Family History
Thomas Elliot Goodin was born September 10, 1877, at Carter Station in Greene County, Tennessee. He was the great-great-great-great grandson of John Carter, one of the first settlers in Greene County.
Tennessee Historical Commission Marker Number 1C 25, located on Highway 70, in Greene County, states the following:
One-half mile south of here, John Carter found an Indian fortified village, made peace with the Indians and established a camp for settlers, shortly after coming here from Surry Co., North Carolina, in 1783. Many settlers and their descendants are buried in the cemetery near the site of the fort.
John Carter's daughter, Dorotha, married Benjamin Goodin, the great-great-great grandfather of T. E. Goodin.
Goodin's family owned a farm in Greene County between Midway and Mosheim (formerly Blue Springs and the site of a Civil War battle). T. E.'s parents, John C. and Cordelia C. Price Goodin, had four sons. In 1898, at the age of 21, T. E. was the first of four brothers to leave the farm and go to work for the Southern Railroad, which was located on the northern border of the family farm, and very close to the Bristol-Knoxville railroad completion site. This was the beginning of strong ties to the railroad in the Goodin family. Each of his brothers, at the age of 21, followed suit. His brother Bill was killed near Appalachia, Virginia, on May 23, 1914, while working for the Virginia and South Western Railroad. Ed retired as a Southern Railway Conductor in 1938. Joe retired as a conductor from the Black Mountain Railroad. Goodin's sister, Georgia, married Clyde Green, a Southern Conductor, who died on the road. Georgia and Clyde's son, Harry, became an engineer and retired as a road foreman on the Birmingham-New Orleans Division. Goodin's sister, Carrie, married Bryce Cash. They had seven sons, five of whom retired from the Southern, and one, George Cash, retired from the Clinchfield.
On July 19, 1901, Goodin was promoted to Conductor. During this time, T. E. met Glenna Lee Hall at the Limestone Depot.
On November 30, 1901, they were married in a ceremony performed by S. H. Hall, Minister of the Gospel. They had three children: Thomas Jr., Ellene Cordelia, and John David Goodin.
T. E. and Glenna were married for 62 years.