Generation No. 1
1. JAMES1 PARSONS,CAPTAIN
Notes for JAMES PARSONS,CAPTAIN:
Captain Parsons invited John Minear join him to go Cheat
River in 1774,in Roane
County, Virginia(WVA).
They erected a fort for protection from the Indians and
Lord Dunmore the Governor of the colony in
the muster of the Militias for an expedition against them.
When the fall crops were harvested they evacuated their
families. Sacrificing many of their belongings and carrying things of value, these
sturdy pioneers headed forMoorefield,WVA and resolved to return to lands.
The Battle of Point Pleasant had been fought and the revolution
was on. They wandered back to Cheat.
Captain Parsons took possession of Horseshoe,because of
pror claim.
John Minear went to St. George's,where he built a
better,larger fort and re-organized his followers.
The Goffs' prior to the formation of Hardy County and with
the first years assessments in the new coumty,were charged joinly
with 45 acres and
sixty-six acres of land near Moorefield,WVA.
This assessment continued until 1800 when Thomas Jonas
Goff said farewell to his three brothers.
he settled in Winchester,Kentucky.
Child of JAMES PARSONS,CAPTAIN is:
2. i. MARGARET2 PARSONS, b.
1744, Maryland.
Generation No. 2
2. MARGARET2 PARSONS (JAMES1) was born 1744 in Maryland. She married THOMAS JONAS GOFF
May 21, 1776 in Augusta
County,Virginia (recorded in marriage Bonds), son of UNKNOWN GOFF.
He was born 1744 in (believe the Goffs were born in
Albany, New
York)??, and died May 23, 1823.
Notes for THOMAS JONAS GOFF:
Thomas Jonas Goff paid taxes on land near Moorefield,WVA.
The Goffs prior to formation of Hardy County,WVA,paid
taxes on land of 45 acresand 66 acres and continued until 1800,when
Thomas Jonas
Goff,said farewelllto his three brothers,and
moved to Winchester,Kentucky.
They raised a large family in Kentucky.
In summer of 1784,notice was served for on the claimnts
for land grants by the State Commissioners,and said the hearing would
be near Clarksburg,to deliver the land grants.
The following is a copy of of one of the land grants
executed to Salathiel Goff,then a County Court Commissioner of Harrison
County,(W)VA.,newly formed from the Ohio and Monongalia,and
thereby a "Justice of The Peace" of the Commonwealth.
"Know Ye that by virtue of a certificate in the right
of settlement given by the commissioners for adjusting the title to unpatented
lands in the counties of Nonongalia,Yohogania and the
ohio,and in
consideration of the ancient composition of one pound,five shillings,paid by Salathiel
Goff into the Treasury of the Commonwealth
unto the said Salathiel Goff a certain tract or parcel of land,containing two hundred
fifty acres of survey bearing the date the 13th of June,1781,lying andbeing in
the county of Monongalia on Cheat River,nearly opposite the Horse
Bottom,including his settlement
of made thereon in
the year 1776 and is bounded by as follows."
After they received own and their neighbors grants were
returning Jubilantly in the Cheat settlements,riding horseback,
singe file along the Woodland trail. A short distance belowwhat is now the town
of Phillippi,where the path followed the
narrows between
the river and the hills,the horsemen in front,John Minear,suddenly encountered
a string with a "shot-pouch"
attached,strung across the road,and he halted "exclaiming" "Indians". he had no sooner gasped the words warning
them,until
he fell dead from his horse pierced by a bullet.
Frederick Cooper & Daniel Cameron instantly met like
fates.
John Miller succeeded in getting away and getting to
Clarksburg to warn them.
Andrew Miller managed to also escape and made it to the Tygarts settlements.
Salathiel tried to swim the river but could not get
across,so he threw his coat into the
river
when he saw a deep hole cavern and hid in the den made by
the otters.
The Indians followed the coat downstream,and he managed to
leave the hole, get on his horse and escape to warn St. George's
garrison.
The Indians retreated and were pursued by Colonel
Lowther's assembled scouts. Their camp was
located and attack was deterred until daybreak,when
Lowther and his men made a surprise attack.
many Indians were killed and they headed for their towns
beyond the Ohio and the loot was retaken by his troops. Unhappily
one white settler was killed.
The four Goff brothers ,togther with their sons,acquired
incresed holdings after the turn of the Century by patent and purchase,
much of which was within the boundaries of these counties.
We believe he and his brothers were born in the vicinty of Albany,New York, where their direct
ancestors came from Rhode Island
and Connecticut.
This is not positive and is only to be accepted for what
it is worth as a research tool for
genealogists!!!!!!!!!
to work upon!!!!!
The First Positive appearance of the Brothers was in the
Colony of Maryland.
When a census was taken was taken in the early days of
Revolution and the three were recognized
as citizens of
that colony and reported living in the settlement west of Fort Cumberland in the wilderness.
The three brothers mentioned were listed and inasmuch as
the boundaries were undeterminedand in question at the time were
the Census
Enumerators were entirely within their rights listing them as being from
Maryland.
However,they had wandered far from bailiwick to the
southward and had established themselves in
the frontier settlements in what was Hampshire County,in
or about Moorefield,WVA.
At this point Thomas Jonas Goff also appears,and by his
marriage to Margaret Parsons daughter
of Captain James Parsons,May 21,1776,(recorded in the
Augusta Couty,Virginia marriage bonds).
We have undisputable evidence that that the quarto had resided in this region over ten years
prior to the
Revolutionary War.
A few years before the marriage of Thomas J. Goff,his brother John T. Goff had
married Elizabeth
Welsh in Maryland,likely, within the boundaries of Prince
George's County.
This Goff Book was published in
1984!!!!!!************************************
Seems to have excellent work on her information.!!!!!! She was Way Ahead of our time!!
Elizabeth had a sister,believed to be Dorcas,who married
James Riddle.
(But was Ann Welsh instead,Dorcas was her sister &
mother's name)
John T. Goff &
Elizabeth Welsh,eldest child was James C. Goff,born July 21,1762,thus
their
marriage must have occurred not before 1760 or 1761.
As the four brothers are known to have kept together in
their pioneering their advent into Augusta County,Virginia could have
scarely have been later than 1762 or 1763.
According to official evidence they were with Captain
James Parsons and his little band of pioneers
when the first improvements were made.
Children of MARGARET PARSONS and THOMAS GOFF are:
i. JONAS3 GOFF.
ii. LEVI GOFF.
iii.ELISHA GOFF.
iv.STRAUDER GOFF.
v. DRUSILLA GOFF.
vi.POLLY ANN GOFF.
vii.RACHEL GOFF.
viii.ELIZABETH GOFF.
ix. MARGARET GOFF.
x. POLLY GOFF.
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