Photo courtesy of
J Goff Cook &
H D Goodwin
HISTORY OF JAMES GOFF - UTAH PIONEER
James Goff, Sr., was born 25 January 1809 at Warren County, Tennessee.
Came to Utah 1850 with Milo Andrus Company.
Written by Clara Blackburn Haacke, a granddaughter in the year 1949.
James Goff, Sr. died 4 August 1887, Utah Co, Utah
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| James Goff Photo courtesy of J Goff Cook & H D Goodwin |
James Goff, son of Daniel and Sarah Simpson Goff, was born January 25, 1809 at Warren County, Tennessee. Little is known of his early life, but on May 2, 1830 he married Mary Elizabeth Kimbrough, a daughter of Aaron and Nancy Steward Kimbrough. To them were born ten children. The eldest, Sarah Jane, was my grandmother. She was born on March 22, 1831 in Howard County, Missouri. Then Margaret Elizabeth was born on March 28, 1834; Elisha Groves Goff, born July 9, 1836 in Jackson County, Missouri; then Martha Ellen, December 19, 1838; Aaron Thomas, August 7, 1840; Rebecca Ann, Oct. 3, 1843; James, Sept. 22, 1845; Mary Adeline, Sept. 12, 1848; Margaret L., born Aug. 4, 1850, and last child, Nancy Irene, was born in Provo, Utah Dec. 5, 1851. These people were among the early converts to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. They were with the Saints in their persecutions in Missouri, when the mob drove the people from their homes where they whipped the men and forced them to sign deeds to their property and violated the chastity of the women until somne of them died. About 1200 members of the church were driven from Jackson County, Missouri in 1833, and all their property was lost to them. Later the State of Missouri appropriated two thousand ($2,000.00) to be distributed among the Saints, but this was misused and the Saints did not get any of it. The total loss of property destroyed is estimated to have been not less than two million dollars ($2,000,000.00). In "Journal History" it states that James Goff presented claim against the State of Missouri for loss of property to the amount of $680.00.
After being driven from Missouri, we next find the family in Nashville, Lee County, Iowa, where on August 13, 1839, their seven month old daughter, Martha Ellen died, and on September 12, 1839, their second daughter, Margaret Elizabeth, passed away at the age of five years. After thus being driven from their homes in Missouri, the Saints made a new city at Nauvoo, Illinois, where for a number of years peace prevailed and the beautiful city flourished. Three children were born to this couple: Aaron Thomas, born August 7, 1840; Rebecca Ann, born October 3, 1842, and James, Jr., born September 22, 1845. It was at Nauvoo that James Goff became a personal friend of the Prophet Joseph Smith. His eldest son, Elisha Groves Goff, has told his children that when he was eight years old, he and his father were taking a load of grain to the mill at Carthage the day the Prophet Joseph and Hyrum were murdered and that as they were near the city, they heard the shots. As some of the mob were fleeing the city, they forced his father to drive them several miles away. He (James Goff) then returned to Carthage and helped the brethren in hauling the bodies back to Nauvoo. Elisha tells how the long line of people passed the bier of Joseph and Hyrum Smith and how he would file pass, then go back and slip in the line again, thus passing the caskets several times.
The mob thought that after the Prophet and his brother were gone the Church would be disorganised, but such was not the case. The Saints began working harder than ever, especially on the temple. James Goff worked on the temple, and on January 17, 1846, he with his wife and daughter, Sarah Jane were baptized and took out their endowments. The Saints were also making preparations to leave Nauvoo.
In February 1846 the first company crossed the river on the ice. By the latter part of 1846 the great body of the Saints had left Nauvoo. The Goff family settled in Pottawamie County, Iowa and remained there until 1850, when they came to the Great Salt Lake Valley in the Milo Andrus Company and settled in Provo, Utah. Two more children were born: Mary Adaline, born September 12, 1848, and Margaret Lucy, born August 4, 1850. On December 5, 1851 at Provo, Utah, their tenth child, Nancy Irene, was born, and just twenty days later the mother (Elizabeth Kimbrough Goff) died. It has been said that she was the first woman buried in Provo Cemetery.
James Goff then married Sarah Samson. To them was born one son, Thomas Franklin. He later married Margaret Burch, a widow, and they had a daughter named Margaret Sylvia. I had the pleasure of seeing his old Bible some years ago, finding a very fine record that he had written of his children; giving their birth and death dates and also other records of work he had done for his relatives, which was very helpful in compiling a more complete record of his family. The penmanship was very fine, and I was so thankful to have had access to such a book. James Goff also helped in the settling of Minersville and Holden. He died in Provo, Utah on August 4, 1887 at the age of 78 years. He had passed through the hardships of the saints in Missouri, Nauvoo, and the trip across the Plains, as well as the pioneering of the State of Utah.
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Personal Notes from Judyth Goff Cook, a descendent granddaughter:
I am so thankful for James Goff and his embracing the gospel of Jesus Christ. I will be ever grateful for his legacy and sacrifice to bring this great blessing into my life, along with other pioneer ancestors I have. James and Elizabeth are very valiant souls in my eyes, and I hope to someday meet and embrace them again, and thank them for their devotion and sacrifice that has enabled me and my family to enjoy the wonderful blessings and peace of the restored knowledge of our Heavenly Father's Plan for his children.
Text prepared for website by:
Gwen Goff Hobbs
15 Jun 2000