It doesn't help me to understand your understanding of Goddard if you have no references however. If in the literature there is no mention of the things you claim Goddard to have actually performed then all I can deduce from that is that he never did. He may have spoke about such technology or theorized about such technology but nothing I can find has him experimenting with ions.
All I can find on the Internet:
electric propulsion:
Stuhlinger immersed himself in electric propulsion theory. He found a copy of Oberth's book, "Possibilities of Space Flight." Published in 1939, Oberth devoted a chapter to the various problems of electric propulsion systems, envisioning one design that might carry a 150-ton payload. In studying the origins of interest in electric propulsion, Stuhlinger learned that the American rocket pioneer, Dr. Robert Goddard, had examined the subject as early as 1906. Goddard had mentioned the possibility of accelerating electrically charged particles to very high velocities without the need for high temperatures.
Goddard had experimented with electric propulsion in his lab. Can't find a patent, but it would be surprising if he didn't apply since he was an inventor and applied for patents on a wide variety of devices.