Albert Taylor Goodwyn was a U.S. Representative

United States House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

 from Alabama

Alabama

Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...

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Early life and military career

Born at Robinson Springs, Alabama, Goodwyn attended Robinson Springs Academy and South Carolina College at Columbia (now the University of South Carolina

University of South Carolina

The University of South Carolina is a public, co-educational research university located in Columbia, South Carolina, United States, with 7 surrounding satellite campuses. Its historic campus covers over in downtown Columbia not far from the South Carolina State House...

). During the Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

, he enlisted in the Confederate States Army

Confederate States Army

The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...

 and served until June 1865. He was mustered out at the close of the war as captain of a company of sharpshooters and was decorated with the Confederate Cross of Honor. He graduated from the University of Virginia at Charlottesville, where he was a member of St. Anthony Hall

St. Anthony Hall

St. Anthony Hall, also known as Saint Anthony Hall and The Order of St. Anthony, is a national college literary society also known as the Fraternity of Delta Psi at colleges in the United States of America. St...

, in 1867. He engaged in agricultural

Agriculture

Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...

 pursuits near Robinson Springs.

Political career

Goodwyn served as state inspector of convicts 1874-1880. He served as member of the Alabama House of Representatives

Alabama House of Representatives

The Alabama House of Representatives is the lower house of the Alabama Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Alabama. The House is composed of 105 members representing an equal amount of districts, with each constituency containing at least 42,380 citizens. There are no term...

 in 1886 and 1887. He served in the Alabama Senate

Alabama Senate

The Alabama State Senate is the upper house of the Alabama Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Alabama. The body is composed of 35 members representing an equal amount of districts across the state, with each district containing at least 127,140 citizens...

 1892-1896. He successfully contested as a Populist

Populist Party (United States)

The People's Party, also known as the "Populists", was a short-lived political party in the United States established in 1891. It was most important in 1892-96, then rapidly faded away...

 the election of James E. Cobb

James E. Cobb

James Edward Cobb was a U.S. Representative from Alabama.Born in Thomaston, Georgia, Cobb attended the public schools, and was graduated from Emory College, Oxford, Georgia, in June 1856.He studied law....

 to the Fifty-fourth Congress

54th United States Congress

- House of Representatives :-Leadership:- Senate :* President: Adlai E. Stevenson * President pro tempore: William P. Frye - Majority leadership :* Republican Conference Chairman: John Sherman- Minority leadership :...

 and served from April 22, 1896, until March 3, 1897. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1896 to the Fifty-fifth Congress

55th United States Congress

-House of Representatives:* Republican: 206 * Democratic: 124* Populist: 22* Silver Republican: 3* Silver: 1* Independent Republican: 1TOTAL members: 357-Leadership:-Senate:* President: Garret Hobart * President pro tempore: William P...

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Goodwyn was elected commander in chief of the United Confederate Veterans

United Confederate Veterans

The United Confederate Veterans, also known as the UCV, was a veteran's organization for former Confederate soldiers of the American Civil War, and was equivalent to the Grand Army of the Republic which was the organization for Union veterans....

 on May 8, 1928. He resumed agricultural pursuits near Robinson Springs, Alabama. He died while on a visit in Birmingham, Alabama

Birmingham, Alabama

Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...

, on July 2, 1931. He was interred in Oakwood Cemetery, Montgomery, Alabama

Montgomery, Alabama

Montgomery is the capital of the U.S. state of Alabama, and is the county seat of Montgomery County. It is located on the Alabama River southeast of the center of the state, in the Gulf Coastal Plain. As of the 2010 census, Montgomery had a population of 205,764 making it the second-largest city...

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