When Thankful Russell was born on 12 April 1730, in Pembroke, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States, her father, Capt John Russel Jr., was 36 and her mother, Mercy Crooker, was 38. She married Lt. Charles Goodwin on 7 March 1754, in Litchfield, Connecticut Colony, British Colonial America. They were the parents of at least 6 sons and 2 daughters. She died on 6 June 1802, in New Hartford, Litchfield, Connecticut, United States, at the age of 72.