested in stock, in the raising of which he has met with more than ordinary success. He has always aided, so far as possible, all enterprises calculated to promote the prosperity of his fellow-citizens, and is a progressive, liberal-spirited man. While not identified with any denomination, he is a frequent attendant at the services of the Evangelical Church that stands near his homestead. Politically, he advocates the principles of the Republican Party, which he supports by his ballot and influence.

~source: Portrait and Biographical Record of Dubuque, Jones and Clayton Counties; Chicago: Chapman Pub. Co., 1894; pg 448-451
~transcribed by Suzanne Terrell