Clarence LaRue Goodwin was born December 23, 1859 in Warren, Kentucky. His parents were Dr. John M. and Delia B. (LaRue) Goodwin. John Goodwin, a physician and druggist, died in 1863 of heart disease after several years of invalidity, when Clarence was around 3 years of age. Following this, Clarence was raised primarily by his mother and her family. Around 1870 Delia remarried James Haden, a farmer and widower from Bowling Green, Kentucky with ten children. After several years of hard treatment by his stepfather, Clarence was sent to live with his Goodwin relatives in Clark County, Indiana. There Clarence was introduced to the Disciples of Christ by attending a revival.

In 1876 Goodwin returned to Henderson, Kentucky to attend high school until the following year when he was given $120 by his Grandfather LaRue to travel to Indianapolis and attend Butler College (formerly North Western Christian University).

Throughout his autobiography, Goodwin talks extensively about Butler and his membership in the Phi Delta Theta fraternity. He did not graduate from Butler, instead transferring to Indiana University in Bloomington to finish out his college career. He later served on the Butler Board of Directors and as director of the Butler Foundation. Goodwin went on to become a newspaper writer and then a lumber businessman until his death in 1935.