HISTORY OF KENTUCKY AND KENTUCKIANS, E. Polk Johnson, three volumes,
Lewis Publishing Co., New York & Chicago, 1912. Common version, Vol. III,
p. 1161-62. [Jefferson Co.]

JOHN GOODMAN, M. D.--To feel in the evening of his long life that he has
followed nature's inward laws, that he has not lived for self alone, that
he has helped and uplifted many of his fellow men, and that he has won a
high and honored position in society, all these things and many more are
the rewards of the splendid career of John Goodman, who stands in the
front ranks of physicians and surgeons in Louisville.  No estimate too
high can be set on the works of such a man, and it is hoped that the
brief record of the main events, of his career, which is all that can be
attempted in a work of this kind, will be an incentive to those who come
after him to higher and nobler living, for it is in biography alone that
the best stimulus is to be found.
     Dr. Goodman was born in Frankfort, Kentucky, July 22, 1837, the son
of John and Jane (Winter) Goodman.  The father was a native of Germany,
who came to America in 1798, and settled in Frankfort in 1803.  The
mother was a native of Maryland, the daughter of Daniel Winter, a native
of Wales.  Dr. Goodman received his preliminary education in the private
schools of Frankfort, and in 1855 was graduated from Georgetown (Kentucky)
College.  Following his graduation he became a student in the office of
Dr. Louis Rogers, in Louisville.  In 1859 he was graduated from the
medical department of Tulane University, near New Orleans, with honors.
That same year he began the practice of medicine in Louisville and has
continued the same up to the present time, and is now in active practice,
with offices in the Weissinger-Gaulbert building.
     Dr. Goodman, in addition to his large practice, has held many
important positions.  In 1860 he became demonstrator of anatomy in the
Kentucky School of Medicine, and when that institution was compelled to
suspend its sessions on account of the war between the states, he became
an instructor in the University Dispensary School of Medicine and at the
same time was adjunct professor of obstetrics in the medical department
of the University of Louisville.  In 1868, in conjunction with Professor
H. M. Bullitt, Professor Henry Miller (his father-in-law) and others he
established the Louisville Medical College, and became professor of
obstetrics in the same, holding that professorship for eleven years. For
three years he also held the chair of obstetrics and diseases of women
in the Kentucky School of Medicine.  For ten years Dr. Goodman was
physician to the Presbyterian Orphan Asylum.  For twenty-five years he was
connected with the House of Refuge and for eight years was one of the
physicians of the University Dispensary.  In all these charities Dr.
Goodman gave his time, skill and services, gaining little reward
pecuniarily but receiving the gratitude of many he had assisted and the
approval of his own conscience.
     Dr. Goodman was one of the organizers of Louisville's first Board of
Health in 1868, and wrote the health ordinances for the government of
the health department of the city, many of which are still in force.  For
three years he was a member of the Louisville School Board, and for a
similar length of time was a member of the Board of Commissioners of
Public Charities.  The Doctor has been a frequent contributor to medical
literature, his papers pertaining to obstetrical subjects and the
functions of the female organs having attracted the attention of the
profession, and the theories of which he was the originator having since
received the endorsement of eminent physiologists.
     Dr. Goodman has always had a fondness for the study of the sciences
in general, and has given special attention to the science of electricity,
in which field his investigations have been of the practical kind, made
with a view of inventing useful electrical appliances.  In conjunction
with his son Henry M. (a leading physician of Louisville) he has been the
originator of numerous electrical inventions, among them the needle
telephone, in which the principle of the galvanometer was substituted
for that of the magnet and armature generally used.  Patents on various
modifications of this instrument were issued early in the history of the
telephone in 1880.  The Doctor is a member of the Jefferson County
Medical Society and of the Kentucky State Medical Society and the Kentucky
State Medical Society.  He was a member of the American Gynecological
Society at a time when the membership of that eminent society was limited
to forty, which honor Dr. Goodman considers the greatest of the many
he has received.
     In 1859 Dr Goodman married Caroline D., the daughter of Professor
Henry Miller, one of Louisville's eminent physicians and medical
instructors of his day.  She died in 1883, leaving one son, Dr. Henry M.
Goodman.  In 1885 Dr. Goodman was again united in marriage, his second
wife being Mrs. Resetta S. Kalfus, who is the daughter of the late R. R.
Jones of Louisville.  Although past the age of threescore and ten, he
still attends to his large practice.  He has had a long career as
physician, and has always been ready to go to the aid of the suffering,
and the gratitude of those he has aided has been more precious to him
than all pecuniary rewards.  For this, as well as his great talents and
knowledge he now holds the esteem of all and as well for his noble
and sincere character.

Goodman Winter Rogers Bullitt Miller Kalfus Jones
=
Frankfort-Franklin-KY Georgetown-Scott-KY MD LA Wales Germany

http://www.rootsweb.com/~kygenweb/kybiog/jefferson/goodman.j.txt