A Guide to the Papers of
Charles Carroll Goodwin
Collection No. 85-06

Charles Carroll Goodwin

Charles Carroll Goodwin was born on April 4, 1832 near Rochester, New York. In 1852, he travelled west and settled in Marysville, California where he operated a sawmill, taught school, and studied law with his brother Jesse. He was admitted to the bar of California in 1859 and started a law practice in Plumas County.

Goodwin came to Nevada around 1860. He was appointed Probate Judge for the Territory and when Nevada was admitted to statehood in 1864, Goodwin was elected one of the first state district judges, serving the Fourth Judicial District for Washoe and Roop Counties for three years.

C.C.Goodwin entered the field of journalism in 1863 as editor of the Washoe Times, Washoe City, Nevada. When his term as District Judge expired, he reportedly edited the Inland Empire, a newspaper in Hamilton, White Pine County, Nevada. He joined the Virginia City Territorial Enterprise in 1873 as assistant editor and after the Enterprise moved into new quarters following the 1875 Virginia City fire, Goodwin was named chief editor. He remained with the Virginia City paper until 1880 when he left Nevada for Utah and the editorial charge of the Salt Lake City Tribune. A Republican, Goodwin ran unsuccessfully for Congress from Nevada in 1872. He also maintained an active interest in mining during his time in the Silver State.

C.C. Goodwin spent his remaining years in Utah. Here he pursued a journalistic career as chief editorial writer of the Salt Lake City Telegram and as editor of Goodwin's Weekly, a magazine founded by his son James T. Goodwin in 1902. He continued his interest in politics and was a member of the constitutional convention preceding Utah statehood but lost his bid to become a U.S. Senator from the new state in 1896. Although he was widely known as a journalist, C.C. Goodwin is well remembered for his stories about people and events during Comstock mining days in Virginia City, Nevada. The Comstock Club (1891) and The Wedge of Gold (1893) were both full length works recalling that period. A later work, As I Remember Them (1913), contained reminiscences and biographical sketches of men he had known in California and Nevada. Goodwin also wrote poetry, stories, essays and speeches expounding on favorite topics such as Mormonism and the remonetization of silver. He was a popular orator and frequently returned to Nevada for speaking engagements. C.C. Goodwin died in Salt Lake City in 1917.

Scope and Content

The C.C. Goodwin papers are contained in six archival boxes. Included in the collection are correspondence, manuscripts, personal papers, printed material and photographs dating from 1859 to 1922. The bulk of the material concerns C.C. Goodwin and spans a period from 1890 to 1917 during which time Goodwin was a newspaperman in Utah. A small part of the collection are papers of C.C. Goodwin's son James T. (Tod) Goodwin.

Handwritten manuscripts of C.C. Goodwin form a large part of the collection. These are mainly speeches, editorials, stories, essays and poetry. Most are undated and unsigned and there are a number of loose pages of unrelated material. No complete manuscript for any of Goodwin's full length books is apparent. Topics include current issues of the day, history, patriotism, silver and a substantial amount of material on polygamy and Mormonism.

Printed material including magazines, newspaper pages and newspaper clippings from about 1900 to 1918 constitute about half the collection. Most of this reflects Goodwin's writing, mainly editorials and articles, or material about Goodwin. Much of the newspaper material is very fragile.

This collection of C.C. Goodwin papers was purchased by the Special Collections Department of the University of Nevada-Reno Library with gift donations from individuals.

This collection is divided into the following series:

Series 1 Correspondence
Series 2 Personal and Family Papers
Series 3 Manuscripts
Series 4 Printed Material
Series 5 Photographs

Box 1
Series 1 85-6/1 Correspondence

This series contains all correspondence in the C.C. Goodwin papers. Charles C. Goodwin correspondence dates from 1863 to 1918. Separate folders contain correspondence between C.C. Goodwin and his son James T. (Tod) Goodwin, and also the correspondence of James T. Goodwin. Correspondence is arranged in chronological order. A folder list is provided as well as a selected list of correspondents. 10 folders.

Folder 85-6/1/1 - 85-6/1/10

  1. Correspondence, 1863-1894.
  2. Correspondence, 1895-1899.
  3. Correspondence, 1900-1906.
  4. Correspondence, 1907-1912.
  5. Correspondence, 1913-1915.
  6. Correspondence, 1916-1918.
  7. Correspondence between C.C. Goodwin and son, J.T. Goodwin, 1890-1913.
  8. Correspondence, James T. Goodwin, 1898-1922.
  9. Correspondence, undated.
  10. List of addresses.

Selected List Of Correspondents

Boyle, Emmet D[erby]. May 26, 1915
Bryan, W[illiam] J[ennings]. June 5, 1915
Clark, Champ [James Beauchamp]. February 22, 1908
Daggett, R[ollin] M[allory]. January 21, 1894
March 6, n.y.
Davis, Sam [Samuel Post]. July 14, 1898 (to J.T.G.)
January 12, 1901 (to J.T.G.)
March 18, 1910 (to J.T.G.)
January 30, n.y. (to C.C.G.)
Field, Stephen J[ohnson]. April 4, 1882
Hale, Edward E[verett]. June 27, 1902
Kinkhead, James H[enry]. May 1, 1863
Mackay, John [William]. March 14, 1902
March 14, n.y.
Mackay, Katherine. n.d.
McKinley, William. November 5, 1895
Marye, George Thomas. July 6, 1915
Miller, Joaquin [Cincinnatus Hiner]. July 20, 1906
Morton, J[ulius] Sterling. February 23, 1894
Shinn, Charles H[oward]. February 5, 1915
Shoup, Geo[rge] L[aird] January 8,1896
Steninger, E.M. November 13, 1917
Sutherland, Geo[rge]. December 24, 1913
Thomas, Charles S. August 20, 1914
September 10, 1914
Watson, Thomas E[dward]. May 23, 1908
Wheeler, Post. December 7, 1902 (to J.T.G.)
December 30, 1902 (to J.T.G.)
December 26, n.y.
Young, Levi Edgar. December 1, 1918 (to J.T.G.)

Box 1
Series 2. 85-6/2 Personal and Family Papers

Personal papers and material concerning the Goodwin family are contained in this series and date from 1859 to 1921. Included are certificates of appointment, biographical material , and personal memorabilia of C.C. Goodwin; several folders of son James T. Goodwin's papers and a small amount of Goodwin family material. A folder list is provided. 11 folders.

Folder 85-6/2/1 - 85-6/2/11

  1. C.C. Goodwin biographical material.
  2. C.C. Goodwin appointments and official documents, 1859-1895.
  3. C.C. Goodwin personal memorabilia, 1877-1907.
  4. C.C. Goodwin newsclips, 1898-1915.
  5. Goodwin Family papers, 1906-1913.
  6. Scrapbook. Alice Maynard [Goodwin].
  7. James T. Goodwin papers, 1896-1924.
  8. James T. Goodwin poems.
  9. James T. Goodwin articles.
  10. James T. Goodwin theater programs, c.1895-1909.
  11. Badges, memorabilia.

Box 2
Series 3 85-6/3 Manuscripts

This series co nsists of the manuscript material in the C.C. Goodwin papers. Goodwin wrote in pencil on newsprint paper and rarely dated or signed his work. Some of the manuscripts are typed. Manuscripts for newspaper and magazine articles are included as well as poems, speeches and stories. Many pages are very fragile. The material in this series is arranged by subject and form. Four notebooks containing manuscript material are included. A folder list is provided. 30 folders.

Folder 85-6/3/1 - 85-6/3/30

  1. Anecdotes
  2. "As I Remember Them"
  3. Biographical Sketches
  4. Biographical Sketches
  5. "Bye the Bye"
  6. California History
  7. Editorials
  8. Mining
  9. Mormons
  10. Mormons
  11. Mormons (W.S. Godbe)
  12. Mormons (W.S. Godbe)
  13. Nevada History
  14. "Nevada's First 20 Years of Mining"
  15. Nevada Mining
  16. Petitions, Resolutions
  17. Poetry
  18. Railroads
  19. Silver
  20. Speeches
  21. Speeches
  22. Speeches (memorials)
  23. Speeches (patriotic)
  24. Stories
  25. Utah History
  26. Utah History
  27. Partial manuscripts
  28. Notebooks (2)
  29. Notebook
  30. Notebook

Box 3,4,5
Series 4  85-6/4 Printed Material

This series contains the printed material in the C.C.Goodwin papers. Included are published works by C. C. Goodwin, issues of Goodwin's Weekly and other periodicals containing articles by and about Goodwin or articles pertaining to Nevada. Also included are unpublished printed material, such as galley proofs, speeches and clipped articles. A large portion of the series consists of newsclips of Goodwin's articles and editorials as well as portions of newspapers.

Box 3 contains printed material excluding newspapers. Included are issues of Goodwin's Weekly, a magazine published by C.C. Goodwin and his son J.T. Goodwin and containing articles on current events, poetry, anecdotes, stories, theater and book reviews, and society news. Folders 3,4, and 5 contain scattered issues of Goodwin's Weekly from 1904 through 1918. Periodicals in folders 6 through 10 contain articles by or about C.C. Goodwin. Folders 11 through 13 contain articles concerning Mormons. Folders 14 through 23 contain material relating to Goldfield, Nevada. A complete folder list is provided for Box 3.

31 folders.

Box 3
Folder 85-6/4/1 - 85-6/4/31

  1. Goodwin, Charles Carroll. Poems. 1857. The Comstock Club. 1891.
  2. Pamphlets. C.C. Goodwin.
  3. Goodwin's Weekly. December, 1904 - December, 1909.
  4. Goodwin's Weekly. May, 1910 - December, 1913.
  5. Goodwin's Weekly. February, 1914 - December, 1918.
  6. Successful American. July, 1907.
  7. The Utahnian. September, 1896.
  8. Overland Monthly, June, 1896; October, 1917.
  9. Municipal Record. December, 1913.
  10. The Chautaguan. October, 1896; March, 1897.
  11. Ainslee's Magazine. January, 1900.
  12. Outwest. September, 1905.
  13. Overland Monthly. December, 1896.
  14. Ridgeway's. December 22 and 29, 1906; February 2, 1907.
  15. Harper's Weekly. April 13, 1907; April 11, 1908.
  16. Saturday Evening Post. June 29, 1907.
  17. The Eye Opener. December 15, 1906.
  18. The Arrowhead. May, 1907.
  19. Collier's. January 26, 1907.
  20. McDowell's Magazine. April, 1907.
  21. Leslie's Illustrated Weekly. April 11, 1907
  22. Goldfield News.(in oversize drawer)
  23. Goldfield Gossip. 1907.
  24. The World's Work. October, 1918.
  25. The "400". Volumes 1,2,3.
  26. Galley proofs.
  27. Speeches.
  28. Poetry.
  29. Silver.
  30. Raza Latina. 1896.
  31. Miscellaneous printed material.

Box 4

Box 4 contains assorted national newspaper pages; portions of the Salt Lake City Tribune, c.1896 - 1919; scattered and partial issues of the Goldfield Daily Tribune, 1906 and 1907; the Goldfield Chronicle, May 2, 1907; several issues of the Nevada Mining News, 1907 and 1908; the Nevada State Journal, June 11, 1908; the Reno Crescent, November 11, 1868 and March 27, 1869; The Tonopah Sun, March 11, 1907 (Extra) and the Washoe Weekly Times, February 18, 1865. Box 4 also contains a scrapbook of newspaper clippings.

Box 5

Box 5 contains newspaper clippings, mainly editorials by C.C. Goodwin from the Salt Lake City Telegraph, 1907, 1908 and also, many clipped theater reviews. All newspaper material is extremely fragile and dusty.

Box 6
Series 5 Photographs

Transferred to photo archives, collection P85-2

This series contains all photographs in the C.C. Goodwin papers. Included are images of C.C. Goodwin, his wife, Alice Maynard Goodwin, son James T. (Tod) Goodwin and daughter Alice. Many photographs of individuals are unidentified. Also included are early photographs of Lake Tahoe, Virginia City and Goldfield, Nevada as well as views of the Goodwin home in Salt Lake City, Utah. Photographs are grouped according to subject in folders. 263 prints. 12 negatives.