Individual Details
Dr. William Henry Goff
(21 Feb 1841 - 8 Jul 1919)
Came from White Run, Kentucky, near Hodgensville. The Sinking Creek farm of Robert Lincoln's was owned by his sister Mary Goff Davenport. (See Ivy Davenport at Lincoln's Birthplace for information on the ownership of the property.) At Elizabethtown, a man by the name of Judge Hodges can give information about William Henry Goff's sister. Her name could be Mecia Raysdale? He had another sister, Aunt Bur, an old maid, who lived with William Henry.
** I am questioning that William Henry Goff was the same as served in the Orphan Brigade. There was a William Henry Gough in the Orphan Brigade, but I don't believe it was this William Henry. The only census that William took part in that asked about military service is the 1910 census. It asked if the respondant was a survivor of either the Union or Confederacy during the Civil War. There was no entry by William Henry, indicating that he was not. I plan to try to prove one way or the other, but until then, I'll leave the text about his Orphan Brigade Service, with this disclaimer. JMT 20 Feb. 2005 **
From William Vincent: "During Civil War, he was a member of the Confederate Army's famous "Orphan Brigade," in Co. C, 4th Kentucky Infantry. He enlisted August 29, 1861 at Camp Burnett, Tennessee and served entire war. He fought at Shiloh (6-7 Apr '62), Vicksburg (Defense Jun-Jul '62), Baton Rouge (5 Aug '62), Murfreesboro (1 Dec '62 -2 Jan '63), Jackson, Mississippi (Defense mid Jul '63), Chickamauga (20 Sep '63), Missionary Ridge (25 Nov '63) Rocky Face Ridge (Feb or May '64), and Dallas, GA (28 May '64). He was captured at Kennesaw Mtn., GA on 16 Jun 1864 and remained a prisoner until end of Civil War.
After the war he moved to live at Goff, Kentucky (Grayson-Edmonson Co. border) where he practiced medicine. Father of nine children. Moved to Brace, Tennessee with sons Boliver & Horatio when Boliver Goff's oldest daughter, Maude Goff Alexander, was 13. She was born in 1891, so he left Kentucky about 1904. In 1981, Maude was living in Brace, Tennessee."
There was also a William Goff was a Corporal in Company L, 3rd Kentucky Cavalry Regiment for the Union Army. I have no evidence that this was my William Goff either.
William Henry Goff's death is recorded in Vol. 33, Page 126 of the Lawrence County death records.
From Lawrence County Democrat newspaper:
July 14, 1919
Dr. William H. Goff died at the
home of his daughter, Mrs. Rosa Wal-
ker, at the age of 79 years. His wife
passed away a few years ago, and he
leaves nine grown children, three, Mrs.
Rosa Walker, Messrs. Boliver and
Ratio Goff, living in Brace, the others
in Kentucky, Mr. Goff's former home.
He died suddenly, being sick only a
few hours. His body was laid to rest
at Brace cemetery.
Picture of tombstone in my files. JMT
** I am questioning that William Henry Goff was the same as served in the Orphan Brigade. There was a William Henry Gough in the Orphan Brigade, but I don't believe it was this William Henry. The only census that William took part in that asked about military service is the 1910 census. It asked if the respondant was a survivor of either the Union or Confederacy during the Civil War. There was no entry by William Henry, indicating that he was not. I plan to try to prove one way or the other, but until then, I'll leave the text about his Orphan Brigade Service, with this disclaimer. JMT 20 Feb. 2005 **
From William Vincent: "During Civil War, he was a member of the Confederate Army's famous "Orphan Brigade," in Co. C, 4th Kentucky Infantry. He enlisted August 29, 1861 at Camp Burnett, Tennessee and served entire war. He fought at Shiloh (6-7 Apr '62), Vicksburg (Defense Jun-Jul '62), Baton Rouge (5 Aug '62), Murfreesboro (1 Dec '62 -2 Jan '63), Jackson, Mississippi (Defense mid Jul '63), Chickamauga (20 Sep '63), Missionary Ridge (25 Nov '63) Rocky Face Ridge (Feb or May '64), and Dallas, GA (28 May '64). He was captured at Kennesaw Mtn., GA on 16 Jun 1864 and remained a prisoner until end of Civil War.
After the war he moved to live at Goff, Kentucky (Grayson-Edmonson Co. border) where he practiced medicine. Father of nine children. Moved to Brace, Tennessee with sons Boliver & Horatio when Boliver Goff's oldest daughter, Maude Goff Alexander, was 13. She was born in 1891, so he left Kentucky about 1904. In 1981, Maude was living in Brace, Tennessee."
There was also a William Goff was a Corporal in Company L, 3rd Kentucky Cavalry Regiment for the Union Army. I have no evidence that this was my William Goff either.
William Henry Goff's death is recorded in Vol. 33, Page 126 of the Lawrence County death records.
From Lawrence County Democrat newspaper:
July 14, 1919
Dr. William H. Goff died at the
home of his daughter, Mrs. Rosa Wal-
ker, at the age of 79 years. His wife
passed away a few years ago, and he
leaves nine grown children, three, Mrs.
Rosa Walker, Messrs. Boliver and
Ratio Goff, living in Brace, the others
in Kentucky, Mr. Goff's former home.
He died suddenly, being sick only a
few hours. His body was laid to rest
at Brace cemetery.
Picture of tombstone in my files. JMT
Events
| Birth | 21 Feb 1841 | LaRue Co., Kentucky |  |  | |
| Census (family)-shared | 1850 | (Andrew Goff and Zearilda Jane Bourbon Willian) LaRue Co., Kentucky | |||
| Census (family)-shared | 1860 | (Andrew Goff and Zearilda Jane Bourbon Willian) LaRue Co., Kentucky | |||
| Marriage | 30 Jul 1863 | Hannah Elizabeth Kessinger | |||
| Residence | 30 Jun 1865 | Bacon Creek, Hart Co., Kentucky | | | |
| Occupation | Bet 1870 and 1880 | Physician | |||
| Census (family) | 1870 | Hart Co., Kentucky - Hannah Elizabeth Kessinger | |||
| Census (family) | 1880 | Edmonson Co., Kentucky - Hannah Elizabeth Kessinger | |||
| Occupation | From 3 Jun 1886 to 12 Oct 1886 | postmaster - Edmonson Co., Kentucky | | ||
| Census (family) | 1900 | Edmonson Co., Kentucky - Hannah Elizabeth Kessinger | | ||
| Census (family) | 1910 | Lawrence Co., Tennessee - Hannah Elizabeth Kessinger | |||
| Death | 8 Jul 1919 | Brace, Lawrence Co., Tennessee | | ||
| Burial | Brace (Baldwin) cemetery, Brace, Lawrence Co., Tennessee |
Families
| Spouse | Hannah Elizabeth Kessinger (1843 - 1916) |
| Child | William Boliver Goff (1865 - 1952) |
| Child | Joseph Anderson Goff (1868 - 1936) |
| Child | Josephine Goff (1870 - 1945) |
| Child | Mary Frances Goff (1870 - 1947) |
| Child | Robert Lee Goff (1875 - 1937) |
| Child | Roseanna A. Goff (1877 - 1950) |
| Child | Proctor Goff (1879 - 1968) |
| Child | Horatio Goff (1882 - 1967) |
| Child | Nannie Bourbon Goff (1884 - 1966) |
| Father | Andrew Goff (1818 - 1887) |
| Mother | Zearilda Jane Bourbon Willian (1820 - 1909) |
| Sibling | Elizabeth Ellen Goff (1843 - 1900) |
| Sibling | Synthia Ann Goff (1846 - 1850) |
| Sibling | Margaret Josephine Goff (1848 - 1851) |
| Sibling | Mary Priscilla Goff (1849 - 1900) |
| Sibling | Synthia Burbon Goff (1852 - 1919) |
| Sibling | Joseph Edward Goff (1853 - 1926) |
| Sibling | Jesse Rodman Goff (1856 - ) |
| Sibling | David John Goff (1858 - 1934) |
| Sibling | Dory Bell Goff (1860 - 1861) |
| Sibling | Artimecia Goff (1862 - 1914) |
| Sibling | James Pernell Goff (1865 - 1940) |
Notes
Birth
Death certificate lists birth year as 1840 and tombstone lists birth year as 1841. 1840 would place birth before parents marriage bond, so 1841 appears to be correct.Residence
Showed up on tax list. Taxed for a jackass.Census (family)
William Henry Goff is listed as Walter Goff in the 1900 census.Endnotes
1. death certificate.
2. , IRS Tax Assessment lists, 1862-1918, Kentucky on ancestry.com (N.p.: n.p., n.d.).
3. , Appointment of US Postmasters, 1832 - 1971, Kentucky on ancestry.com (N.p.: n.p., n.d.).
4. death certificate.