The Goodell Family
Pioneers Of the Downriver Area
by Frank Rathbun, August 14, 1952
Courtesy of The News Herald (originally published in The Mellus Newspapers)
Nestled against an ivy-covered fence on a little-known side street in Ecorse stands the tombstone of Elijah Goodell, first English-speaking settler in the Downriver area, who died 132 years ago.
The stone was moved years ago from its original site in an old family burial ground to its present location on Alexander Court, between Benson and Goodell, not far from the spot where Goodell built his first log-cabin home.
Still legible, in spite of its great age, the stone records the death of Elijah, in 1820, and that of his son, Sergeant John Goodell, who was killed at Amhertsburg, Ontario, during the War of 1812.
REVOLUTIONARY VET
A native of New York state's famed Mohawk Valley, Elijah was born in 1758 and served in the American Army during the Revolutionary War. Shortly after the war, he migrated to Canada with his wife, Achsah Pickert.
In the 1790's, the British government passed laws requiring all residents of Canada to swear an oath of allegiance to the crown. Goodell, rather than swear allegiance to the nation which he had fought, fled with his family to the United States, where he settled on Grosse Ile.
Early in the 1800's Goodell brought his family to the pioneer settlement of Ecorse, where he received from the government a grant of land lying between the river and present-day Jefferson Avenue, between what is now Salliotte and Benson.
INDIAN AGENT
The only English-speaking family in a settlement consisting chiefly of French-Catholics, Goodell soon assumed a position of leadership in the community and served for many year as Indian agent, in charge of Indian affairs in a large area between Detroit and Fort Mackinac.
His log-cabin home, one of the largest in Ecorse, served as a social, civic and religious meeting place. Family tradition has it that the Rev. Father Gabriel Richard, on his monthly visits to the Downriver area, sang mass in the cabin's kitchen. This kitchen, with its original, thick log walls, still stands today at 4319 Alexander Court, as the central room in a house which has been built around it.
FRENCH DESCENT
Little else is known of this Downriver pioneer or his background, but family tradition tells that the first Goodell in America was Robert Goodell, who migrated to Salem, Massachusetts, in 1634, from England, where the family had fled in the mid-1500's to escape religious persecution in their native France.
Tradition also has it that these early French Huguenots changed the spelling of the name from Goodelle to Goodell. Elijah Goodell and Achsah Pickert had 11 children, eight sons and three daughters. The oldest son, Andrew, stayed in New York, where many of his descendants still reside in the Mohawk Valley region.
NAMED BELLE ISLE
Another son was Elijah, junior, born in 1811, who is recorded in Michigan history as the man primarily responsible for giving Belle Isle its present name.
On July 4, 1845, as was customary with many families in those days, Elijah Goodell took his family to the island, then called Hog Island, for a picnic. Rebelling at the name given the beautiful island, he stood up before a large crowd and in a powerful speech urged that the spot be known as Belle Isle, French for 'beautiful island'. The name caught on and the Hog Island designation was in time forgotten.
Elijah, who died in Detroit in 1857, and his wife, Mary Copeland, daughter of an early Downriver lumberman, had two children Albert Edward (1843-1876) and Mary Emma (1846-1937).
Mary Emma Goodell, one of the earliest teachers in Ecorse Township, was also credited with helping found the first Protestant Church in Ecorse, an interdenominational church which was the forerunner of the present First Presbyterian Church.
A highly-learned, deeply-religious woman, who could speak fluent French and German, Mary Emma Goodell taught Sunday school in the church for more than a half-century. During the Civil War she conducted classes in a long-forgotten schoolhouse at Fort and Outer Drive, now in Lincoln Park.
Mary Emma Goodell's interest in knowledge and religion has been duplicated in her great-niece, Blanche Goodell, a language teacher at Wayne University [add: now Wayne State University] who is assistant dean of the Downriver Interdenominational School of Religion.
OTHER SONS
Peter Goodell, another son of Elijah, served in the Michigan Militia and died early in the last century without children. His brother, Alexander, moved to Detroit, where several descendants still live.
A fifth son of the pioneer Elijah, was Jonas Goodell, who married Angelique Salliotte and had six children. One of Jonas' sons was Alexander Goodell, who served on the charter commission of the village of Ecorse and was elected as one of the village's first trustees.
Alexander's son, William, who served as township justice from 1924 to 1928 and as village president from 1929 to 1932, still resides in Ecorse, as do William's two sisters, Pearl Goodell and Charlotte Smeltzer.
CIVIL WAR VET
Another son of Jonas was Richard Goodell, a Civil War veteran, whose son, Charles, is on on the building committee for the proposed St. Francis Xavier Church in Ecorse.
Richard's brother, Elijah Goodell, was also a Civil War veteran who fought in 63 battles and skirmishes. Elijah's son, John, was village trustee in 1913, while John's son, Benjamin Goodell, has served since 1939 as principal of the Claude J. Miller School in Ecorse.
Jonas Goodell's fourth son, Cleophus Thomas Goodell (1830-1915), moved to Lincoln Park about 1852, purchasing 120-acres in what is now the heart of the city.
Cleophus, who used his middle name, Thomas, married Philomene Riopelle, daughter of another pioneer Downriver settler, and had three sons; Mark, James and Thomas, and two daughters [add: Mary Oceana Goodell Quandt, known as Fanny; and Anna Goodell Theeck].
Cleophus Goodell, according to old family records, helped found present-day Goodell School about 1869, leasing the property to the school district for 100 years at $1 a year.
Cleophus Goodell, according to old family records, helped found present-day Goodell School about 1869 (pictured above), leasing the property to the school district for 100 years at $1 a year.
Cleophus, and his son, Mark, between them served more than a half-century on the Goodell school board. Mark Goodell was very active in civic affairs and was the first village president when Lincoln Park was incorporated in 1921, serving two terms. He also served as mayor of Lincoln Park from 1927 until 1929.
STREET NAMES
The family have given their their names to many streets running through their original property, including Jonas, Angelique, Goodell, Philomene, Mark, Markese (for Mark's daughter) and Oceana (for Cleophus' daughter.) Cleophus James Goodell, a grandson of Cleophus, still resides at 2028 Ferris on land owned by his grandfather.
Cleophus' original home, remodeled and enlarged, is standing at White and Fort Park [add: 2136 Fort Park].
Cleophus Goodell's two sisters were Louisa, who married Dr. Albert Wright and Amelia or Achsah, who married John Montie.
TO WYANDOTTE
Another son of Elijah, senior, was Daniel Goodell who moved at an early date to Wyandotte, where many of his descendants still live. [add: Daniel Goodell was the second Ecorse Township supervisor from 1829-1833]. A great-grandson Harold Perry, was elected to the Wyandotte board of education in June.
The eighth son of the pioneer Elijah Goodell, was Gaillard, whose son, Frederick, served as village assessor from 1907 to 1909, and as village trustee for several years.
Frederick's son, Ormal Goodell, also served as village trustee and has been a member of Ecorse city council since 1942, when the village became a city.
Ormal is proprietor of a hardware and sporting goods store at 4039 West Jefferson, in Ecorse.
One of the three daughters of Elijah Goodell, senior, was Maria, who married a Fergason, while the other two, Polly and Elizabeth, died unmarried. Polly died in 1812, shortly before her wedding day, and was buried in her bridal gown, according to family records. Other members of this pioneer Downriver family, too numerous to mention, have also played important roles in the development of the area.
Cleophus and Philomene Goodell
Ormal Goodell
Elijah Goodell Sen tombstone
