Rufus K. Goodenow

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Rufus King Goodenow (brother of Robert Goodenow) was a United States Representative from Maine. He was born in Henniker, New Hampshire on April 24, 1790. He moved with his parents to Brownfield, Maine in 1802. He received a limited schooling, then engaged in agricultural pursuits. He also followed the sea, having made several voyages to European ports. He served as a captain in the Thirty-third Regiment, United States Infantry, in the War of 1812. He moved to Paris, Maine in 1821.

He served as clerk of the Oxford County Courts 1821-1837. Goodenow was elected a member of the Maine House of Representatives. He was a delegate to the Whig National Convention at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania in 1839. He studied law, was admitted to the bar and practiced in the courts of Maine. He was elected as a Whig to the Thirty-first Congress (March 4, 1849-March 3, 1851), and died in Paris, Maine on March 24, 1863. His interment was in Riverside Cemetery.