Her parents were Abner Goodale, a deacon and American Revolutionary War veteran, and Mary Howe.

[1] In 1819, she applied to a newspaper advertisement seeking volunteers to missionize in Hawaii through the invitation of King Kamehameha II.

[2] The couple helped build churches and schools after securing permission for their ministry at Kailua-Kona from King Kamehameha and Queen Ka'ahumanu.

She compiled her letters and other writings (completed by her daughter Persis Goodale Taylor and Walter Freer, and published under the title of Life and Times of Mrs. Lucy G. Thurston in Ann Arbor in 1876).

Later parts covered her journey to New York, the death of her daughter Lucy in 1841, and her experience battling cancer.