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The Goff Family - submitted by Dottie Bullis Carpenter

The Goff name is know in all parts of England, but it is particularly found in southeastern England and is probably of Flemish origin. Other sources say it is a Welsh word for smith and probably some who now spell the name Goff started with the spelling Gough which is definitely Welsh origin. In New England in 1636 there were a number of Goff emigrants. By 1637 or maybe a little earlier, Philip Goff, brother of Anthony Goff of Rehobeth, Massachusetts, was in Wethersfield, Connecticut. Anthony's sons were Anthony, Samuel, Robert, John, Nathan, and Richard. Their mother was Polly Winchester. The descendants of Robert (1691-1763) of Swasea, Massachusetts, were Charles (1723-1745) and Charles (1747-1764) both of Rehoboth, Olney (1771-1826) of Providence, Rhode Island, and Asahel (1809-1891).

Asahel Fenner Goff

Asahel was born in 1809 in Warwick, Rhode Island. He married Roxanne Roberts and they had three children: Alonza, Edgar, and Melissa. Asahel worked in a cotton mill in Chicopee Falls, Massachusetts as an overseer in the spinning department. At the same mill in 1835 was an Alexander Meggett, an overseer in the dressing room of the factory. In 1853 the Goff family moved to a farm in Hadleyville in Eau Claire County, Wisconsin. This 120 acre farm was purchased from Julius and Hannah Edwards who had received it as a land grant for service in the military. In 1857 The Honorable Alexander Meggett came to Eau Claire and was greeted by his father's old friend, Asahel Goff whom he had known since he was 14 years of age. In November 1862 daughter Melissa died and in 1865 Asahel lost his wife. He then married Sarah Thompson who cared for him until his death in 1891. The Eau Claire Press stated "An old and highly respected resident of Pleasant Valley died of the grippe on Thursday. He was totally blind."

Alonza Asahel Goff

Alonza Goff was the postmaster in Hadleyville. He married Cornelia Sterling Brown in Rhode Island and they came to Wisconsin with the family. Together they had 2 children: John and Melissa who was named after her deceased aunt. After Alonza's wife died he married Laura Marie Porter in 1850 in Altoona, Wisconsin. This was her second marriage. Laura and Alonza had 3 children: Max, Burt, and Mark. After a few years of marriage, Laura abandoned Alonza and the children. Years later daughter Melissa resided in Menomonie and Alonza was living with her at the time of his death. Her children were Gladys, Clarence and Lois. This family stayed in the Midwest. Clarence in Manitowoc and Lois in Virginia, Minnesota. Max and Burt moved to Yakima, Washington. Max married Maud and died in 1929. Burt married Daisy Fisher. He died in 1911. Mark Goff married Clara Tishcar and they lived in Pleasant Valley until his death in 1923. They lived in several places where Clara worked to support the family. They moved back to Eau Claire in the 1930s.

Edgar Arthur Goff

When Edgar Goff married Sarah Galusha in 1865, he moved from the Pleasantville area to a farm he purchased a the top of "Plank Road Hill", the corner of Bracket Ave. and Rudolph Rd. He was a truck gardener. It was there that they had 6 children: Arthur W., Edgar, Charles, Irene, Minnie Etta, and Mable. The 2 younger girls died young. Irene went to Missouri. Charles married Mary Bemis and lived in Portland, Oregon. Son Edgar also moved to Oregon. Father Edgar died in 1894, leaving the farm to his son Arthur W.

Arthur W. Goff

Arthur met Alla Hopkins in Ashland, Wisconsin. He was a delivery boy for a grocery store. While delivering at the Truman Hopkins home he met my grandma Alla. Her brother had a photography shop in Ashland. His wife, Mary Jane Dundas asked him if he was going to the dance that night. She said, "will you take Alla"? Grandma was mortified and more embarrassed when Arthur arrived with another girl. Alla was a milliner in Chicago and they were married there in January 1894. They came to Eau Claire and settled on the farm. Arthur was a truck gardener and very well known for his watermelons and cantelope. I have a letter that is addressed to "The Melon King, Eau Claire, Wisconsin." There was a little shed in the garden where people would drive in and buy fruits and vegetables in season. I remember riding on the seat of a wagon while grandpa drove "Babe" the horse around the Third Ward in Eau Claire. We would go into the back alleys of the big homes and the cook would say. "What do you have today, Art?" He would tell her what was on the cart and she would plan her meals around his produce. In his ledgers he listed everything he sold or delivered during the summer and then present his bills at the end of the season. Arthur and Alla's daughter Thelma Dorothy was born November 27, 1895, followed by Arba Edgar on June 23, 1898, and Ruth Marie on January 13, 1904. The family lived on the sales of the garden until 1930 when Arthur died. Ruth's husband farmed the garden for a few years and in 1947 the property was platted and sold.

Thelma Dorthy Goff

On June 6, 1918, Thelma married I. Verne Bullis. They went on a wedding trip. The first stop was LaCrosse where Cliff Bullis lived. Then they went to Madison where Verne had attended the University. In Fort Atkinson and Rockford, Illinois they visited 2 of Verne's former roommates; they visited relatives in Milwaukee and on to Door County to see another college friend. Then it was back to Eau Claire. Thelma always said when remembering the trip, "I thought I had been around the world!" Thelma and Verne lived on the Bullis farm which was located about 3 miles south of Eau Claire. This area is now Oakwood Mall. There were houses on the farm and many happy years were spent in the little house next door to the big house where Verne's parents, Rusha and Bertha, lived. They had 2 children. Jack Goff Bullis was born April 8, 1919 and Dorothy Irene was born June 17, 1920. Jack married Ruth Thorpe of Stanley, Wisconsin and Dorothy married Arnold Carpenter. Jack served in the military for many years and then became an engineer for the government. He passed away in 2000. Dorothy taught school for 30 years and still lives in Eau Claire. Thelma had a busy life as a farm wife in the Town of Washington. She was instrumental in forming the County Homemakers. In about 1924 Thelma was one of the few women to drive a car and she went all over the county soliciting members. She was active in her church and belonged to a couple of card clubs. Verne died in 1983 and Thelma died in 1991. Their last years were spent in a home on Rudolph Court which they contracted. They were a busy, happy couple.