John Holmes Goodenow was born in Alfred, Maine in September 1833, the scion of two families who were giants in early Maine politics.
His father was Judge Daniel Goodenow and his mother, the daughter of Senator John Holmes.
A graduate of Bowdoin College in the class of 1852, he studied law with his father and was admitted to the bar in 1855, practicing his profession in Alfred as a partner of Nathan Dane Appleton.
He represented Alfred in the House in 1859 and in the Senate in 1861 and 1862.
President of the Senate in both years, he was appointed by President Lincoln to replace Judge Goddard as Consul General to Constantinople upon the latter’s resignation in 1864, becoming Secretary of the Legation in Turkey from 1873 to 1875.