Biography of Wyatt B. Goad

Wyatt B. Goad, born in Smith County, Tennessee on May 3, 1845, served as Postmaster in Mayfield. After moving to Kentucky in 1857, he enlisted at seventeen in the Union Army, serving in the Thirty-seventh and Fifty-fifth Regiments during the Civil War. Post-war, he pursued carpentry and agriculture before assuming his postmaster role in 1887. Married first to Harriet R. Bullock and later to Nannie Owens, he had one son, Thomas H. Goad. His family history includes roots in Virginia and a legacy of public service and Republican values.

WYATT B. GOAD, Postmaster at Mayfield, is of English extraction, and a native of Tennessee, born in Smith County, May 3, 1845. His early boyhood was passed in his native State, and in 1857 he accompanied his parents to Kentucky, continuing his education in the common schools there, and growing to early manhood on the farm which his father owned and operated. He had been taught to love his country, and the spirit of loyalty which was implanted within his breast led him to desire to assist in the preservation of the Union, and he therefore, in the spring of 1862, although but seventeen years of age, enlisted at Glasgow, Ky.; was enrolled in Company C, Thirty-seventh Kentucky Infantry, and served twenty-two months; he then re-enlisted in the Fifty-fifth Regiment, Company E, Infantry, until May 24, 1865, when he was honorably discharged at Covington. Although he was not called upon to take part in any of the most famous battles of the war, he bore his part bravely in the battles of Mt. Sterling, Cynthiana, and King Salt Works in Virginia, a few minor engagements, in the routine duties of camp life, and in various marches.

When mustered out of the service, young Goad returned to Kentucky, and remained in that State until 1882, when he came to Wellington, Kan., and for two years followed his trade as a carpenter in this vicinity. He then moved on to a farm, and for about three years carried on the pursuit of agriculture. Having received the appointment of Postmaster, he took possession of the office, September 20, 1887. Mr. Goad is a Republican, never failing to exercise his right to the elective franchise in behalf of what he considers most conducive to the welfare of the country. He is an honorable and upright man, and throughout his entire life has exhibited a spirit of prudence and industry, and a cordial, friendly nature in his dealings with mankind.

In November, 1866, Mr. Goad was united in marriage with Miss Harriet R. Bullock, who was born October 2, 1834, and who died May 23, 1880. Mr. Goad subsequently became the husband of Mrs. Nannie Owens, widow of James T. Owens, the rites of wedlock being celebrated between them September 28, 1880. Mrs. Goad is a daughter of Thomas and Emily (William) Franklin, natives of Virginia, and was born March 28, 1852. Her mother died in Warren County, Ky., at the age of fifty-five years, and her father is still living there. She has borne her husband one child, Thomas H., whose natal day was February 4, 1883.

The paternal grandfather of our subject was Joshua A. Goad, who was born in Virginia about the year 1770, and who died at Carthage, Tenn., at the advanced age of eighty-five years. His son, Henry, was born in Colfax County, Va., October 9, 1800, and was six years old when the family removed to Tennessee. In 1857 he became a resident of Kentucky, where his death occurred April 20, 1885. He was a Republican in politics, and a member in good standing of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

The wife of Henry Goad, and the mother of our subject, bore the maiden name of Martha Duke, and was born in Jackson County, Tenn., January 28, 1806, and is still living in Monroe County, Ky. Her parents, McKauge and Annie (Brooks) Duke, were natives of Virginia, and her father was a planter and slave trader. Mr. and Mrs. Duke died in Jackson County, Tenn. The family of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Goad comprised eight children — Martha, Harvey, Sallie A., Henry C., Mathew, Mary, Wyatt and Katherine. Three of this family are deceased, Martha having died at the age of three years, Mathew in infancy, and Henry at the age of thirty-five. The latter was a Union soldier during the Civil War.