Saturday, January 26, 2013

Goff's to Goff Kansas.

Nemaha County
Harrison Township Map, 1887.
 
Ont he county map Goff can be found in Township 4-south and Range 13-east.  On the Township map Goff can be found in section 35.
 
Goff's & Goff Post Office.
 
Goff's post office open February 27, 1880 and ranto December 15, 1894, First postmaster was Chandler C. Abbott, name changed to Goff.  Goff post office open December 15, 1894 and ran to ?, William Dennis was first postmaster.

People of Harrison township who used Goff as their P. O. address as of 1887.

E. B. Abbott, Lumber, Grain and Barb Wire, from Canada, came to county 1879.

H. J. Boyer, Farmer and Stock Raiser, from New York, came to county 1868.

Daniel Butler, Farmer and Stock Raiser, from Canada, came to county 1879.

Hartsel Berry, Farmer and Stock Raiser, from Kansas, came to county 1881.

R. H. Clark, Farmer and Stock Raiser, from New York, came to county 1878.

William Dennis, Farmer and Stock Raiser and Township Trustee, from Indiana, came to county 1882.

John Denton, Farmer and Stock Raiser, from England, came to county 1882.

Clement Hertslet, Farmer and Stock Raiser, from England, came to county 1880.

Robert Hanson, Farmer and Stock Raiser, from Denmark, came to county 1970.

J. E. Hanley, Blacksmith and Wagon Repairer, from Nova Scotia, came to county 1882.

A. O. Hart, Hardware, from Iowa, came to county 1885.

Peter Mackey, Livery, Feed and Ex. Stable, from New York, came to county 1869.

H. R. Mercer, Farmer and Stock Raiser, from Ohio, came to county 1870.

William McConnell, Hardware, Implements, Hats and Caps, Boots and Shoes, from Ireland, came to county 1882.

William E. McKee, Farmer and Stock Raiser, from Missouri, came to county 1870.

J. C. Rogan, Farmer and Stock Raiser, from Vermont, came to county 1874.

William M. Sourk, Farmer and Stock Raiser, from Illinois, came to county 1880.

J. I. Springer, Farmer and Stock Raiser, from Indiana, came to county 1880.

N. N. Williamson, Farmer and Stock Raiser, from Illinois, came to county 1879.

H. J. Watkins, Farmer and Stock Raiser, from Michigan, came to county 1875.

D. M. Younkman, Farmer and Stock Raiser, from Ohio, came to county 1879.

Goff of 1883.
 
Goffs. -- A railroad station of this name, the title being a compliment to Edward H. Goff, of the Union Pacific Railroad, is situated on the Central Branch, a few miles northwest of Wetmore. It is a railroad town, laid out in 1880, and contains a hotel and store, occupying one building, the property of Abbott Brothers.

People of Harrison township who used Goff as their P. O. address as of 1883.

W. W. GROVES, farmer, Section 22, P. O. Goffs, was born in 1833, in New Lyme, Ashtabula County, Ohio, and married Josie Chandler, of Orwell, Ohio, in March, 1854. They then removed to Louisa County, Iowa, and after a few year's residence in that State, returned to Ohio, and from there to Goodhue County, Minn. The ill health of Mrs. Groves caused their settlement in Kansas in the fall of 1869. Mr. Groves has done good work here, transforming a raw prairie farm into a tillable and productive one. Built a good farmhouse and planted a grove of forest timber, also an orchard of 250 apple and 300 peach trees. He is a carpenter by trade, and has always followed it. Mr. And Mrs. Groves have four children W. J. Groves, Theresa and Terissa, twins, and Mary A. Samuel Groves died at the age of fourteen, and another pair of twins died in Ringgold County, Iowa. Mrs. And Miss Groves are Methodists, and Mr. Groves is a Baptist.

LEWIS LOGAN, farmer and stock-breeder, P. O. Goffs, is a native of Kings County, Ireland, born in 1838. His parents emigrated to this country in 1846, and settled in Johnson County, Iowa. Lewis Logan grew up here, and in August, 1862, enlisted in the Twenty-second Iowa Volunteer Infantry. His was the first brigade on the east side of the Mississippi and the first to open battle at Port Gibson; also did brave service at Champion Hills, Black River bridge, and the siege of Vicksburg. It was then sent to Texas to meet Gen. Banks, then supposedly on his way up Red River. After Banks' failure, the Twenty-second joined the army of the Potomac, and fought under Butler and Phil. Sheridan. Joined Sheridan in the Shenandoah Valley, Virginia, from there went to Georgia, and from there to Morehead City, North Carolina, where the brigade did fatigue duty, and from there to Augusta, South Carolina. The company then went to Athena, Capt. A. B. Cree commanding, and established a provost marshal's office. After the discharge of the regiment in 1865, he returned to Iowa, and in 1874 settled in Norton County, Kan., and opened a stock ranch. Dearth of rain and rapid settlement caused his removal to his present farm, which he bought of Peter Mackey. In 1879 the range for stock was almost entirely open from Corning to Wetmore, and with 200 head of cattle and a herd of horses, he rapidly developed a large stock business. He now has 36_ acres of land, a fine residence, and all needed improvements and appliances. It is his intention to breed mules quite extensively hereafter. His registered jack, Prince Albert, was bred by George Jenkins, of Savannah, Mo., and he has a number of very fine brood animals. Few men have more reason to look back with satisfaction upon the past than Lewis Logan, of Harrison. Mrs. Logan was Miss Frances Brenneman, of Lancaster County, Pa., and they have a fine family of seven active, intelligent boys - John E., Lewis, Charles M., Walter S., Fred L., William O. and Elmer E. Mr. Logan is a member, and is chaplain of Wetmore Lodge, A. F. & A. M.

PETER MACKEY, farmer, P. O. Goffs, was born May 4, 1822, in Manchester, England, and came with his parents to the United States in 1831. They located in Patterson, N. J., and in that State he learned the blacksmith's trade. He worked seven years as a machinist, and one year for the Government at Nashville, Tenn., during the war. In 1868 he came to Kansas and settled in Harrison. He began on a 'raw' quarter section, broke it, planted an orchard, etc., and then sold it and settled where he now is. His farm here is a good one, located on Rose Creek, and he is continuing his work as an improver. Mrs. Mackey was Levina Walts, of Brownsville, N. Y., and they have had four children - William, Peter, Anne, and Catherine, who died the wife of C. H. Lane and left two children. Mr. And Mrs. Mackey belong to the Methodist Episcopal Church of Goffs.

C. ROSEL, farmer, Section 10, P. O. Goffs, born 1837, in Greensburg, Ind. He accompanied his father, Wesley Rosel, to Keokuk County, Iowa, in 1849; he then, in 1858, removed to Marshell County, Kan., went to Denver in 1860, and during the Civil War was part of the time in Fort Larned, and part of the time in Iowa. He has lived in Brown, Doniphan and Jefferson Counties, and settled on his present farm in 1868. Has eighty acres in good state of cultivation, a good and substantial farmhouse, a grove of 500 trees, an orchard, etc. In 1875 he lived in Republic County, Kan., called there by the unsettled affairs of his father, who had settled and died there. Mr. And Mrs. Rosel have two children - William L. and Edward, and are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

JONATHAN SPRINGER, farmer, Section 10, P. O. Goffs, born 1834, in Shelby County, Ind. Is of Swedish ancestry, his fore-fathers being among the founders of Delaware. He grew to manhood and received such schooling as was attainable in Holt County, Mo. From there, in June, 1854, he came to Kansas with nine others and located in Doniphan County. These men were, David Martin and his sons, Thomas and James, George McIntyre, Charles Millermon, Robert Davis, --- Gouge and himself. Of these, only Messrs. James Martin, Davis and Springer are now residents of Kansas. After visiting various parts of the county, the Fox and Sauk Villages, Mission, etc., Mr. Springer made a claim on Wolf River, where Severance now stands. He held the best water-power on the river, which he sold, in 1869, to a company that have built a $25,000 mill upon it. Since his first location in the State, Mr. Springer has been a firm advocate of the Republican party, and was in early times a subscriber to the New York Tribune, then classed as an incendiary publication by the Pro-slavery Code, then in force. He, with a few adherents, carried side-arms, and at all times spoke their sentiments. In those days, and in 1857, when they won their first victory, every man went to the polls armed to the teeth, Mrs. Springer was Mary H. Ploutner, born near Harper's Ferry, Va., and married March 20, 1860, in Holt County, Mo. They have had a very large family of children. Since 1880 Mr. Springer has resided in Harrison Township, where he owns a well-improved farm.
 
Goff Kansas, 1912.

Goff, one of the thriving towns of Nemaha county, an incorporated city of the third class, is located in Harrison township 15 miles southeast of Seneca, the county seat, at the junction of the two branches of the Missouri Pacific R. R. It was established by the railroad in 1880 and named after Edward H. Goff, a railroad man. In 1910 it had 422 inhabitants, a weekly newspaper, good banking facilities, telegraph and express offices, and an international money order postoffice with three rural routes

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