Theodore W. Goldin served in the United States Army during the American Indian Wars. He received the Medal of Honor for his actions during the Battle of the Little Bighorn.

Goldin was adopted as an infant by Reuben W. Goldin and Elizabeth E. Bradfield Goldin of Avon, Wisconsin. His birth name has been lost. When Goldin was four, his family moved to Brodhead, Wisconsin.

Goldin began studying law in 1881, and was admitted to the bar in 1882. He was elected as clerk of the circuit court of Green County in fall of that year.[3] He served as assistant chief clerk of the Wisconsin State Assembly from 1882 to 1885.[3] He became a Mason in 1883, eventually rising to the 33-degree in 1902.[4][5] Goldin moved in Janesville in 1885, where he engaged in private practice. In 1889, Goldin was appointed a colonel in the Wisconsin National Guard and served as inspector for rifle practice.[3] From 1894 to 1896 he was president of the Janesville Board of Education,[3] and in 1895-1903 was clerk of the circuit court for Rock County.[6] From 1903 to 1904, Goldin was chief clerk of the Wisconsin Senate.