When Cornelius Newton Goforth was born on 15 February 1870, in Dadeville, Dade, Missouri, United States, his father, James Harvey Goforth, was 36 and his mother, Mary Ann E Davidson, was 34. He married Ophelia Bray about 1900, in Missouri, United States. They were the parents of at least 3 sons and 4 daughters. He lived in Ash Grove, Greene, Missouri, United States in 1930 and Clay Township, Greene, Missouri, United States in 1940. He died on 10 December 1952, in Springfield, Greene, Missouri, United States, at the age of 82, and was buried in Ash Grove Cemetery, Ash Grove, Greene, Missouri, United States.