USA > New Hampshire > Hillsborough County > Bedford > History of Bedford, New Hampshire, from 1737 : being statistics compiled on the occasion of the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the incorporation of the town, May 15, 1900 > Part 95
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VII. George W., son of John6 and Jane Riddle Goffe; m. Elizabeth H. Tisdale; she was b. 1830, Oct. 13, and d. 1892, Nov. 28; he d. 1895, Aug. 30. They had nine ch .: Florence9, b. 1854, Sept. 4; Jane Riddle9, b. 1856, May 8, m. George S. Eastman, 1887, Jan. 1; John9 and Annie9, b. 1863, June 16, d. 1864, Aug. 21 and 24; Mary9 b. 1865, March 20, d. 1871, March 11; John9, b. 1867, Jan. 24, unm .; Annie Bell9, b. 1869, July 5, d. 1871, Dec. 10; George9 and Louis9, b. 1874, Oct. 22, Louis d. 1882, April 1.
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GENEALOGIES .- GOFFE.
IX. Florence, dau. of George W.7 and Elizabeth H. (Tisdale) Goffe; m. Dr. Marcus E. Tully, 1879, Feb. 20. They have three ch .: Helen Fleming,10 b. 1880, Oct. 13, m. Milton J. Whitely, 1902, April 9; Louis Edward10, b. 1884, Feb. 26; Herbert Goffe19, b. 1886, Nov. 15.
COL. JOHN GOFFE.
Col. John Goffe was a man of some consequence in his day. He was born in 1701, probably in Boston, and was the only son of John Goffe, Esq., who with his family came to Londonderry at an early period. The father was a man of property, as we learn by his will, a copy of which is still in existence. He died in 1748, and was buried in the old graveyard in Bed- ford. He bequeathed to his daughter Mary, £50, 10s, old tenor, and one cow. To his grandson, Benjamin Litchfield, he gave one hundred acres of land in the township of Londonderry-"it being one hundred acres grant in the charter of said Londonderry." He also gave to his grandson, John Kidder, all his right, title, and interest to a fourth division in Lon- donderry. To a number of granddaughters he gave forty shillings each, and the remainder of his property he left to his son John, and his grand- children, the heirs of his daughter, Mary Woods. His son John was appointed executor.
The subject of this brief memoir settled at the mouth of Cohos brook, the outlet of Massabesic pond, at the Merrimack river, about three miles below the city of Manchester, at what is called Moore's village. His oc- cupation in early life was hunting, which in the new state of the country was no doubt delightful and profitable. He is designated in some old deeds as " Hunter John." This mode of life, with which he was familiar from early years, and which at that time was common among the hardy youth of New England, qualified him for the service in which he was afterwards engaged. It brought him in frequent contact with Indians, and gave him a knowledge of their language, manners, and customs, be- sides making him an excellent marksman. In 1746 he was captain of a company of militia, and was sent to protect the frontier against the incur- sions of the Indians. While on this expedition he wrote the following letter to Governor B. Wentworth:
"5 May, 1746.
" May it please your Excellency: I got to Pennycook on Saturday, early in the morning, and notwithstanding I sent, the Monday after I left the Bank, yet my bread was not baked; but there was about 2501b. weight which supplied 20 men, which I sent to Canterbury as soon as I got them -and I kept the Baker and several soldiers to baking all Sabbath day, and proposed to march on Monday, as soon as possible ; but about midnight, two men came down from Contookook and brought the unhappy news of two men being killed ; and the two men that came down told me that they saw the two men lie in their blood and one man more that was missing. And hearing I was here, desired me to assist in making search, so that I am with all expedition going up the Contoocook, and will do what I can to see the enemy. I shall take all possible care for the protection of the fron- tier and destruction of the enemy. The Indians are all about our fron- tiers. I think there was never more need of soldiers than now. It is enough to make one's blood cold in one's veins, to see our fellow creatures killed and taken upon every quarter ; and if we cannot catch them here, I hope the General Court will give encouragement to go and give them the same play at home. The white man that is killed is one Thomas Cook, and the other is Mr. Stevens, the minister's negro. These are found, and one Jones, a soldier, is not found. They have but few soldiers in the Fort ; have not as yet sought much for him. I am going with all possible expedition-and am " Your Excellency's most humble and
most dutiful subject and servant,
" JOHN GOFFE.
" Pennycook, about 2 o'clock in the morning, May 5, 1746."
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HISTORY OF BEDFORD.
In 1757, according to the annals of Portsmouth, Colonel Goffe joined the army at Albany, under General Webb, colonel of the regiment raised by New Hampshire, of which he was lieutenant-colonel. This was in the "Seven Years' War," so called, waged by the French and Indians on one side, and the English and continental troops on the other. In 1761 he was at Ticonderoga, as we learn from a letter written by him to his only son, Lieut. John Goffe. He was stationed at Fort William Henry, which sur- rendered to the French ; eighty out of two hundred of the New Hamp- shire regiment were murdered by the Indians, as they marched out of the fort, unarmed, after they had capitulated. Primus Chandler's father lost his life here. Thomas Campbell, William Caldwell, and Josiah Warren, of New Boston, barely escaped with their lives.
He was appointed colonel by Governor Wentworth, and held his com- mission as such till the Revolutionary war. In the register of New Hampshire for 1768 we find him colonel of the ninth regiment of militia.
At the time of the American Revolution Colonel Goffe was too old to take an active part as a soldier, but the country was not deprived of the benefit of that long experience in arms which he had acquired. His only sou, already mentioned, an inhabitant of Bedford, was a soldier in the army, and held a major's commission.
The following is a letter from Colonel Goffe to his son, Major Goffe:
"Portsmouth, Sept. 24, 1777.
"Sir :- Col. Bellows goes off to-day to head as many volunteers as will push off to reinforce Gen. Gates. Our army are now in possession of Ticonderoga. In order to cut off Burgoyne's retreat, who was on the 17th of this month, within four miles of Stillwater, with his main body, as we are assured by Gen. Stark's letter of that date, pressing the State to exert every nerve, and to march at least half the militia of this State. And now is the time to cut off their whole army. And if we do but all go without hesitation, I verily believe it will put an end to the war. And if you could go yourself, for a fortnight or three weeks, I believe it would encourage many.
"Every man and officer will have pay, as the last militia had. But it must be done without loss of time. And if your brother-in-law, Samuel Moor, would be forward in this affair, it would be to his everlasting honor. Pray show yourselves friends to the country this once.
"I am your loving father, " JOHN GOFFE.
" To Maj. Jolin Goffe.
"Pray let Capt. Moor see this after you have read it."
Colonel Goffe was not only a military officer, but for years a civil officer. He was called to perform such duties as the following. Record of a mar- riage by John Goffe, Esq .:
(Copy of the certificate.)
" Province of New Hampshire.
" To either of the ordained ministers of the Gospel of said Province, or either of the Justices for said. Province :- You are hereby empowered to join together in holy matrimony, James Martin and Sarah Parker, unless some legal impediment appear to you to the contrary.
" Given at Portsmouth, Jan. 12, 1761.
"B. WENTWORTH."
On the back of the certificate is the following:
" Joined together in holy matrimony, the within-named John Martin and Sarah Parker.
" April 6, 1761.
"JOHN GOFFE, J. of Peace."
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GENEALOGIES .- GOFFE. -
In 1771 the towns in New Hampshire were divided into five counties, and consequently a general reorganization of the courts took place. Col- onel Goffe was appointed judge of probate for Hillsborough county, which office he retained till 1776, when a general change took place among the officers of the courts. This was probably the last office he held. He re- moved to Bedford some time previous to the Revolution, and represented Bedford and Amherst in general court.
Colonel Goffe was one of the most important men of this vicinity, often elected to offices of trust by his fellow-citizens, and enjoying also the con- fidence of the colonial government. He was a religious man. While the country was new, and the towns around destitute of a stated ministry, he was accustomed to conduct divine service on the Sabbath in his own house. It is said he sang and prayed, and read a selected discourse, to the edification of his audience. Some who are now living attended these meetings. Not only the people of Bedford, but of Goffstown, and probably Merrimack and Litchfield, resorted thither for public worship.
MAJOR JOHN GOFFE,
son of the preceding Col. John Goffe, on arriving at age was set up in business in Bedford by his father, who built the first sawmill and grain mill in the town, on a small stream (Crosby's brook) about three miles be- low Manchester city, on the opposite side of the river. He was commis- sioned a coroner by Gov. Benning Wentworth in 1762. He also held a commission of lieutenant in the First company; Ninth regiment of militia, as early as 1761, and perhaps earlier. In 1764 Governor Wentworth gave him a captain's commission, and in 1768 he was promoted to the rank of major.
He served in the Revolution, as did several of his sons, two of whom lost their lives in that struggle. Stephen was lost at sea, and William was killed in an engagement. We have before us several letters of Stephen and William Goffe to their parents. Stephen's last is dated Boston, Sept. 4, 1777, in which he says: "I am going out in a brig from Boston for a five months' cruise." We believe he was never afterwards heard from. The last letter received from William was to his brother John, dated "Fort Miller (N. Y.), July 16th, 1777," in which he says he writes to let him know that he had lost his captain in battle, two sergeants, and eight pri- vates. "I do not expect to come home very soon, for we have battles almost every day."
In the old graveyard in Bedford there rest, side by side, the mortal re- mains of John Goffe, Esq., Col. John Goffe, and Major John Goffe. At the right hand side of each repose the ashes of their wives.
" Goffstown," and "Goffe's Falls," so named for Colonel Goffe, will hand down the name to posterity.
Of "Goffe's Falls," now the name of a depot on the Boston & Concord railroad, there is a tradition or two among the old people in the neighbor- hood, which it may be well to relate, though for the authenticity we can- not be responsible.
It is said that one Bushnell, a hunter and early settler at Cohos brook, was one day out hunting in the immediate vicinage of Goffe's Falls, near a projecting rock, from which he discovered pieces of pure lead hanging like icicles or stylactites. He took his hatchet from his belt and severed them from their hold, and placed them in his pouch. At that instant a deer rose from its ambush near by, when he hastily fired at it, wounding but not killing it. The deer dashed into the river, and Bushnell after him with all possible speed.
Failing to secure his game, he returned to where he supposed he found the lead, but could discover no trace of it. He went home and told his story to Colonel Goffe, who helped him run his lead into bullets.
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HISTORY OF BEDFORD.
Ever afterwards he was unable to find the exact spot, although he spent much time in hunting for it. We cannot explain the mystery of the story, but tell it to others as it was told to us.
Another incident is told of this Bushnell, in connection with the early settlement at Goffe's Falls.
He had acquired the ill-will of an Indian, who determined upon his destruction. Bushnell was a single man and boarded out. His sleeping apartment was on the first floor of the house, of which the Indian was aware. One night Bushnell was absent, and the lady of the house occu- pied the bed. In the night she was aroused from her slumber by a hand passing over her. She demanded, " Who is this?" when an Indian re- plied, " Never fear, missus, me no hurt you !"
It is supposed the incidental absence of Bushnell was all that saved his life.
REV. JOSEPH GOFFE.
The following extracts from the auto-biography of this individual will not be deemed, it is hoped, too lengthy, considering the interest with which they will be read in his native town:
"I was born in Bedford, N. H., near the western bank of the Merri- mack river, on the 6th day of August, 1766. My father's name was John Goffe, and my mother's maiden name was Jemima Holden, from Groton, Mass. They were married Sept. 17th, 1749, and settled in Bedford on a new farm, on which they lived and died in a good old age. My parents were respectable and pious people-members of the Presbyterian church, and of the good old Puritan stamp, who always maintained religious worship in the family, and brought up their family with a moral and religious strictness which is rarely to be found at the present day. They had a family of eleven children, seven sons and four daughters, of which I was the sixth son, and eighth child in succession; and though their worldly circumstances were not affluent, but comfortable, they afforded their children all the opportunity for learning the state of the times and the newness of the country would then permit.
"My father was a farmer by profession, but bore military commissions under George II and III, and served in their wars with the Indians and French in Canada. He was usually called Maj. John Goffe, and was the only son of Col. John Goffe of Derryfield (now Manchester, N. H.). My grandfather was a man of some eminence in his day as a military man, and commanded a regiment when Canada was surrendered to the British and Colonial arms. Besides his military commission, he held a variety of civil offices in the state, such as judge of probate, justice of the peace,- often a member of the state legislature, and was an intimate friend of Governor Wentworth and Colonel Atkinson, and other public men of that day. But what is infinitely more for his honor, he was a man of dis- tinguished piety, and. did much for the promotion of religion in the new settlement around him. I can remember him well. He was rather above the middle stature, not corpulent, but of a commanding presence and aspect. His memory is perpetuated in the name of the large and respect- able town of Goffstown, N. H., of which he was a large and one of the original proprietors.
"There is one thing further respecting our family which I would just mention as a matter of curiosity, if nothing more, and that is their lon- gevity, so far back as I can remember. My grandfather when he died was 87 years old, my grandmother, 96, my father, 85, my mother, 91, two aunts on my father's side, between 93 and 100, and I have now brothers and sisters living far advanced in life.
"1 was brought up on my father's farm, which was of considerable extent, where I worked on the farm, in the mills, and did considerable at
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GENEALOGIES .- GOFFE.
lumbering and rafting on the Merrimack river, until I was more than 21 years of age. Thus early inured to labor and fatigue, I obtained a firm- ness and solidity of constitution, which but few of my brethren in the ministry, and especially at the present day ever enjoyed. This enabled me to go through my studies with ease, and to labor in the ministry nearly double as much as was customary at that day. For nearly thirty years I was very rarely absent from the pulpit on the Sabbath.
"My advantages for an early education were very limited. I enjoyed no more than two or three months in a year in a common school, and that of a low character, kept chiefly by foreigners, in which nothing was taught but reading and spelling, writing and arithmetic, and I believe nothing more was known by the masters themselves. At that time, and in that place, it was generally thought that no native American was capable of teaching a common English school. Suitable books of instruc- tion were very few and scarce, and grammar, geography, and other studies now common in schools, were then rarely heard of. I had, how- ever, such a thirst after knowledge, that I improved every opportunity and means to obtain it, and while my playmates, on a rainy day and other occasions, were spending their time in idleness and folly, I was poring over such books as I could obtain, and particularly mathematical books, of which I was fond. Thus, by what I obtained at school, and what I picked up by myself, by the time I was 17 or 18 years old, I was thought qualified to keep a common English school, and actually engaged in this business for two or three of the succeeding winters. I then began to think in earnest of obtaining, if possible, a college education, and set about acquiring the means to defray the expense. My parents, having then a large family to maintain, could do but little to assist me, but through their kind indulgence and help, and the blessing of God, I soon obtained means sufficient, as I thought, to justify a beginning. Accord- ing, in Nov., 1787, being then a little more than 21 years old, and there being then no academies or high schools in the country, to which I could go to pursue the necessary preparatory studies, I went to Windham, and put myself under the care and instruction of the Rev. Simeon Williams, the minister of that town, who was in the habit of taking students and preparing them to enter college. With him I studied the Latin and Greek languages, and such other things as were necessary, for about seventeen months, or until May, 1789, when, with his recommendation, I went to Dartmouth college, where I was examined by the proper authorities, and received, as in good standing, into the Sophomore class, on the 15th of that month. I then applied myself with satisfactory dil- igence to the several classics then in use, until the Commencement, August 21st, 1791, when I graduated A. B., with a class of nearly fifty students, the largest class that then had ever been in that college. Thus, in three years and about nine months, after I commenced my preparatory studies, I was honored with my first degree at the age of 25.
"The officers of the College, while I was there, were John Wheelock, President; Bezaleel Woodward, Professor of Natural Philosophy and Mathematics; John Smith, Professor of Languages, and Moses Fisk, Tutor.
"It was my great object and aim, from the beginning, to qualify myself to become a preacher of the gospel. Of this I never lost sight, and of course, made all my studies subservient to it. To this great work I was strongly inclined, though I then had but faint conceptions of the arduousness of the labors, and the amazing responsibilities of the office at which I aspired.
"Having progressed thus far as to pass through College, my next step was to apply myself to the study of the Bible, of which I had some knowl- edge, and of systematic theology, of which I knew nothing. At that day there were no public Divinity schools or Theological Institutions, as at present, to which students might resort to finish their preparations for
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HISTORY OF BEDFORD.
the pulpit. The custom then was for young men to study with some noted Divine, who was in the habit of instructing candidates for the ministry in Systematic Divinity, Pastoral Theology, and the various duties of the sacred office. Accordingly, immediately after leaving Col- lege, I put myself under the guidance and instruction of the late Dr. Burton, of Thetford, Vt., with whom I lived and studied about three inonthis. He first taught me the great outlines of Divine truth in a conl- nected and systematic order, and gave me such other instruction respect- ing the study of the Bible, and the work of the ministry, as has been of great advantage to me to the present day. The assistance I received from hini was good and great, and I shall ever hold his name in grateful remembrance.
"The following winter I spent in teaching school, and in aiding a young man in his preparation for college. By the way, I was the first, and he the second, that had ever obtained a public education from our native town. Being desirous of continuing my studies, as preparatory to the ministry, and to obtain the best instruction time and circumstances would perniit, in May, 1792, I went to New Haven, Conn., and put myself under the guidance and instruction of Dr. Jonathan Edwards, late Pres- ident of Union College, Schenectady, N. Y., who was then a pastor of a church in that city. With him I studied about six months, and enjoyed his accurate and luminous instruction, when I measurably filled up his extensive system of Divinity, the outlines of which I had previously traced with Dr. Burton. These two eminent divines were the only earthly instructors in the doctrines and precepts of the gospel I ever
enjoyed. With them I laid the foundation of all the knowledge of Divinity I ever possessed, and though their systems were different in some points, I never could follow either of them in all particulars; yet, to both of them, I still feel under the greatest obligations. They taught me to read and think for myself, which I have ever done, and which has led nie, in some non-essential points, to differ from them both.
"Dr. E. Griffin, late President of Williams College, was my fellow- student with Dr. Edwards. We boarded, studied, wrote, slept, and recited together, and at last were examined together by the Association of the Western District of the County of New Haven, on the 30th day of Oct., 1792. Dr. Edwards, and the late Dr. Trumbull, the historian of Connecticut, were the prominent members of that Association.
"Having thus finished my preparatory studies, and obtained a license to preach the gospel, agreeably to the usages of Congregational churches, I returned to my father's, in Bedford, where I tarried a few days. A peculiar train of minute circumstances and events had been in opera- tion for years, the tendency and meaning of which I did not then under- stand, but which I afterwards learned were designed by the Supreme Ruler of the world to fix my location, and bring me to the scene of my future labors and connections in life. The events which then transpired in close dependence on each other, experimentally taught me that God, in his Providence, orders and governs the world, and that his hand and agency extend to the most minute concerns of men-that he fixes the bounds of our habitation, and that not a sparrow or a hair falls to the ground without him-a truth I have never lost sight of to this day. Under this secret but controlling direction, I returned from my father's in New Hampshire to Oakham, in the County of Worcester, Mass., where I had kept a school the preceding winter, and there I delivered my first sermon in the pulpit, and in the presence of my old friend Rev. Daniel Tomlinson, on the 18th of Nov., 1792. My text was 1 Cor. 1:23,-' For we preach Christ crucified,'-which was a kind of preface or motto to my whole subsequent ministry. It has been my great aim and endeavor to preach a crucified Saviour as the only hope of a sinful world; and how well I have done it, the great and final day will declare.
" While at Oakham, where I tarried a few days, I received an invita-
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GENEALOGIES .- GOFFE.
tion to preach at Sutton, North Parish (now Millbury) where I preached my first sermon on the second day of December following; and here has been the place of my ministerial labors, and of my residence, ever since; and though invited to preach in several places, as a candidate for settle- ment, I could never consent; and the church and people here, knowing the peculiar circumstances in Providence which first brought me here, were strongly desirous that I should continue and settle among them, and therefore would not consent that I should leave them. From all that had transpired, I was fully convinced that this was the place where I should live and labor for God. It seems that he had a great work for me to do, and I must stay and do it. Owing, however, to peculiar circumstances and the state of the times, and especially to an unhappy controversy between the church and parish on one part, and Rev. Eben Chaplin, my immediate predecessor, on the other, they delayed giving me a formal call for settlement until Jan., 1794; and for the same reason, I delayed giving them an answer for several months after. The day for my ordination was appointed on the 10th of Sept., 1794. I was then solemnly set apart by a respectable Ecclesiastical Council to the work of the gospel ministry. "That was an important era of my life. It witnessed the attainment of the great object at which I had been aiming from the beginning, and now I had nothing before me but to go to work for God, and to fulfil the ministry I had received, which I have done with much weakness, imper- fection and fear; but, through the divine assistance and blessing, not without some desirable success."
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