When James Craig Goodman was born on 16 April 1859, in Buchanan, Missouri, United States, his father, Caswell Goodman, was 33 and his mother, Mariann Blakely, was 32. He married Kizzie Ann Hall on 25 November 1883, in Buchanan, Missouri, United States. They were the parents of at least 2 sons. He lived in Easton, Buchanan, Missouri, United States in 1860 and Marion Township, Buchanan, Missouri, United States in 1870. He died on 26 February 1934, in Saint Joseph, Buchanan, Missouri, United States, at the age of 74, and was buried in Mount Auburn Cemetery, Saint Joseph, Buchanan, Missouri, United States.