Isaac Goodnight
Isaac Goodnight | |
---|---|
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Kentucky's 3rd district | |
In office March 4, 1889 – March 3, 1895 | |
Preceded by | W. Godfrey Hunter |
Succeeded by | W. Godfrey Hunter |
Member of the Kentucky House of Representatives | |
In office 1877-1879 | |
Personal details | |
Born | Allen County, Kentucky | January 31, 1849
Died | July 24, 1901 Franklin, Kentucky | (aged 52)
Resting place | Green Lawn Cemetery |
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse | Ella Hoy |
Alma mater | Cumberland University |
Profession | Lawyer |
Isaac Herschel Goodnight (January 31, 1849 – July 24, 1901) was a United States representative from Kentucky.
Early life and family
[edit]Isaac Goodnight was born near Scottsville, Kentucky on January 31, 1849.[1] He was the son of Isaac and Lucinda (Billingsby) Goodnight.[2] He is the great nephew of Isaac Goodnight of Harrodsburg, Kentucky, born January 1, 1782, who is believed to have been the first white male child born in what is now Kentucky.[2]
Goodnight attended the common schools of the area.[1] In 1870, his family moved to Franklin, Kentucky.[2] He matriculated to Cumberland University in Lebanon, Tennessee earning a degree in 1872 a law degree in 1873.[2] He returned to Franklin, serving as deputy circuit clerk while reading law, and was admitted to the bar in 1874.[2] He commenced practice in Franklin.[1]
On March 12, 1879, Goodnight married Ella Hoy.[3] The couple had one son, Hoy Goodnight.[3]
Political career
[edit]In 1877, Goodnight was elected to the Kentucky House of Representatives, serving a single, two-year term.[2] He served as the chairman of the Democratic Kentucky convention at Louisville, Kentucky in 1891.[1] He was elected to represent the Third District in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1888.[2] He was twice re-elected, serving in the Fifty-first, Fifty-second, and Fifty-third Congresses (March 4, 1889 – March 3, 1895).[1] During his tenure, he was a member of the Judiciary Committee, rising to third in seniority on that committee by the end of his third term.[2]
Later life and death
[edit]Due to ill health and the fact that his absence from home was hurting his legal practice, Goodnight did not seek re-election in 1894.[2] After leaving Congress, he was elected a judge of the seventh Kentucky circuit in 1897 and served until his death in Franklin on July 24, 1901.[1] He was buried in Green Lawn Cemetery.[1]
His home in Franklin, the Goodnight House, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
References
[edit]Bibliography
[edit]- Biographical Cyclopedia of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Chicago, Illinois: J.M. Gresham Company. 1896.
- United States Congress. "Isaac Goodnight (id: G000292)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
- 1849 births
- 1901 deaths
- Cumberland University alumni
- Kentucky lawyers
- Kentucky state court judges
- Democratic Party members of the Kentucky House of Representatives
- People from Allen County, Kentucky
- Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Kentucky
- American lawyers admitted to the practice of law by reading law
- 19th-century American judges
- 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives