John Wesley Goff (107) was born 8 January 1831, probably in Allegheny City (now Northside Pittsburgh). He is a son of Alexander Goff (46) and Mary Rodenbaugh (48). On 2 January 1845, John received 10 acres 4 perches of land as his share of a farm known as Mount Pleasant, owned by his grandfather, John Rodenbaugh (1056), who had died intestate. He moved to Oregon before 1879, since a letter still exists written by him on 23 July 1879 in Oregon addressed to his father.

John married a divorcee, Jeanetta Fields Lacy (1200) in 1872 at the home of her brother, William Fields, in Oregon. Jeanetta is a daughter of William (1290) and Catherine (1291) Fields. She was born 15 August 1851 in Missouri.

Together, John and Jeanetta had six children: John Alexander (1201), born 29 Sep 1873 and died 1 Jul 1964; Milton Homer (1202), born 18 Jan 1875 and died 28 Nov 1951; Mary Catherine (1203), born 2 May 1877; Eugene Lafayette (1204), born 1 Oct 1879 and died 3 Sep 1950; Robert Henry (1205), born 28 Dec 1883 and died 30 Nov 1979; and Carah Netta (1206), born 23 Sep 1889 and died 4 Jun 1960.

John was a world traveler, traveling to New Zealand, Tahiti, and the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii).

He was involved in gold mining in Oregon at the time of his letter, which was written from Leland, Josephine County, Oregon. John had saved the money he earned from gold mining and bought 560 acres which became the Meadows Ranch. He farmed the ranch during the "off season" for mining, when water was not available. John practiced a mining method known as "hydraulicing", where high pressure hoses were used to wash down a hillside to expose the gold.

John took out a mortgage on the ranch to obtain money to upgrade his mining operations. However, he lost the ranch in a Sheriff's sale in May 1895. It is thought that John and Jeanetta separated after the loss of the ranch, with John moving out and living elsewhere. He continued working his mines until becoming ill in 1898. John Wesley Goff died 29 September 1902 at the age of 71.

Jeanetta died in 1912 after suffering stomach pain. An autopsy revealed that her death resulted from peritonitis caused by an open safety pin in her stomach.

John and Jeanetta are buried side by side in the Goff Family Cemetery, Leland, Oregon.]

[GOFF: ALGoffBible, ClearingBrook, JWGLtr23Jul1879]

* I thank cousin Willard Carroll for the photos of John and Jeanetta and for additional information on this family