Smith Bartlett Goodenow was born in Damariscotta, Maine, on May 16, 1817, the son of Nahum Goodenow and Sarah Elizabeth Russell. At the age of 10, following the death of his father, Goodenow moved in with relatives in Providence, Rhode Island. He attended Waterville College (now Colby University) for three years before transferring to Bowdoin College, from which he graduated in 1838. He served as principal of Brunswick High School and as a school superintendent for several years and was licensed as a Congregational minister in Bath, Maine, in June 1843. He led congregations in Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut before moving to Waterloo, Iowa, where he worked for the American Home Missionary Society. He moved to Earlsville, Illinois, in 1872, and to Battle Creek, Iowa, in 1880, where he lived for the remainder of his life. In addition to his work with the church, Goodenow contributed to publications such as the New Englander, the Congregational Review, the Congregational Quarterly, and the Bibliotheca Sacra, as well as to secular publications. He and his first wife, Sarah Elizabeth Lang, had 4 children: Helen Louisa, Emma, Milton, and Netta. After his wife's death, Goodenow married Caroline Russell Yates, with whom he had 2 children: Frederick and Carrie Lena. Smith Bartlett Goodenow died on March 26, 1897.
From the guide to the Smith B. Goodenow, Rocktop: or The Lord Will Direct, Goodenow, Smith B., Rocktop: or The Lord Will Direct, 1870, (William L. Clements Library, University of Michigan)
