After attending a private school at a local plantation and then the area's first public school, he graduated from Roanoke College in 1889 with a bachelor's of arts degree and from Virginia Theological Seminary in 1893 with a divinity degree.
After attending a private school at a local plantation and then the area's first public school, Goodwin graduated from Roanoke College in 1889 with a bachelor's of arts degree. After some studies at Richmond College in 1890, he graduated from Virginia Theological Seminary in 1893 with a divinity degree.