RICHARD GOFF

Lieutenant Richard Goff, son of Joseph Goff, born February 21, 1749-50, married June 11, 1795, Mehetabel, daughter of Hon. Stephen and Mary (Horton) Bullock, granddaughter of Samuel, and great-grand-daughter of Ebenezer Bullock. Her grandfather, Samuel Bullock, married Anna Bosworth, who was the daughter of John Bosworth, who was a descendant of John Howland, who came to this country in the "Mayflower." The children of Richard and Mehetabel (Bullock) Goff, were: Richard, born March 21, 1796; Otis, November 2, 1797; Horatio, September 2, 1799; Patience, September 28, 1801; Nelson, May 5, 1804; Darius, mentioned below; Mary, June 23, 1812. Richard Goff, prior to 1776, utilized the water power of the village tributary to Palmer's, as had his father before him, in the operation of a fulling mill. IN 1790 he established at Rehoboth a fulling and cloth-dressing mill, which he carried on with success until 1821, when mills of that character were generally supplanted by large factories, in which all the operations of manufacturing were done by improved methods of machinery. He, associated with others, built the third cotton mill in the country. Lieutenant Goff was a commissioned officer in the militia, and his commission bears the signature of John Hancock. Two of his sons, Nelson and Darius Goff, were both engaged in the cotton manufacturing business in Rehoboth, succeeding their father. They operated the mill of the Rehoboth Union Manufacturing Company, and prior to 1840, made batting and wadding, operating one of the first mills of its class in this country.

Sources:
Cutter, William Richard. New England Families Genealogical and Memorial.
Vol. I-IV. New York, USA: n.p., 1915.

Submitted by Tina Hursh