Caroline Douglas Meriwether Goodlett (November 3, 1833 – October 16, 1914) was an American philanthropist and the founding president of the United Daughters of the Confederacy.

Early life and family

Goodlett was born on November 3, 1833 to Caroline Huntley Barker and Charles Nicholas Minor Meriwether at Woodstock, her family's plantation in Todd County, Kentucky. On December 3, 1853 she married John Sturdevant. As a wedding present, her father gave her 300 acres of land near Woodstock, across the state line in Montgomery County, Tennessee. The property included a large two-story log house, where her father had lived prior to building Woodstock. Goodlett and Sturdevant had one child, a son named Charles James. The marriage was an unhappy one and the couple later divorced.

Confederate philanthropy

At the beginning of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

, Goodlett's brother Edward enlisted to serve in the

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...

. After his death in 1861, Goodlett focused on aiding the Confederacy. She converted her tobacco barns into workshops where women from her community would gather to make bandages and clothing for Confederate soldiers. Goodlett also nursed wounded soldiers that were housed on her estate until they were taken to hospitals and brought medicine and other supplies to Confederate troops. After the war, Goodlett sold her property and moved with her son to

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

. In 1866 she founded the Benevolent Society with the purpose of funding medical treatments and artificial limbs for wounded Confederate veterans. She became a charter member of the Board of Confederate Monumental Association, funding the construction of Confederate monuments in Nashville. In 1869 she married Colonel Michael Campbell Goodlett, a Confederate veteran officer and widower. Her husband was the brother of John A. Goodlett. They had one daughter, Caroline Barker Goodlett, who was born on October 3, 1871. In 1893 she represented Tennessee as a commissioner at the

World's Columbian Exposition The World's Columbian Exposition (also known as the Chicago World's Fair) was a world's fair held in Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordi ...

in Chicago.

United Daughters of the Confederacy

Goodlett was elected president of The Auxiliary of the Confederate Soldiers' Home in Tennessee in 1890. The organization was established to assist widows, wives, and children of Confederate veterans. The Auxiliary later changed its name to The Daughters of the Confederacy in 1892. She served as the state president of the organization. She was unaware that, at this time, another society bearing the name "Daughters of the Confederacy" was being run by Anna Davenport Raines in Georgia. Goodlett and Raines were made aware of each other's organizations and joined them together, extending invitations to similar women' societies in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Missouri to create the National Association of the Daughters of the Confederacy. When the organization became a national organization in 1894, Goodlett was elected as the first president. In 1905 she was recognized as the organization's founder at the General Convention in San Francisco.

Death

Goodlett died on October 16, 1914 and was buried in the family plot in Mount Olivet Cemetery in Nashville.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Goodlett, Caroline Meriwether 1833 births 1914 deaths 19th-century American philanthropists 20th-century American philanthropists American Civil War nurses American women philanthropists Burials at Mount Olivet Cemetery (Nashville) Female wartime nurses

Caroline Caroline may refer to: People * Caroline (given name), a feminine given name * J. C. Caroline (born 1933), American college and National Football League player * Jordan Caroline (born 1996), American (men's) basketball player Places Antarctica * ...

People from Todd County, Kentucky People of the Confederate States of America Philanthropists from Kentucky Philanthropists from Tennessee Members of the United Daughters of the Confederacy Women in the American Civil War 20th-century women philanthropists 19th-century women philanthropists