William Shields Goodwin was born in Warren on 2 May 1866 to Thomas Morrison Goodwin and Esther Shields Goodwin. On 22 December 1897, William married Sue Meek.

This photo is dated from June, 1887. On the reverse of the photo, (presumably) Goodwin has written, "I broke the camera."

William was admitted to the bar in 1894 and elected to the Arkansas House of Representatives in 1895; he served in the Senate in 1905-l907. He was a member of Congress from the seventh district from 1910 to 1921, serving on the Committee on Foreign Affairs during World War I. He was one of 10 members going to Europe as a special committee in the interest of better relations between the U. S. and foreign powers following the war.

Following his retirement from Congress he practiced law in Warren until a few years before his death on 9 August 1937. He is buried in Oakland Cemetery in Warren.

This photograph appears courtesy of Larry Chenault.
Biographical information shared by Sarah Meek Chenault and Larry Chenault.