David was son of the Rev. War patriot, Abraham Gooding and wife Elizabeth. Brother of Betsy, Cornelius, Jane, Mary, John, Richard, James, Joseph, Abraham, Elizabeth, Isaac and Samuel.

David was a captain during the War of 1812 and served as an aide-de-camp under Colonel Richard Johnson. Capt. David Gooding fought in the Battle of the Thames and was responsible for killing the Shawnee leader and warrior Tecumseh. According to historian John Forkner, Colonel Johnson was wounded at the Battle of the Thames by Tecumseh, and it may have been at this juncture that Gooding killed the Shawnee chief since aide-de-camps stayed close by commanding officers whom they would be assisting. The charismatic Tecumseh and his many Native American followers were allies to the British. When Tecumseh was killed, the Native American contingent collapsed, and without the tribal forces, the British lost the Battle of the Thames, a turning point in the War of 1812, American's second fight for indepenence. According to historians, Captain Gooding never bragged about killing Tecumseh; the soldiers under his command, who witnessed the event, gave him the credit, even while others of the time claimed the honor. Another historian and author, James Alexander Thom, in his epic 'Panther in the Sky' -- the story of the War of 1812 and the participants from all factions -- also gives Captain Gooding the credit for killing Tecumseh and thus turning the tide of battle and the war. (Pioneer Cemeteries and Their Stories, Madison Co., Ind. Gooding Cemetery)

He married his first wife Margaret Perrine Aug 25, 1803 in Fleming Co., Ky. They were the parents of Asa, Elizabeth, Andrew, Miles, Cinderella and Appleton.

He married his second wife, Sarah McElfresh May 6, 1828 in Fleming Co., Ky. They were the parents of: Milton, Avery, Nelson, Plesant, Vandella and Melida.