In search of the final resting place of Solomon Goss & Olive (Scott) Goss

Now that I have shared my findings regarding Solomon Goss’es will, I would like to share about my search for the final resting place of Solomon, Olive and David and Solomon Goss Jr’s two babies, while visiting the area of Marietta in September 2011.

Sadly, I was not successful in locating their graves.  I did give it a very good try.  Finding them with their stones would answer a lot of questions.  Here is what I did.

1.  I personally visited as many cemeteries as I could during the time I had. I noted their establishment dates like Rainbow, Harmar, Mound, Oak Grove, Berg, Rockland, and Waterford. Mound and Oak Grove are in the town of Marietta and they have monuments to the early pioneers. They also have DAR and SAR memorial plaques and flags:

Blog Posts about various cemeteries I visited:

1. Marietta and Washington County – A Dream Come True!, dated Sept. 13, 2011.  This post featured a little about Mound and Oak Grove and mentions my visits to Rainbow, Watertown, Rockland and Harmar.

http://sgossfamily.wordpress.com/2011/09/13/marietta-and-washington-county-a-dream-come-true/

2. Rainbow Cemetery was featured in the post The Lakes: Rainbow Cemetery, Washington County, Ohio, dated October 31, 2011:

http://sgossfamily.wordpress.com/2011/10/31/the-lakes-rainbow-cemetery-washington-co-ohio/

3. The Family of Daniel Goss and Lydia Ackley Goss, April 9, 2012 features Rockland Cemetery in Belpre.

http://sgossfamily.wordpress.com/2012/04/09/the-family-of-daniel-goss-and-lydia-ackley-goss/

I will present more of my photographs from my cemetery tour of Washington County in the next posts:  Mound, Oak Grove, Harmar, Berg, and Watertown.

2.  I studied as many of the published cemetery books for Washington County, Ohio, targeting the Marietta area and the Fearing Township area. The farther back a cemetery was recorded the better.  Some of these publications  are with the Family History Library in Salt Lake City.  I made an Excel spreadsheet as I studied the FHL records to keep track of my progress.  You will find that here in the form of a PDF:  SolomonGossCemSearch.  Some involved searching the newsletters of the genealogical and historical society for publications of the cemeteries in Washington County.  These publications cover established cemeteries not private ones.  I did not have time.

The Tallow Light is featured in the PDF – SolomonGossCemSearch.  It is the main publication of the Washington County Historical Society.

3. On my visit to Marietta, I visited the Washington County Public Library Genealogical and Historical Annex and searched their records, publications, maps and articles including the Jerry Devol collection. Mr. Devol has passed but he did leave his genealogical research which includes a lot of his cemetery research.  The volunteer at the annex, Lila Hill, is very knowledgeable and helpful and a member of the Washington Co. Chapter of the Ohio Genealogical Society.  Here is their website:  http://www.washogs.org/index.html

4.  I worked with Jean Yost, President of the Sons of the American Revolution Marietta Chapter who was very helpful.  They had a listing on their website of soldiers of the American Revolution from the area and Solomon Goss was included under their “Spirit of ’76 Patriots.”  http://mariettasar.com/spirit76.htm  Of course, there is more information and names at their website and it is definitely worth studying.

5. Mr. Yost gave me the name of the current owner of Solomon’s land in Fearing Twp. We both personally visited the land and met the owner. I do not publish the owners name out of respect for his privacy but I am willing to share if you contact me or leave a comment.

The current owner of Solomon Goss’es land told me he had never found nor located any burials on his property.  I took his word.  He further stated that he had lived there all his life and his parents had been there for a good 80 years.  He mentioned that there were other burials sites on farms near him. The area is very hilly and the roads are gravel.  They are very rough, very steep and have deep ruts.  My husband was brave in our rental car and drove up a steep hill with huge ruts to the Berg Cemetery which is on top of a big hill.  We did venture up to one area east of Solomon’s land which placed us on a ridge.  Again we climbed steep hills with gravel roads to get there.  My husband knocked on a door but no one was home. The farm was filled with lots of equipment, buildings, houses, junk and overgrown grass.  It was not a good idea to explore their land because we did not have permission and that would be trespassing.  So we decided to back off.  Much to my sadness, I was told that some of the farmers had plowed over burials.

6.  I studied online versions of cemetery lists for Washington County.

a.  Find A Grave is a good place to start.  They have Rainbow, Berg, Watertown, Harmar, Mound, Oak Grove, Oak Grove, Rockland and many more. I did not visit the Stanleyville Cemetery in Fearing Township but you will find it on Find A Grave. Caution:  Online listings are not always complete so check a publication as well or search out other alternatives.

b. The Washington County Cemetery Index was very helpful:  http://wchs-ohio.org/cem_index.htm  It gives a listing of the cemeteries and townships they are in and it also has a surname index.  There are no Goss listings.

c. Cemeteries in Fearing Twp are:

• Berg Church 1st Protestant 1846,
• Berg Old
• Saint Jacobs,
• Chapman
• Cherry
• St. Jacobs
• Flanders 1874,
• Gerkin,
• August Spindler Farm/Hobby Farm (Goldsmith) 1822,
• Lynch Church 1842,
• Miller
• Minor
• Mt. Ephraim,
• St. Jacob Church,
• Stanleyville 1806,
• Zimmer Family (Tuttle Family) 1817.

As you can see I was having trouble finding establishment dates for these cemeteries. I did not find any Goss names in any of these cemeteries.

In evaluating these cemeteries in my search I had to consider the religious affiliation (Protestant, Catholic, German etc.) as well.  See my  SolomonGossCemSearch PDF listed in #2 above for more detail.

The Washington Co. Public Library Annex has Cemetery readings for all except Gerkin, Cherry, and Miller.

7.  I called several historical societies like the one in Belpre for the Rockland Cemetery to find out where the grave of Daniel Goss was located and was informed they were updating their cemetery book.  I tried the Marietta Cemetery department but struck out.

8.  I was told by the President of the Washington County Historical Society that Marietta used to be a big shipping port and the ships would come in and the disease they brought would race up the Muskingum River valley wiping out many people.  They would bury people quickly and fast back in those days.  Did Olive and David get caught in one of these epidemics?

9.  There were floods on the Ohio and Muskingum River that destroyed graves.  Harmar Cemetery suffered greatly which is one of the oldest.

Solomon died in 1825.  Olive his wife and David his son probably died earlier before 1810 so those events took place 187 years ago.  See my previous post regarding Solomon’s will and my conclusions about the deaths of Olive and David.  I have seen how quickly a cemetery can be overcome with fallen and broken stones and the elements.

10.  The town government did not keep records of the cemeteries in the early years and many were moved as progress came.

The book “Mound Cemetery, Marietta, Ohio” by Owen Hawley is an excellent book published in 1996 by the Washington County Historical Society.  This book gives the history of the cemeteries in Marietta. I will share some of it in the post on the Mound Cemetery in following posts.

“Pioneer Cemeteries of Washington County,”  compiled by Mrs. C.R. Sloan.  ”Washington County (Ohio) Cemeteries 1789-1940,” by Mrs. Helen Hill Sloan, 1964.

Burials in Harmar Cemetery, Marietta, Ohio, Washington Co. Historical Society, April 1977

Oak Grove Cemetery, Marietta, Ohio Burials 1860-1920, by the Washington County Chapter of the Ohio Genealogical Society

11.  The area around Rainbow was once a thriving community and it is possible that Solomon, Olive and David and Solomon Goss Jr’s two babies are buried in that area of Washington County, north and west of Marietta and west of Fearing Twp.  I personally visited Rainbow Cemetery.   I have posted about that cemetery.  See number #1 above for the link to the post I wrote on Rainbow.

12.  I have researched Solomon and Olive’s children trying to see if any information would shed light on the burial of their parents.  I have asked of descendants and cousins if they have any ideas or knowledge of the burials.

13.  Early vital records in Washington County were consulted.  Marriage is more widely published and death is very difficult to find before about 1867.

14.  I consulted the newspaper clipping files of the Washington County Historical Society and all I found was the estate notice that I have published in several posts in this blog regarding the Solomon Goss estate.  Here is a listing of Marietta newspapers I found in a Tallow Light publication.  As you read this list you see that there is a gap of missing issues right in the 1825 time period when Solomon died.

Marietta Newspapers and the years.

15.  I tried to find Obadiah Scott Jr’s resting place. He was Olive Scott Goss’es brother.  He is said to have been buried in the Waterford Cemetery/Round Bottom.  So we visited that cemetery but did not find any tombstone showing his burial. A Tallow Light publication did list him in the Waterford Landing Cemetery (Waterford Cemetery) on pg. 48 third from the bottom “Scott, Obadiah died 30 Nov. 1827 in 57th y.”

16.  I did find a listing for Wine Rood and Anne Andrews Rood and the Rood family in the Mound Cemetery in Marietta.  The Mound Cemetery book mentioned in #10 above has some good information about them.  Unfortunately when I visited the Mound Cemetery and searched out were they were buried I found no tombstones and that verifies what the Mound Cemetery book states. They are buried left of Rufus Putnam’s tombstone monument in the back north corner. Anne Andrews Rood is the sister of Elizabeth “Betty” Andrews Spracklin. I will talk about what I know about the Rood family in a future post.

In summary, I was traveling in an unfamiliar area with little time, so I had to target specific cemeteries and records.  I  feel that if the descendants of Solomon and Olive were to do more searching, it would require cultivating friendly connections to seek out further possibilities.  I did meet a lot of people while visiting Marietta and hopefully these contacts will remember me and something might turn up.

So Solomon, Olive, David and the two babies of Solomon Goss Jr. remain missing and I continue to dig into other records to learn about more them.

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The Will of Solomon Goss 1810!

Solomon and Olive (Scott)  Goss had Elizabeth, Noah, Mary, Solomon Goss (Jr.), Daniel, Levi, Lydia and David.  I have posted about each of these individuals in past posts.

I have just begun with sharing about Lydia and her life and plan to do more.

It is time now to show the relationship of Solomon Goss to his children.

In 1810 Solomon Goss wrote his will and it was on file at the Washington County Courthouse for years.  What I share with you below is a transcription obtained by Flora Montanye Osborn sometime in the 1940′s.

Transcribed Version

I verified this transcription with the will in the court clerks version:

Source:  Probate Record, 1789-1855 Probate Court, Washington Co., Ohio, Index V A #FHL#946211 Under “G,” Will Record Vol. 4 pg. 132 and 133 FH#946211.  I did had a bit of trouble finding it in these films so do take your time it is there.  I also looked at the copy in the Washington County Courthouse books when visiting in there in 2011.

Solomon Goss Will pg 1

Solomon Goss Will pg 2

In the name of God, Amen; I Solomon Goss, of the Town of Fearing Co. of Washington and State of Ohio, Although laybouring at present under some indisposition of body, yet being of sound and disposing mind and memory and understanding through the mercey of God do make and ordain this my last Will and Testament in manner and form following.

First and principally I resign my soul with the utmost humility into the hands of Almighty God my Creator, humbly hopeing for a blessed immorality through the merits and mediation of my Saviour and Redeemer, Jesus Christ and my body I desire may be decently buried at the expense and discretion of my Executor. And as for such temporal Estate as the Lord in his great goodness and mercy hath instructed me to be Steward of, I give devise and dispose thereof as follows, I give and bequeath to my son Solomon Goss, my messuage of tenements wherein and wheron I now dwell with the appurtenances with all the privileges in any way or manor their unto belonging Sittuate in said Town of Fearing which is Lot No. — Allso all my personally property which I own or am in Lawful possession to the said Solomon with the exception of two cows. I give and bequeath to my sons, Noah, Daniel and Levi one hundred acres of land each and to my three daughters Elizabeth Lake, Mary and Lydia Goss fifty acres of land each, which land thus bequeathed to my three sons and three daughfters lyeth in what is called the Milletary tract of land in Range 14 Twp. 6th N. East Corner of Section 2nd to be equally divided among them in joint of Quallity & according to quantity. I do also give and bequeath to my two daughters Mary and Lydia Goss one cow each, being the two cows above reserved which will be left in the hands of my Executor. The one to Mary in three months after my deceas the one to Lydia in three months after she arrives to the years of eighteen if they then demand them, or any time thereafter. An I do hereby will and appoint that my Executor shall pay all cost and charge that he shall be put to in the Execution of this Will and I do hereby revoke all other Wills by me formerly made, and declair this only to be my last Will and Testament and appoint my son Solomon Goss Executor there of in Witness whereof I the said Solomon Goss have to the first side of this sheet of this my will set my hand to this last side being the second my hand and seal, in the year of our Lord One Thousand Eight Hundred and ten Twenty sixth day of March.

Solomon Goss (SEAL)

Signed, Sealed, Published and declared by the said Testator Solomon Goss as, and for his last Will and Testament in the presence of us who have subscribed our names as witnesses thereto in the presence of the said Testator.

Robert Baird
Thomas Stanley
Lucy Stanley

Flora stopped at this point but I found more in the court clerk book and I transcribed it as best I could:

The State of Ohio – Common pleas April 1828

Washington Co., PA — This judgment of writing purporting to be the last will and testament of Solomon Goss late of Fearing in this County deceased was presented in court for probate. Whereupon Percy Blake the late Lucy Stanley being sworn deposed and said that she and Thomas Stanley and Robert Baud, with the latter now deceased, subscribed their names as witnesses to the said will in the presence and at the request of the testor who at that time was of sound mind. And ____Warner being also sworn he and the said Percy Blake both deposed and said that the name of Thomas Stanley subscribed as a witness to said will is the proper hand writing of the said Thomas Stanley now deceased, they having frequently seen him write, and being acquainted with his hand writing and therefore the said will and probate thereof are approved and ordered to be recorded. An on the motion of Solomon Gofs the Executor the said will named, ____granted him he having taken the oath that required by Law and together with George Dunlevy & Elisha Allen his Securities ____and acknowledge their bond in the penalty of four hundred dollars conditioned as the law ditates and the Court appoint ____Scanna, Doirt Ward and Asak Perkins to appraise the personal property belong into the said decedents Estate agreebly to Law. Geo. Dunlevy, Clerk.

In this will, Solomon clearly names his children: Solomon as executor, Noah, Levi, Daniel, Elizabeth, Mary and Lydia.

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There are several points that I wish to express regarding this will.

1)  Solomon makes no mention or provision for his wife Olive (Scott) Goss.  There is no mention of my “loving wife, I bequeath to her.”

2) On all the deeds written by Solomon Goss selling the land in Knox County, Ohio to his children, you will not find the statement for release of dower by Olive at the bottom of these 1815 deeds.

3)  Why does he name his children and their relationship to him in the deeds?  Most deeds do not have that type of wording.

 I submit. that Olive (Scott) Goss did not die on 4 July 1825 like so many publications and sources indicate, but she died prior to Solomon’s will being written.  The will was dated March 26, 1810. He is said to have died on 1 July 1825.  The July 4th date was probably Solomon’s burial date not Olive’s death date.  Unfortunately the graves have been lost to time so I was unable through extensive research to verify this information on my visit to Washington County, Ohio in August/September 2011.

3)  Solomon makes no mention of David, his youngest son or any provisions for him in the will? I did not find a deed for the land in Knox County with David’s name.

I also submit that David the youngest son died before 1810 as well.

Solomon Gosses’ will was probated in 1828 but the only piece of paper from that estate is the court clerk copy of the will itself.  There are no inventories, final accounts, heirs-at-law or other documents.  This is a photograph of the index page on the microfilm showing that at the very bottom they list only one document for Solomon Goss in contrast to the listing given above for another individual.

Probate Index, Washington Co., Ohio

Executor Notice!

This Executor Notice was in the newspaper clipping files of the Washington Co. Historical Society and is the only other evidence that a process was done regarding Solomon’s estate.  I did not find an obituary notice in these clipping files.  I did not take time to study the newspapers which I believe are rather thin in editions  for the 1825 -1828 time period.

A Serious Situation:  Again, the original will of Solomon Goss is missing from the files in the Washington County Historical Society.  Someone removed in back in 1992 leaving a note with initials that was useless.  This was before the books were transferred to the society.  So don’t blame them.  I was there and witnessed in September of 2011 when the President of the Washington County Historical Society tried to find the will for me.  He was very upset when he was unable to do so.  I was also very disappointed for I had traveled many miles to see this original will.

If you know where the  original will is please return it to the historical society so that others like myself can enjoy it in the future.

In this will Solomon Goss acknowledges his children:  Elizabeth, Noah, Mary, Solomon, Daniel, Levi, and last Lydia.  If you are a descendant of Solomon Goss and Olive (Scott) Goss please leave a comment.  I would love to hear from you.

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NOTE:  Some of the abstracted published books on the wills and estates of Washington County are incorrect regarding Solomon Gosses’ estate. They confuse the father with the son of the same name.  So please be careful.  Here is an example.

Abstracts of Wills & Administrations of Estates of Washington Co., Ohio Compiled by Genevieve, Mary Potts 390 Oak St. Columbus, Ohio – no date, Fiske Lib. 7/2002 Binder for Washington Co.

Goss, Solomon – of Fearing Township. Will made 3/26/1810, probated April 1828. Children, Noah, Daniel, Elvi (Levi), Solomon, Mary, Lydia and Elizabeth (Lake). 4, 132. NOTE: His wife, Mary was the daughter of Gilbert Deval, Jr. and his wife Mary (Coburn) Deval. See “Genealogy and History of Hugh and Wm. Mason and Allied Familes by mary Eliza Mason. 

It was Solomon Goss the son that married Mary Deval/Devol, better known as Polly.

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Lydia Goss,youngest daughter, given land in Knox County, Ohio!

As you will recall, I have posted about all of Solomon and Olive’s children except one.  I did  not go in chronological order of their age and birth because I wanted to talk about my link to this family in more detail.  So I skipped ahead to David Goss (8th child, see  post dated July 1, 2012) and then went back to cover Levi Goss (6th child, see posts dated July 16, 2012 through  November 4, 2012).

I now come to Lydia Goss the youngest daughter and 7th child of Solomon and Olive Goss.  She is my 3rd great-grandmother and she is the one that marries into the Spracklin/len Family.

Lydia birth date is given as 8 June 1796 and it has been suggested that she was the first child born in Dayton, Montgomery Co., Ohio.  This claim appears in a biography of one of her children, Solomon Goss Spracklin, who migrated to and lived in Harrison County, Iowa.  I will share what I know about Solomon Goss Spracklin and the other children of Lydia in future posts.

Source:  History of Harrison County, Iowa, National Pub. Co., 1891, pg. 524.  A version of this book is online at the Harrison County, Iowa GenWeb under County biographies:  http://iagenweb.org/harrison/bio/geneal13.htm#spracklen

Her birth date was listed on an “Ancestor Outline” written by Arminda Spracklin wife of Charles E. Spracklin, Lydia’s grandson.  I shared this outline in the post dated:  August 5, 2011 “Ancestor Outline by Armindo Spracklin.”  This outline was given to me by my Aunt Miriam McDonald, my father’s sister.

So far, I have not found any confirmation of this birth in the Dayton history books nor the Montgomery County, Ohio history books.  I have other information about Solomon Goss her father from those books which I will share in later posts.  The county of Montgomery was not established till 1803 so vital statistics were not recorded till 1867.  The deeds were recorded starting in 1805 and probate in 1803.  Hamilton was the original county and that is where Cincinnati is located.  My interest in Lydia’s birth date and location would tell us where Olive and Solomon were at the time.

Lydia was deeded land by her father Solomon Goss  in 1815, just like her other siblings.  She receives her share of the land in Knox County, Ohio.   Remember her older brother  Solomon Goss (Jr.) he  inherited the land in Fearing Twp. , Washington Co., Ohio.

While most of her siblings sold off their share of the land in Knox County Ohio, Lydia did not.  She along with her husband John Andrews Spracklin settled on that land in the early 1820′s and raised their family, migrated from Washington Co., Ohio to Knox County, Ohio.  It would be in the family for many years till John’s death in 1862 and pieces would be bought and sold among family members during those years.

Solomon Goss to Lydia Goss 1815

Deed of Solomon Goss of Fearing Twp., Washington Co. to his youngest daughter Lydia Goss on April 19, 1815 recorded Oct 2, 1815 for $100 and 50 acres. Witesses where Simon Porter and Solomon Goss Jr., Joel Tuttle JP. Description of land: ” …certain tract or parcel of Land, Situate and being in said State of Ohio, in the Fourteenth Range and Sixth Township of the United States Military lands so called, containing fifty acres, being part of a tract of four hundred and fifty acres of Land Deeded to me by Zaccheus Biggs July 28th 1802, Refference being had thereunto, butted and bounded as follows beginning at the South East corner of said tract of 450 acres, Thence North Twenty chains 83 1/3 Links to the South East corner of Land this day deeded by me to Mary Goss, — Thence West Twenty four chains to land deeded this day to Daniel Goss. Thence South Twenty chains 83 1/3 Links Thence East on the South line of said tract of 450 Twenty Four Chains to the place of beginning…”

Source:  Vol. B-C Knox County, Ohio Deeds, pg. 274, FHL#314037.

As you can see this is a typed version of the deed which is in the deed books for Knox Co., Ohio.  I have been to the Knox County Annex in Mt. Vernon and the chances of finding the original deed are probably slim.  Deeds were usually copied from the originals and kept by the owner and the copies stayed at the courthouse.  This was obviously redone at some point by a court clerk.

Knox County Annex, Mt. Vernon, Ohio

Note:  When you research women you usually run into road blocks so when you do find something that gives you a clue about a female ancestor it is pretty exciting. It is very unusual to find a relationship mentioned in a deed.  I wish they had made it a legal requirement but they did not.  So these deeds are even more precious.  Thanks grandpa!

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Rice Cemetery, Monroe Co., Michigan

My day trip visiting cemeteries in Michigan in August 2007 included a quick trip up to Monroe County and the Rice Cemetery.

My goal was to pay my respects to Flora Montanye Osborn who had done work on the Goss family line years ago.

I drove through Adrian and headed east toward the town of Milan.  The Rice Cemetery is southwest of Milan on Dennison Road north of Hictory and south of Redman Road.  It is nestled in a grove of trees on the left if you are going north.

Find A Grave has a listing for this cemetery, a map and tombstone photographs.

Source:  Rice Cemetery, Milan Twp., Dennison Road, at Mead Road, Compiled by Linda Ziegler, Frieda Kellie & Shirley Keehn, June 10, 1980.  Another version is the Rice Cemetery, transcribed by Linda Alair October 2000.

I made a call to the genealogical society for help in obtaining a published transcription of this cemetery.  Here is the Genealogical Society of Monroe Co., Michigan link:  http://gsmcmi.org/index.php

Flora and Frederick’s tombstone

Flora and Frederick Lester Osborn’s tombstone

Flora’s DAR Emblem

Another Stone for Flora

Another stone for Frederick Lester Osborne

The Rice Tombstone:

The Rice Family Tombstone

Closer to the Rice Family Tombstone (just click on the photo and it should open in a larger screen and then click your back button to return).

Up closer to this tombstone – Rice Family

Lewis M. Osborn tombstone, son of Frederick Lester and Flora.

Lewis Osborn, Flora’s Son

My trip was complete and I headed west back to Fort Wayne traveling back through the town of Adrian, the county seat of Lenawee County.

Here I am next to Flora and her husband’s stone.  It was a very good day!

Flora and Me!

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1872: Levi Goss of Lenawee County, Michigan

Levi died on 31 March 1872 in Medina Twp., Lenawee County, Michigan.  He is buried in the Goss Cemetery a little west of Morenci, Lenawee County, Michigan. 

Levi Goss Tombstone

Levi left a will.  I do not have a court copy but I do have a transcription of the will obtained by my cousin Flora Montanye Osborn.  I have tried to get Levi’s estate file and deeds but they are not at the Family History Library (FHL) in Salt Lake City.  Adrian is the county seat for Lenawee County so I will probably have to go there to obtain this information.  This is not unusual for the FHL, they don’t always have everything.  It would probably be a good idea to check the state archives to find out if the older estate files have been transferred there.

The will is dated June 12, 1869. The affidavit is dated January 23, 1942. The will was drawn up in Medina Twp., Lenawee County, State of Michigan.

State of Michigan – Co. of Lenawee – Probate Court for Said County

I, Hazel D. Gregg, —-Register—- of the Probate Court in and for said County to hereby certify that the foregoing is a true copy of the Last Will and Testament — in re–Estate of Levi Goss, Deceased now remaining on file and of record in the office of the Probate Court for said County, that I have carefully compared the same with said original record, and that the same is a true transcript therefrom and of the whole thereof.

In Witness Whereof, I have her unto set my hand and seal of said Court, at the city of Adrian in Said County this 23rd day of January A.D. 1942 (Signed) Hazel D. Gregg

(SEAL) (Copied in the Registrar General’s off 1/31/42 – mal.)

Copy of the Last Will and Testament of Levi Goss

In the name of God, Amen, I, Levi Goss of the Township of Medina in Lenawee County and State of Michigan, being in good health of body and of sound and disposing mind, am being desirous to settle my worldy affairs whilst I have strength and capacity so to  do make and publish this my Last Will and Testament, hereby revoking and making void all former Wills by me made at any time heretofore.

And first and principally I commit my soul into the hands of my Creator who gave it, and my body to the Earth to be interred in the burying ground known as “The Goss Burying Ground” in the Twp. aforesaid by my friends and executors hereinafter named.

And as to such worldy Estate wherewith it hath pleased God to intrust me, not heretofore disposed of by myself, I dispose of the same as follows; namely – I have heretofore give of my worldly goods, as follows, namely. To my daughter Mary now Mary Rice the sum of nine hundred dollars and to my daughter Nancy Ranger, the sum of Nine hundred dollars, and to my daughter Louisa Powell the sum of Nine Hundred dollars, and to my daughter, Amanda S. Bullock, the sum of Nine hundred dollars, and to my Sons, Andrew and Daniel the sum of Nine hundred dollars each, being all the portion of my worldly property which I think they are entitled to have, excepting as hereinafter named.

I also do hereby give and bequeath to my son Mark, the sum of one thousand dollars which said sum of one thousand dollars is to be kept at interest by my said Executor during the life time of my said son Mark, and the interest so accruing to be applied to and for the use and benefit of said Mark who is now confined in the Insane Asylum at the City of Washington in the District of Columbia. But in case the said Mark should at any time hereafter regain his health of body and sanity of mind then my said Executors are hereby authorized and requested to pay the said sum of one thousand dollars and the interest that may have accrued thereon to Mark.

Also I do hereby give and bequeath to my grandson George Baley, son of Asa Baley, now of the town of Gorham, in Fulton County, Ohio, the sum of five ($500) hundred dollars to be paid to the said George when he shall have arrived at the age of twenty one years. And finally all the rest and residue of my worldy goods, will that the same be equally divided share for share among my surviving children — or to the heirs of such of my said children as may have deceased. And I do hereby appoint Andrew Goss and Samuel M. Ranger both of the township of Medina, In Lenawee County, State of Michigan Exectuor of this my last Will and Testament.

Signed, Sealed, published and declared by the above named Levi Goss as an of and for his last will and Testament, in the presence of us, who at his request, and in his presence have subscribed our names as Witnesses thereto.

Dated June 12 A.D. 1869 Levi Goss, L.S.

• 1st Wit. Josiah Osgood of the Township of Medina, in Lenawee County, Michigan
• 2nd Wit. Cyrus Adams of the Township of Medina, in Lenawee County, Michigan
• 3rd Wit. Charles Ranger of the Township of Medina, in Lenawee County, Michigan.

http://files.usgwarchives.net/mi/lenawee/land/lenawee.txt  Michigan patents for land include Levi Goss. 

I refer you to the post dated September 9, 2012 on this blog titled “Levi Goss and Sophia (Rummerfield) Goss’ Family.”  This will and that list of the children will be a very interesting comparison and show the connections of this family.

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Levi Goss: The road leads to Lenawee County!

We know from Flora’s letter, which I shared in a past post, that Levi got around.  See the  7/21/2012 “Levi Sure Gotta Round,” post.

1. He served in the War of 1812 out of Niagara Co., New York. 
2. In 1830 he sold the land in Knox Co., Ohio to John Spracklin his brother-in-law and was living in Upper Canada at the time.  I featured this in the last post.
3. There is evidence that Levi was a tavern owner on the Thames River near Chatham in Kent County, Ontario.  My understanding is they had to apply for a tavern license so that might be another possibility for research in Kent County or at the Ontario Archives in Toronto. I was told there was very little information on the subject of tavern owners in the area of Kent County, Ontario.  There was a book in the main library “Pioneer Inns and Taverns.”  On page 232 and 149 the Goss Tavern was mentioned.  I place Levi Goss in the area of Chatham about 1830.  (See below.)
4. By 1845 the Michigan State Census places Levi in Lenawaee Co. by this time. 

Source:  Michigan State Census Index 1845, Levi Goss, Lenawee County, Medina Twp., pg. 123. 

Below is another letter of Flora’s to Paul H. Goss giving even more information about Levi.

 Keziah Cooley Goss, Chapter D.A.R., Ann Arbor, MICH,

Oct 21, 1947

 Paul Goss, Chula Vista Calif.

 Dear Cousins:

             I have been asked to join the daughters of the War of 1812, and I have dug up some information about Levi Goss son of Solomon Goss.  I went to Lansing to the Adjutant Generals Office and found he did not served in Mich then I wrote to Ohio and found he did not serve there, so I found he served in N.Y. “and the Adjutant General sent me this “Levi Goss, Private in Captain Rufus Spaulding’s Company Colonel Silas Hopkins (Niagara County) Regiment N.Y. State Militia, War of 1812 served from 12 September to 16 October 1812.”  Adjust General Wm. J. Magine Col. QMC., Director, Bureau of War Records.”

Pension record Levi Goss #15681 Claims of Soldiers of the War of 1812, as audited and allowed, by the Adjutant and Inspector General, persuant of the Chapter 176 of the Laws of Albany. Weed Parsons and Co. Printers 1860 p. 202 Gives Level Goss $19.00. Medina Lenawee Co. Mich 

Taken from National Society Daughters of 1812 State of Mich. Roster of Soldiers of 1812 buried in Michigan.  Compiled by Mrs. Lynn T. Miller 1940 p 30.

Levi Goss Lenawee County Mich buried in Perry, Goss, Cooley, Cemetery, d., Mar 31, 1872. Ae 78, Sophia, d, Feb 24, 1856 ae 55 (Rummerfield), Medina Twp., Lenawee Co. Michigan.

Census Records of Lenawee County Michigan, as copied by Lucy Scott Barnum Chapter D.A.R. 1845  

Levi Goss:  Males under 10 —- 3, Males 10 & under 21 — 1, Males 45 & under 75 - 1,       Males  5 (total), Females 10 & under 21 – 3, Females under 45 &  75  – 1, Total females  4

(Nothing further in this letter, no second page found) ======

 

Levi’s Tavern

 Here are the excerpts from the Pioneer Inns and Taverns book I mentioned above, pg. 232:

“At Tiffanyville (Delaware) he found ‘a pretty good’ tavern, and eight miles farther on towards Detroit was Griffith’s stage-house.  Seventeen miles onward was Ward’s, and twenty miles beyond was a tavern at Howard’s Bridge.  The state then became an uncovered sleigh, and the occupants were all glad to warm themselves when a stop was made at a store and post office at McGregor’s Mill.  There was another house at Chatham, and as the snow was gone by the time they reached the L. Goss’s Tavern on the bank of the Thames River, the driver took to the ice of the river and torn along at a great rate to a stage-house twenty-three miles beyond.“

Under Benjamin Lundy’s trip page 149.

“From Chatham the travellers proceeded five mils down the [Thames] to a tavern on the south bank kept by L. Goss.  Here horses were changed, and, the snow being pretty well gone, the sleigh took to the [river] ice.  The ice was strong, and good time was made.”

Here is another letter written to Flora about Levi’s activities in Ontario from Wayne University. It gives more clues and sources that could be located. 

Wayne University,
Board of Education,
Detroit I Michigan

 April 12, 1948

 College of Liberal Arts,   Department of History

 Mrs. Flora M Osborn
1339 S State St,
Ann Arbor  Michigan

 Dear Mrs. Osborn:

 I have gone through my notes on Levi Goss, and find the following, which may be of interest to you:

 (I)        Major Strickland mentions that his boat anchored for the night opposite Goss’s tavern on the Thames below Chatham in October 1831. (Strickland, Twenty-Seven Years in Canada West, Lon., I 1853 p. 114.)

 (2)        Levi Goss, Raleigh Township, received Inkeeper’s licence in 1832 (Askin Papers,  Canadian Archives Ottawa, vol. 32) 

(3)        Benjamin Lundy in 1832 by stage from London, stopped for breakfast at the house of L. Goss on the bank of the Thames, five miles below Chatham in 1832.

The state changed horses here.  Lundy calls it  “a pretty good tavern”.   (Diary of Benjamin Lundy, ed. Fred Landon, Ontario Historical Society, Papers and Records, vol. 19.)

 (4)        Malcolm Weir on June 12, 1834, arrived at Mr. Goss’s Inn, Raleigh, which was for sale.  Weir wanted to purchase it.  Mr. Goss was not at home, held the inn and land at $1300. (Diary of Malcolm Weir, MS in private hands Chatham).  Weir bought this in later in the year, and Goss moved to Chatham), where he  immediately opened another inn.

 (5)     Levi Goss obtained and innkeeper’s license, for Chatham town in January, 1835.  (John Askin Papers, Jan. 1835, MSS in Burton).

 Goss does not appear again among those getting licenses after 1835, nor have I found his name in any other connection, so probably he moved away after this year. 

                                                Sincerely yours: Fred C Hamil.

So with a little help from Flora we find out more about where she obtained the information about Levi her ancestor and we might be able to use her clues to obtain the documents.  Meanwhile I turn to the U.S. Federal Census to find Levi and his migration to Michigan.

Trying to pin Levi Goss down in the U.S. Federal census has been a difficult process.  I had not been successful in finding Levi in past tries. 

So I decided to try again. You won’t find him in Ontario in the Canadian census because their census starts in 1851 and he was gone by 1835 according to the above letter.

The reason I was not able to find Levi Goss was because they misspelled his name.  In the 1850 they have him under Gass. 

Source:  1850 U.S. Federal Census, Medina, Lenawee Co., MI, pg. 135B, August 9, 1850, NARA #M432_355, Image 275 Ancestry.com.

Line 21, 779, 772, Levi Gass, 51, M, Farmer, 2000, PA, Sophia Gass, 59, F, NY, Louisa, 11, F, Canada, Olive, 19, F, Canada, Ammda, 16, F, Canada, Andrew, 14, M, Canada, Daniel, 10, M, Canada, Mark 4, M Canada, Nancy Wright 24, F, 1000, Mich., Levi E. Wright, 4, M, Ohio, Levi Goss 17, M, Farming, Canada.

Levi Gass 1850 US Michigan Census

Source:  1860 U.S. Federal Census, Medina, Lenawee Co., MI, 1 of July 1860, pg. 218?. Roll M653_551, pg. 690, FHL# 083551. This is very difficult to read.  He is under the name “Grobe.” 

Line 7, 1725, 1768, Levi Grobe 67, M, farmer, 4000/800, born Ohio , Andrew 23, M, Farmer, b. Mich.  Daniel 22, M, farmer, born Mich, , M, Mariah 19 F born Michigan, Mark 19 M, born Mich.

In the 1870 he is with his son Andrew Gafs or Gass. 

Source:  1870 U.S. Federal Census, Medina, Lenawee Co., MI, NARA #M593_686, pg. 365B, Image 107, FHL#552185.

Line 3, 210, 208, Gafs Andrew, 33 M, W, Farmer, 4000/500, b. Mich. Gafs, Athelia, 32, F, M, Keeping House, born Indiana, Gafs Levi, 76 M, born W. Virginia, W, Retired farmer, Rutledge Jacob, 16 M, W, working on farm, born Ohio.

The birth locations are all over the place so a careful study of this census and then a search of Michigan and Canadian vital records would be in order.  Levi’s birth also changes from PA to Ohio and then West Virginia?

So in summary, we see that Levi Goss probably left Canada for Michigan about 1835 and settled in Lenawee County, Michigan.  There is more research to be done on Levi but hopefully the clues given in Flora’s letters and the census will help point the way.  As usual I wish I had more time but finding Levi in the census has made me a happy genealogist.

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Levi Goss and Sophia (Rummerfield) Goss’ Family

Levi Goss, son of Solomon and Olive (Scott) Goss, married Sophia Rummerfield sometime around 1820.  She was born about 1800 in New York State.

His War of 1812 service placed him in Niagara County, New York and it is possible that is where he met and married Sophia.  It would be great to find this marriage, but I have not taken the time to do so.

Sophia was the daughter of Samuel Rummerfield and Nancy [        ].  I have no information on Samuel but Nancy was born about 1775 and died 24 February 1856 in Lenawee Co., Michigan.  She is buried in the Goss Cemetery in Lenawee Co., Michigan. Sophia may have had a brother named John Rummerfield.

The children of Levi and Sophia (Rummerfield) Goss are as follows:

1.  Solomon Goss was born about 1820 and died 20 March 1841 in Lenawee Co., Michigan.  He is buried with his family in the Goss Cemetery.  As far as I know he never married or had children.

2. Mary Goss was born 16 March 1822 in Medina Twp., Lenawee Co., Michigan and died 2 September 1886 in Milan, Washtenaw Co., Michigan.  She married Josephus [Joseph] Rice born 22 October 1815, Phelps, Orleans, New York.  He died 28 November 1900 in Milan Twp., Washtenaw Co., Michigan. They are both buried in the Rice Cemetery, Milan Twp., Monroe Co., Michigan. They married on 18 May 1840 in Medina, Lenawee Co., Michigan.  Josephus and Mary had  seven (7) children.   This is the family line of Flora Montanye Osborn, the Goss researcher I have mentioned.

1.  Charlotte Rice  born 17 August 1843, Milan Twp., Monroe Co., Michigan, died 27 June 1925, York Twp., Washtenaw Co., Michigan.  She married Sidney Montanye born 18 November 1838 in Lenawee Co., Michigan, died 16 November 1874 in York Twp., Washtenaw Co., Michigan.  Both are buried in the Rice Cemetery in Milan Twp., Monroe Co., Michigan.

The Children of Charlotte and Sidney:

1.  Florence Montanye born 9 January 1868, Leslie, Ingham Co., Michigan, died 12 April 1935.  She married a Sidney Sanford.

2.  Flora Etta Montanye, born 26 August 1869 in Leslie, Ingham Co., Michigan, died 1 September 1951 Ann Arbor, Washtenaw Co., Michigan. She married Frederick Lester Osborn 23 April 1891.  He was born 3 September 1867 in Ossian, Livingston, New York and died 6 August 1942 in Ann Arbor, Washtenaw Co., Michigan.  Both are buried in the Rice Cemetery in Milan Twp., Monroe Co., Michigan.  He was a Methodist minister.  They had three children:  Lewis, Etta May and Jesse.

This is the Flora Etta Osborn that contributed so much to the Goss Family history and corresponded with Paul H. Goss and others.

3.  Ida A. Montanye was born 4 October 1871 in Mooreville, Washtenaw Co., Michigan.  She married a Wesley Chester Fuller. She may have married several times and another husband was Fred Forbes.

4.  Marshall C. Montanye born 14 February 1874 in Mooreville, Washtenaw Co., Michigan and died 25 Feb 1941.  He married Nona May Foster and they had 4 children:  Ida I, Forest, Ruth, and John Paul born 1913.

3. Sophia Amanda Goss.  Her birth date is unknown but it was probably somewhere between 1822 and 1827.  Her death was about 1899.  She married a Martin Bullock in April of 1869 but they had no children.  She was probably born in Upper Canada when Levi was living in Kent County near Chatham.

4.  Nancy Goss was born 9 July 1827 and died about 1888.  She married first a Uriah Wright (no information) and then remarried to a Montgomery Ranger (no information).  There may have been 2 children one died about 1894 and the other died 1904.  The only identified child was a Charles M. Ranger.  He lived in Battle Creek, Michigan.

5. Andrew Goss his birth may have been between 1827 and 1830.  He died about 1901 and married a Athelia Smith.  I have no further information on him.

6. Olive Goss was born about 1830 and died 28 April 1861 in Lenawee County, Michigan. She married an Asa Bailey (no information) and had a least one son George L. Bailey who died about 1883. George may have resided in Gorham, Fulton Co., Ohio.

7. Levi Goss was born about 1833 and died 23 July 1850 in Lenawee County, Michigan.  He is buried near his parents in the Goss Cemetery, Morenci, Lenawee County, Michigan.

8. Louisa Goss was born after 1833 and died between 1875-1880.  She married to a man by the name of Powell and had about 6 children:  Alexander, Amanda, Nancy J., Aden, George, and Edwin who may have died 1906.  Edwin may have had son named Rosco.

9.  Daniel Goss was born after 1833 and died about 1899.  He married a Mariah and may have had one children who died in 1895 and another named Arden Goss.  Arden may have been residing in Washington D.C. by 1911?

10.  Marcus M. Goss was born 17 March 1841 and died 4 February 1910.  He doesn’t appear to have married.  He was a Civil War Veteran and apparently it created some problems for him and he was confined in an insane asylum in Washington D.C.  More on this when I discuss his father’s will.

Note:  Sophia, the mother, is getting up in age by this time.  In 1841 she was about 41 years old if she was born in 1800?  So I am not sure about these two children?

11.  Elizabeth Goss no information.

12.  Thomas Goss no information.

Most of the credit for this information comes from Flora Montanye Osborn and the Keziah Cooley Goss D.A.R. Yearbooks of 1941-45, FHL#927452 Item 5.  This source has a very detailed description of the Montanye line.  It also has a version of Flora’s Goss Family History and a listing of the Revolutionary War Service of Goss family members.

Front Cover the DAR Yearbooks

As you can see there is a lot of missing information on the children of Levi and Sophia Rummerfield.  If I had more time I would do research on this line especially in census, deeds, land records, marriage, death and more.  Remember Flora did not have access to the census like we do.  If she wanted to obtain census information she would have had to write to the National Archives and then be content with a transcription.  If she wanted to obtain vital records she would have to write a letter to the appropriate courthouse.  Her goal was to apply to the D.A.R. and Mayflower so she concentrated on her direct line.

There is a letter by a C.M. Ranger that I present here which sheds more light on this family line of Flora’s.  C.M. Ranger was Charles M. Ranger, Nancy Goss Ranger’s son.

Copy of the Original Letter loaned me by Mrs. Fred Osborn, 1339 S. State St., Ann Arbor, Mich.

Mar. 30, 1911, – Hon. H.L. Larwell, Judge of Prob., Adrian, M.

Dear Sir: In response to your letter of the 27, I am pleased to give the following record of the des. of Levi Goss:

1. Andrew Goss, son, died about 1901 without issue;

2. Daniel Goss son, died about 1899. There was a son and dau. in the family. The dau died about 15 years ago. Son Arden Goss lives in Wash. D.C., Address Mailing Division of Post office.

3. Mark Goss, son- died in 1910 without issue;

4. Nancy Ranger, died 1888. There were three sons in the family one in 1894, one in 1904, the remaining son is Chars. A. Ranger, Battle Creek, Mich.;

5. Mary Rice dau. died about 1885 (1887). Some children (3 dau) died in childhood. Three surv. are Charlotte (Charlotte Rice Montayne; Ratzel Saline (Daline), Florence B. Miller Milan, Nelson, R. Milan;

6. Sophia A. (Amanda?) Bullock dau, died 1899 without issue;

7. Olive Bailey, dau. Died 1860 leaving 1 son George L. who died. He left one daug. Mrs. Florence Hayden Kalamazoo, C/O, Rev. J.A. Sprague (Note: Florence Hayden is the wife of Judge Hayden now living Lansing Mich. — 1942 — PHG);

8. Louisa Powell, dau. died between 1875-1880. Sev. children died in infancy: Survivors are: Alexander A. Powell Ulee Ind., Amanda Ray, Belmont, Tenn., Nancy J. Robinson, Camden, Mich.; Aden Powell, Hillsboro Tenn; George Powell Belmont, Tenn. This is G.N. Powell, business address. Mail will be forwarded to him. Edwin Powell son of Louisa F. died in 1906; left three child who live in Seneca, Mich. A letter to the son Roscoe at P.O. will get you the names of the other two.

The older children of Levi Goss, were Elizabeth, Thomas, Solomon and Levi. All of these died before the death of Levi Goss.

Very Truly yours C. M. Ranger (Chas. M. Ranger, Battle Creek, Mich.)

Copied June 4, 1942.

I had the opportunity to travel to the Goss Cemetery near Morenci, Lenawee Co., Michigan when I attended the Federation of Genealogical Society Conference (FGS) in Fort Wayne in 2007. Fort Wayne is in Indiana on the eastern side close to Michigan and Ohio borders.  I decided to take a tour of Michigan, before the conference, so I drove up to Lenawee County and then further up to Monroe County.  I wanted to visit the Goss and Rice Cemeteries and view the graves of Levi and Flora herself.  I will share this visit in a future post.

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“Levi, Sure Got Around!”

Back in June 2003, I traveled to Boston and Plymouth, Massachusetts.  My husband had a conference to attend,  We reserved a condo on Cape Cod.  I wanted to do some research at the Mayflower Library in Plymouth.  This library is in the Annex behind the large Mayflower House.  If you want to do research, the Mayflower Library in Plymouth has a great collection of New England titles that you might want to study.  I was just learning about New England research at the time so it was wonderful to have them all in one location.  Later you can take a tour of the house museum which is lovely and the docent is very helpful and knowledgeable. 

Mayflower Museum

The Mayflower Library

This is the link to the library page.  They have a panorama of the library and it is just like I remember:  http://www.themayflowersociety.com/library  Their hours are short so check the link carefully.  As I recall I had a cold and yet I did my research anyway from 10 to 3 pm, as I recall.

Later in the trip we moved up to Boston for the conference and I visited the Boston Public Library.  It is awesome and a little intimidating.  Here is the link to their genealogical resources:  http://www.bpl.org/research/socsci/genealogy.htm  It seemed like I wandered a long ways through the library to find the room with the genealogical stacks.  You do have to plan in advance if you wish to order other  items. 

Of course, if you are in Boston you have to go to the New England Historic and Genealogical Society (NEHGS) and visit all the floors for some really quality research time:  http://www.americanancestors.org/home.html   Take one of the tours offer in Boston with the costumed tour guide, it is well worth it.  I think it is called “Freedom Trail.”

NEHG Society Entrance

At the NEHGS, I requested from the Special Collections to see the donated papers of Paul H. Goss.  Among his papers was a letter written by Flora Osborn to Paul H. Goss regarding her ancestor Levi Goss.  Flora and Paul corresponded with each other over the course of several years in the 1930′s and 1940′s till her death in 1951.  They were both researching the Goss lines and shared their findings.

The letter that Flora wrote was on the Keziah Cooley Goss Chapter D.A.R. stationary of which Flora was a founding member, regent and registrar at various times.  

“ANN ARBOR, MICH, 1339 S State St, April 13 1948

Paul Goss & Family

Dear Cousins:

I was at the Detroit Genealogical Soc. Saturday and heard this man give a lecture, and when he was through he came and sat by me and as his talk was about early movement of people from Canada to Michigan.

I asked him about Inn’s on the Tames etc. and he said who are you trying to find and get records of, and I told him Levi Goss, and he said I know a lot about him or about the inn etc. so here it is.

Now where did he live when my grandmother was born and Mary Goss, b. 3-16-1823. If he was in Canada in 1831-1835 after that he was in Lenawee Co. Mich. and in 1812 he was in Niagara County, N.Y. served in the War of 1812, Sept 12 to Oct 16 1812, and his father was in Washington County, Ohio. Levi sure got around.

Now I was to go to Washington and be a guest part of the time to a Mrs. Cameron who went into the D.A.R. on Nathaniel Goss and in Mayflower Society via William White, but her husband is sick and she cannot attend much of the time, and I would not go with him sick and the lady who was to go with me is sick so what I stay at home. Are you coming east, if so try to attend the Cooley reunion in Illinois?

I am as well as usual and will take a trip somewhere soon.

Best wishes

Flora Osborn”

Letters like this give clues regarding our ancestors.  Thanks to Flora, we now know the movements of Levi Goss and we can follow her leads.   This letter also gives clues and insight into the people who did the research years ago and what their interests were, in this case Flora was very much involved with DAR and Mayflower. 

Flora is my cousin and she is much closer to me in the lineage to Solomon Goss and Olive Scott Goss.  Her great-grandfather Levi Goss is a brother to Lydia, my ancestor, whom I will discuss shortly.  Flora and I are 3rd cousins twice removed according to my Legacy database Relationship Calculator.  Our common ancestors are Solomon Goss and Olive Scott.

Flora mentions the Tames.  She is referring to the Thames river near Chatham, Ontario to the west of Lake Ontario and east of Lake St. Clair.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thames_River_(Ontario). 

As for who Mrs.  Cameron is, I will let you figure that out.  You could try the DAR Library search for Ancestor or Member and see what you find.  See the right side bar for this blog and find the New England Links.

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Levi Goss, Soldier in the War of 1812!

On my recent trip to Ontario and Quebec in May/June of 2012, I saw banners and references to the War of 1812.  The Ontario Genealogical Conferences theme was the War of 1812 – Borders and Bridges. 

Banners in Ottawa Celebrating the War of 1812

This year of 2012 is the 200th year since the War of 1812, which some believe was the 2nd War for American Independence.  http://www.ushistory.org/us/21e.asp

The Official War of 1812 Bicentennial website, Celebrating 200 years of Peace http://www.visit1812.com/ 

Levi Goss was a son of Solomon Goss and Olive (Scott) Goss.  He was the sixth child of this couple.  He served in the War of 1812.  He was 19 years old at the time, born 22 October 1793, in Pennsylvania according to his great grand-daughter Flora Montanye Osborn, my cousin who did a lot of work on this family line in the 1930-1950′s. His father Solomon Goss was on the move and was in Ohio by 1795.  It is possible that Levi might have been born in western Pennsylvania? 

According to the New York Military Equipment Claims at Ancestry.com, Levi served out of  New York from September 12 to October 16, 1812. It was a very short period of service. 

He was a private in Captain Rufus Spauldings Co. and Colonel Silas Hopkins Regiment (Niagara Co., NY).  His pension #15681 is from Claims of Soldiers War of 1812, dated October 21, 1847.) No.: [p.202] 15,681. Index of Awards on Claims of the Soldiers of the War of 1812, page 202.

NAME OF APPLICANT:  Goss, Levi,

RESIDENCE OF APPLICANT: Medina, Lenawee County, Michigan,

AMOUNT ALLOWED: $19 00

Levi served in the War of 1812 but he did not really get a pension which was only given to injured or dead soldiers until the laws changed in 1871.  He died in 1872 so he did not benefit from this new law.  

U.S. War of 1812 Service Records, 1812-1815 at Ancestry.com list Levi Goss, Hopkin’s Regiment, New York Militia, Private, Roll Box. 83, Roll. Exct 602, NARA Films M602, 234 rolls – Compiled Military Service Records for the Volunteer Soldiers Who Service in the War of 1812, Washington D.C.  This is good news to find this index. I will have to revisit NARA’s films for I did not find him when I first looked. 

Here are some links that might be of interest.   

History of Niagara County at Internet Archives:  http://archive.org/details/cu31924100387392

Fort Niagara State Park and Historic Sights:  http://nyfalls.com/niagara/niagara-fort-niagara.html

Burials of Veterans of the War of 1812 in Lenawee Co., Michigan http://www.lenawee.migenweb.net/1812.html

The New York State Archives website has this paragraph on the War of 1812. http://www.archives.nysed.gov/a/research/res_topics_mi_warsvc.shtml

“Will search War of 1812 Abstracts of Payrolls for N.Y. State Militia (B0810) and Certificates of Claims (A0020, A3352). The certificates are indexed in Index of Awards on Claims of the Soldiers of the War of 1812 (Albany: 1860; repr. 1969). (A veteran’s claim stated war service in order to obtain reimbursement for clothing, arms, and equipment furnished at the soldier’s expense.) “

Levi was living in Marietta, Ohio with his family and at some time he took off on his own and his travels placed him in Niagara County by 1812.  I cannot take credit for some of this research on Levi.  It was done by my cousin Flora Montanye Osborn.  I have tried to add to the work she did.  In the next post I will share a letter written by Flora to Paul H. Goss regarding the movements of Levi Goss.

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What Happened to David Goss?

My trip to Ontario and Quebec came to a close and I was busy getting caught up with that project. It was a big challenge. 

 

Sunset on the Ohio River 2011

 

It is time to resume posting about the children of Solomon Goss and Olive Scott Goss.  I left off with Daniel Goss and after him comes Levi and Lydia with David being the youngest child. 

David is a puzzle.  Sigh!

David and Daniel have been confused in abstracted published works. I have posted about Daniel Goss in these two posts:

Daniel Goss a Man of Conviction, Belpre, Ohio! Dated March 26, 2012 http://sgossfamily.wordpress.com/2012/03/26/daniel-goss-a-man-of-onviction-belpre-ohio/

and The Family of Daniel Goss and Lydia (Ackley) Goss dated April 9, 2012:  http://sgossfamily.wordpress.com/2012/04/09/the-family-of-daniel-goss-and-lydia-ackley-goss/

David would have been the youngest son of Solomon Goss and Olive (Scott) Goss.  David Goss was born 15 January 1799 in Washington County, Ohio.  

There is no formal birth record on this child. I have tried to find it in the Washington County records.  It may be found in church records if they exist.  The problem is figuring out exactly where his father was living at the time.

Elizabeth Goss the older sister married Andrew Lake on May 17, 1798 in Washington County, Ohio so this means that Solomon Goss had migrated and settled there by that time.

David must have died early 1810 or before 1810 because he is not mentioned in his father Solomon Goss’ will which is dated the 26th day of March 1810. 

There are no deeds prepared by Solomon Goss the father with the name David written in them.  This is regarding the land in Knox County that Solomon Goss deeded to his children in 1815.

In past posts I have shown that the other siblings Elizabeth, Noah, Mary, Daniel did have deeds by Solomon the father very clearly stating the child and their relationship to him except for Solomon Goss (Jr.) who inherited the land in Fearing Twp., Washington Co., Ohio. Levi and Lydia received land as well.  I will discuss the will and the land holdings of Solomon Goss in future posts.   

The census for Ohio is all but destroyed for the earlier years so it makes it difficult to even get a statistic for Solomon’s family.  Tax lists are wonderful sources but they only give detail about the owner and their property unless you get lucky and a note is written in the margins. 

According to the book:  State Census Records by Ann S. Lainhart Ohio did not have any state census.  She writes:

“Ohio did not take any state censuses, but starting in 1803 a census of eligible voters (Quadrennial Enumerations) was taken every four years as required by the first Ohio Constitution.  At that time the only eligible voters in Ohio were free white males age 21 and older…They list the head of household and either the number or names of other eligible voters in the household.  There was also an earlier 1800 territorial census which preceded statehood and listed the names of eligible voters under the names of the heads of households in which they lived…

Unfortunately, few of Ohio’s quadrennial enumerations have been found…The records that do exist are not housed in one archive.  Most are distributed among the Ohio “Network of American History Research Centers” created in 1970.”

Solomon Goss in the early years of Washington County as found on Ancestry under census.

• 1800 U.S. Census – No results for Solomon Goss in Ohio
• 1800 Tax List for Washington County – Solomon Goss in Marietta Twp.
• 1803 State or Colonial Census for Washington County, Solomon Goss in Adams Twp.
• 1809 Tax List for Washington County, Solomon Goss, Fearing Twp.
• 1810 U.S. Census is transcribed at this link but it gives no details.

 http://www.usgwcensus.org/cenfiles/oh/washington/1810/index/index01.txt

This link is to Family Search had their index of Ohio Tax Records:  https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://hr-search-api:8080/searchapi/search/collection/1473259

At this point, I have not looked at the actual tax lists and or territorial census for Washington County in 1800.  Remember Washington County was much bigger back then.  I am reconsidering that choice.

Again I turn to Flora Montanye Osborn as the only source for this child’s existence. She must have had a bible or learned of these births through her family connections.  Her father was Levi Goss a brother and I will discuss him in future posts and also more about Flora and her manuscripts and articles.

When I visited Marietta this past year in August and September of 2011 one of my goals was to try to figure out where David, Olive and Solomon Goss the father are all buried.  I will devote several posts to this topic; so far I have not been able to find them? 

So I am very frustrated regarding David and his fate. 

The President of the Washington County Historical Society told me that Marietta had been a shipping port at one time and the ships would dock and bring disease that would make its way up the Muskingum River without mercy.  Did David get caught in one of these outbursts? Did Olive Scott Goss, his mother?

What happened to David Goss? 

If you know or have any information on Dave please contact me.  See the About page for contact information, or leave a comment.

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