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General First nameRobert Brent
LastnameGoodfellow
GenderMale
CountryUnited States of America
Date of birth1867-00-00
Place of birthWashington, DC, United States of America
Date of death1921-09-03
Place of deathWashington, DC, United States of America


About

"In 1889, a massive late night storm caused a tiny creek at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains to turn into a raging river, and the rushing waters washed away an embankment where the railroad crossed the creek. Eighteen souls were lost when a passenger train plunged into the washout, and their story was forgotten, until now."

Goodfellow was one of only four survivors on the train’s deadly first-class coach. He had managed to crawl from the wreckage with a sprained ankle and several cuts and bruises, but he would endure a much more prolonged suffering a few years later. When the Thaxton train wreck occurred, Goodfellow was in his early twenties, resided in Roanoke, and worked as a clerk for Norfolk & Western.He would later return to his hometown in Washington, DC to work as a civil engineer.

Goodfellow had a lot going for him. He had attended Notre Dame, and his father was Major Henry Goodfellow, a Judge Advocate in the United States Army and decorated civil war veteran. In addition to good family stock, Robert Goodfellow was also one heck of a tennis player. The Washington Post described him as one of the foremost players in the city in 1889.

In the summer of 1896, something snapped in Robert Goodfellow’s mind. Screams and a gunshot were heard from inside his mother’s house where he had been living. After pushing their way through a crowd gathered outside the home, the police spoke with a household servant who informed them that Goodfellow’s mother would not allow them upstairs and she had no desire to have anyone arrested. Rumors were swirling that Goodfellow had arrived home that evening and was recklessly using a revolver in the house, but no arrests were made.

It was not long before violence again called on the Goodfellow household. Just four months later, Robert Goodfellow savagely attacked his own brother, John C. Goodfellow. This time an arrest was made and Robert was deemed to be insane. He was having episodes in which he would become obsessed with mathematical equations and mysterious signs. He would become a resident at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital for the Insane in Washington, DC, where he would spend the final twenty years of his life.

Media


Archive statistics Career1888 - 1896
Tournament wins0
Matches9
Match wins4


Tournaments South District - 1896 Southern Championships - 1892 Southern Championships - 1891 Southern Championships - 1888 Southern Fall Championships - 1888