John Edward Goodson (1808 – 1892) was a 19th-century North American classical music educator, performer, composer, and conductor.
Goodson, a highly skilled pianist and organist, was born and raised in London, England, and received his early education at the St. Paul's Cathedral School.
Just a few weeks later, Goodson and Emma fled the cholera epidemic and settled in York, Upper Canada.
She is living here with her brother in law, James Adcock, and her elder sister Sophia Louise Adcock- née Clark).
The song, a romance from a Welsh legendary tale, was composed by I. W. Cawdell, who later was librarian and secretary to The Law Society of Upper Canada at Osgoode Hall.
The Mormons had sent a missionary, Parley P. Pratt, into Upper Canada to minister and establish a new branch of the Church of the Latter Day Saints.
It was during this time that Goodson received the word of the Mormons and was subsequently baptized in the Black Creek near Charleston Settlement.
[5] Also during 1836, Goodson travelled to Kirtland, Ohio, to establish a farm and open a publication firm with Pratt.
[9] During his stay in Bedford, he and Willard Richards encountered great turbulence from people denouncing the words of the missionaries, pelting them with turnips among other things.
Just three days after this episode, Goodson would leave Bedford and head for London in order to visit his family.
[citation needed] Goodson would return to Canada in early November 1837 and begin making plans to permanently settle in the United States.
Goodson and his family were not part of this group, likely wanting to wait for Margaret to have their child, but by early 1839 they would move to Carrollton, Missouri.
On April 26, 1839, at a Latter Day Saint meeting in Far West, Goodson and his family were officially excommunicated from the church along with Isaac Russell and others.
[15] In late 1839, Goodson travelled down the Missouri River to St. Louis for a New Year's Eve performance at the grand opening of a new hall at 2nd and Market Street.
On July 10, 1846, Goodson married his widow's sister, Elizabeth Dawson, and subsequently moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, where he would continue teaching music.
[20] Emerson persuaded Goodson to follow him to Massachusetts, and introduced him to the Boston Athenæum in late July, 1850.
[22] On December 21, 1850, his first performance in Boston, Goodson played two organ fugues by J. S. Bach, one in F sharp minor and one in E major.
On August 15, 1851, Goodson was appointed conductor of the Handel and Haydn Society in Boston, a capacity he served in for a short time.
At the concert of January 24, 1852, Goodson played a prelude and five part fugue in C sharp minor by Bach, probably upon the piano, though the instrument is not stated.
In 1858, Goodson travelled to St. Louis in order to establish a home for his family and to pursue further employment in the music profession.
The program for the occasion contained nothing but the best pieces; among others, two by Handel, two by Haydn, three by Mozart, two by J. S. Bach, and one by Mendelssohn, the influence of which cannot fail of having a good tendency.
Goodson writes "it is now about forty-five years since you and I, Isaac Russell, Joseph Fielding, and several others were baptized into the church by the late P. P. Pratt at Charleston’s settlement near Toronto.
Having heard of the prosperity of the Saints, Goodson asked "if there would be a reasonable chance of obtaining moderate employment in my profession" in Utah Territory.