At the age of 22, Goodenow bought a
canal boat and used it to freight various farm products across the
Champlain Canal. After two years he began to employ men to operate the boat and became a clerk at a general store in
Moriah, New York. In 1837 he formed a partnership with his employer and traveled to
Wisconsin Territory as a representative of the firm to buy land and engage in business, settling in what is now Maquoketa, Iowa. He began raising crops shortly thereafter. His dealings helped the Maquoketa area to become an established trading center. He built a cabin in what is now the central part of the town and established a mill six miles north of
Dubuque. In 1839 he sold his mill and moved back to New York, where he married Eliza Wright. He soon returned to Maquoketa with his wife and established its first post office in 1842. In 1851 he was elected to the Iowa House of Representatives from the 19th district, which constituted
Jackson and
Jones counties, to replace Col.
Richard B. Wyckoff. He was a member of the Road and Highways Committee. He also served as Maquoketa's first mayor for three terms, served as Jackson County assessor and gave
Osceola and
Kossuth counties their names. ==Personal life==