William Prevost Goodelle, Esq.
William Goodelle was a well-known and well-liked Syracuse attorney who lived at the end of the 19 th and beginning of the 20 th centuries. He rightly deserves to be remembered as an outstanding trial lawyer, an early leader of the local bar association, and a person dedicated to setting and maintaining high standards for the legal profession. He also deserves to be remembered for adding one important word to the “Forever Wild” clause of the New York State Constitution. Early Life William P. Goodelle was born on May 25, 1838 on a farm in Tully, N.Y. just south of Syracuse. His parents were Aaron B. Goodelle, a successful farmer, and Eleanor A. Prevost. After obtaining his elementary education at the local common schools, he attended the Homer Academy for a year, then completed the five-year college preparatory course at the Cazenovia Seminary. In the spring of 1861, he enrolled as a sophomore at Dartmouth College and graduated with the class of 1863 with high honors. When he returne