John and Lydia (Goss) Spracklin Migrate to Knox Co., Ohio!

If you can’t use census you can try to see what the tax records tell you and study both comparing them.  Trying to find ancestors in early Ohio 1787 to 1840 is not easy.  I know because I have been studying Spracklin, Delano, Keller and other surnames to try and find family.

When did Lydia and John Spracklin migrate from Washington County, Ohio to Knox County, Ohio and settle on the land that her father Solomon Goss bequeath to his children?

During my trip to Ohio in August-September of 2011, I spent time at the Washington County Library Local History and Genealogy Annex where the genealogical library is located and staffed by volunteers of the Washington County Genealogical Society, who are members of the Ohio Genealogical Society.  These are great archives to visit and learn about for Ohio research.

Washing Co. Library Annex

They had original Treasurer’s duplicate journals for Washington County on a shelf under the window for access from 1810 to beyond 1836.

Treasurer’s  Duplicate Books

In these books were listings for taxes paid by Solomon Goss and his children. I did not have  a great deal of time so I did a rather poor job of photographing the pages of these books.

Much to my relief and saving me from my slovenly ways, the Family History Library, Familysearch.org has Ohio Tax Records for only a selected group of counties in Ohio:  Ashtabula, Belmont, Carroll, Columbiana, Guernsey, Harrison, Jackson, Jefferson, Monroe, Trumbull, Washington (other), and Washington, Waterford Township.  They say they are about 17% complete.

An example of the Treasurer  Duplicate book pages

The photograph above is an example of the Treasurer’s Duplicates and the page is from the damaged book in between 1810 and 1825 in the picture of the books above. It is the brown looking item between these two larger books.

So I spent several hours studying what they had at Ancestry.com and online at Familysearch.org including the images.  Here are a few sources I used in preparation for my trip to Ohio in 2011, I am sure there are more.  (See Familysearch wiki on Ohio Taxation for more ideas – under Ohio Links on right side of this blog)

Sources:

1. “Early Ohio Tax Records,” compiled by Esther Weygandt Powers, Akron, Ohio 1971.  I found it at the Seattle Public Library.  Google Books has a copy but it doesn’t have all the pages for it is only a preview.  Fortunately it worked for me and the book is readily available to photocopy.

2. World Vital Records has this as well “Early Ohio Tax Record: Reprinted with The Index to Early Ohio Tax Records.”  If you have a subscription to this online archive go check it out.  It is possible that your local genealogical society has access for members.

3. If you try Ancestry.com you may find some of the tax lists mixed in with the early U.S. Federal Census because some did not survive for 1790, 1800, 1810, 1820, so they used them to fill in for the missing U.S. Census.  If you do not have a subscription see your local library for a card.

State Census Records by Ann S. Lainhart is a good source for what census, state, federal and territorial were done for a given state like Ohio.  Worldcat had 929 hits for all 6 editions and at least 6 in my area.

William Dollarhide has a two volume set of books on Census and how to find them.  Census Substitute & State Census Records…” Volume 1 – Eastern States and Volume 2 – Western States, 2008, with Foreword by Leland K. Meitzler.

4. The Ohio Historical Society has Tax duplicates from 1806-1810 and 1809-1814, 1816-1838 on film at the historical society. If you go to their home page scroll down and click on the Archives/Library.  I was there in 2011 and looked at several of those films.  FHL films are from the Ohio Historical Society.

Caution:  They are rather difficult to read and not well identified by the years so you must take your time and take notes and copy carefully.  I had to do it twice to make sure I was recording the years correctly.  The research I did was on Spracklin, Delano and Keller surnames.

http://collections.ohiohistory.org/starweb/l.skca-catalog/servlet.starweb

5. Familysearch.org has “Tax Records of Ohio, 1801-1814 a series of microfilm.  They also have “Index of the Ohio 1825 and 1835 Tax duplicate,” in book form compiled by Gerald M. Petty, 1981, FHL Book #977.1R42, there is an 1812 version on 5 films.

This is a copy of one of the Familysearch tax records and only a piece of it.

1816 Portion of the tax record page showing the Goss Family

Here is the study I did this week trying to learn more about the movements of the Goss family.

Bon’s Census and Tax List Study of Solomon Goss, his children:  Elizabeth, Noah, Mary, Solomon Jr., Daniel, Levi, Lydia 1800 to 1832.  Please be aware that I did my best to be accurate.  I might have made a few mistakes it was tedious to do.

Year	Location	Source	Description	Detail of names
1800 U.S. Federal Census	Marietta Twp., Washington Co., Ohio	1800 U.S. Census at Ancestry.com – NARA	Number of male inhabitants age of 21. This is a name list	Solomon Goss
1801	Adams Twp., Wash Co., Ohio	Ohio Tax Records 1800-1850 Familysearch.org	DF #4022412 Image#00026 GS Film#945761	Solomon Goss
1802	Meritown Twp., Wash Co. Ohio	Ohio Tax Records 1800-1850 Familysearch.org	DF #4022412 Image#00066 GS Film#945761	Solomon Goss
1803 – August,	Washington Co., Ohio	US Territorial Census Wash Co., Ohio 1790-1890 – NARA Roll M1804, Roll 1 Ancestry.com	Hard to read list of male inhabitants and nothing else	Solomon Goss
1809	Fearing Twp., Washington Co.,	Ohio Census 1790-1890 Ancestry.com	Tax List	Solomon Goss
1810	No. Twp. Listed Wash Co., Ohio	Ohio Census 1790-1890 Ancestry.com	Tax List No US Census for Ohio	Solomon Goss
1816	Big Run, Fearing, Wash Co., and Knox Co., Ohio	Ohio Tax Records 1800-1850 Familysearch.org	DF#4021667 Image#00058 GS Film #522501	Daniel (Belpre), Solomon SR (Fearing), Noah, Levi, Mary, Lydia, (Knox)

Here is the  1816 Tax Record.  Go to the chart above for the source information.  Solomon is the only one on Duck Creek while the children are all taxes for Knox Co., land.

Daniel Goss, Belpre, 
Acres in original tract: 4000
No. of Lot: 2
Luxury or Allotment: U.S. Military Lands
Situated R, T, S: 14, 6, 2
Quarter
City of: 100
Part or Corner Taxed: Undivided part of 450 acres N.E. corner
County: Knox
Original proprietors: Zaccheus Biggs
Tax D, O: 1, 50

Solomon Goss
Acres in original tract: 100
No. of Lot: 82
Luxury or Allotment: Duck Creek
Situated R, T, S: 8, 3, 18
Quarter
City of: 100
Part or Comer Taxed: 
County: Washington 
Original proprietors: Moses Williamson
Tax D, O : 1, 50

For Noah Goss, Levi Goss, Mary Goss, Lydia Goss
Acres in original tract: 4000
No. of Lot: 2
Luxury or Allotment: U.S. Military Lands
Situated R, T, S: 14, 6, 2
Quarter
City of: 100 acres for Noah, and Levi, 50 acres for Mary and Lydia
Part or Corner Taxed: Undivided part of 450 acres N.E. corner
County: Knox
Original proprietors: Zacheus Biggs
Tax D, O: 1, 50 for Noah and Levi only O 75 for Mary and Lydia

My study continues:

1817	Belpre Twp, Fearing, Wash Co. and Knox Co., Ohio	Ohio Tax Records 1800-1850 Familysearch.org	DF#4021667 Image#00195 GS Film #522501	Solomon SR (Fearing), Noah, Levi, Mary, Lydia, (Knox)Daniel Gofs, Belpre
1818	Unknown, Wash Co., Ohio County Land	Ohio Tax Records 1800-1850 Familysearch.org	DF#4021667 Image#00334 GS Film #522501	Solomon SR (Fearing), Levi, Mary, Lydia, (Knox)Daniel Goss
1819	Duck Creek, Wash. Co. County Land	Ohio Tax Records 1800-1850 Familysearch.org	DF#4021667 Image#00475 GS Film #522501	Solomon SR (Fearing), Levi, Mary, Lydia, (Knox)
1820 U.S. Census	Fearing, Wash Co., Ohio	U.S. Federal Census Aug 7, 1820 Ancestry.com	NARA Film M33_95, Image 233	See Below – Soloman Goss

The 1817 and 1818 Tax Records are almost exactly identical to the 1816 except in 1818 Noah disappears. So I skip to the 1819 Tax Record. Noah is gone from the 1819 record as well.

See my post dated November 15, 2011 – Noah Goss, A Mystery! I talk about the deeds of his acquiring the land in Knox Co., Ohio from his father and the sale which was about two month apart.

Solomon Goss
Acres in original tract: 100
No. of Lot: 82
Luxury or Allotment: Duck Creek
Situated R, T, S: 8, 3, 18
Quarter
City of: 100
Part or Corner Taxed:
County: Washington
Original proprietors: Moses Williamson
Tax D, O : 1, 50

For Levi Goss, Mary Goss, Lydia Goss (Noah is no longer listed and Daniel Goss does not appear till 1821 in the Belpre documents).
Acres in original tract: 4000
No. of Lot: 2
Luxury or Allotment: U.S. Military Lands
Situated R, T, S: 14, 6, 2
Quarter
City of: 100 acres for Noah, and Levi, 50 acres for Mary and Lydia
Part or Corner Taxed: Undivided part of 450 acres N.E. corner
County: Knox
Original proprietors: Zacheus Biggs
Tax D, O: 1, 50 for Noah and Levi only O 75 for Mary and Lydia

 Let’s take a look at the 1820 U.S. Census for Washington Co., Ohio

1820 US Federal  Census August 7, 1820  Soloman Goss

NOTE:  Elizabeth is married to Andrew Lake so she is not at home, Noah is about 38 years old, Mary is about 35 years old, Solomon Goss (Jr)  inherits the land in Fearing and married in 1812 to Polly Devol, Daniel lives in Belpre and is married to Lydia in 1813, Levi Goss is in New York or Ontario, Canada.  He was in the War of 1812.  He is about 27 years old.  See my posts about these children of Solomon Goss.

My notes:  The male sections are not as detailed as the females so it makes it hard to figure out who they might be.  Here I try seeing who might fit the numbers.  What do you think?

Free White Persons

Males 16 thru 25: 1 – John Spracklin 24 years old

Males 45 and over:  1 – Solomon himself?

Females under 10: 1

Females 16 to 25: 2 –  Lydia is 24 years old, who is the 2nd female?

Females 26 thru 44: 1 – Mary is 35 years old

Females 45 and over: 1  Olive Scott Goss – maybe, I think she had died before 1810 because she is not in Solomon’s will nor in the deeds records for the land in Knox Co. that he gives to his children.  So who could this be?

Foreigners not Naturalized:  1 – John Spracklin

Engaged in Agriculture: 2

Under 16: 1

Over 25: 3

Total Free White persons: 7

Total White, Slaves, Colored: 7

Maybe that is John Spracklin the one who is not Naturalized and that is why we don’t find him in the 1820 Census?

1821 Additional years: 1821,1822, 1823, 1824, 1825, 1826, 1827, 1828, 1829, 1830, 1831, 1832, 1833, 1834, 1835, 1836, 1838, 1840, 1842, 1843 1844, 1845, 1846, 1847, 1848, 1849, 1850	Belpre, Wash Co., Ohio	Ohio Tax Records 1800-1850 Familysearch.org	DF#4021667Image #00620GS Film #522501	Daniel Goss Belpre with new lands in Belpre
1821	E. Side, Wash Co., Ohio	Ohio Tax Records 1800-1850 Familysearch.org	DF#4021667Image #00621GS Film #522501	Solomon Goss
1822	Unknown, Wash Co., Ohio County Land	Ohio Tax Records 1800-1850 Familysearch.org	DF#4021668Image#00065GS Film #522502	Solomon Goss
1823	Unknown, Wash Co., Ohio County Land	Ohio Tax Records 1800-1850 Familysearch.org	DF#4021668Image #00220GS Film #522502	Solomon Goss SR and Daniel Goss
1824	Unknown Wash Co., Ohio	Ohio Tax Records 1800-1850 Familysearch.org	DF#4021668Image #00383GS Film #522502	Solomon Goss SR and Daniel Goss
1825	Unknown, Wash Co., Ohio	Ohio Tax Records 1800-1850 Familysearch.org	DF#4021668Image #00550GS Film #522502	Solomon Goss SR and Daniel Goss

The rest of the children disappear after the 1820 U.S. Census and Daniel Goss continues through many years and eventually we see that Daniel moves to Belpre and is no longer listed with the Knox Co., lands.  Each of the children:  Elizabeth, Noah, Mary, Daniel, Levi sell their lands to someone else or a family member.  Lydia is the only one that keeps her 50 acres of the Knox Co. lands.

I have written posts on each of these children and I refer you to them for further details, see the Categories on the right side of this blog under SURNAMES – Goss, under Solomon Goss and you will find his children.

Here is the 1821 Tax Record for Washington Co., Ohio, Solomon is listed alone on the page.

E. Side, Washington, Ohio County Land,
Solomon Goss Duck Creek
Acres in the lot: 100
No. of Lot: 82
Situated R, T, S: 8, 3
Quantity&Rate 3: 100
Part or Allotment: 100 Duck Creek
Original Proprietors: Moses Williamson
State Tax: .50 cents
Road Tax: .25 cents
Total 75
Delinq
Remarks:

Daniel and Solomon appear on the same page but their land descriptions are very different for the 1824 Tax Record:

County Land,
Daniel Goss, Belpre,
Acres in the lot: 101 79/100
No. of Lot: 48
Situated R, T, S: 10, 1, 19.20
Quantity&Rate 3: 4
Part or Allotment:
Original proprietors: A. Coburn (Is this Asa Coburn his brother Solomon Goss (Jr.) with Polly’s family?
State Tax: 22
Road Tax: 1
Total 3 2
Delinq
Remarks:

Solomon Goss
Acres in the lot: 100
No. of Lot: 82
Situated R, T, S: 8, 3
Quantity&Rate 3: 100
Part or Allotment: 100 Duck Creek
Original Proprietors: M. Williamson
State Tax: .56
Road Tax: .25 cents
Total .81
Delinq

1826 (2)	Fearing Twp., Wash Co., Ohio Personal Property	Ohio Tax Records 1800-1850 Familysearch.org	DF#4021679 Image #00103 & 00081 GS Film #534813	Solomon Goss Jr.
1827 (2)	Fearing Twp., Wash Co. Ohio,	Ohio Tax Records 1800-1850Familysearch.org	DF#4021679Image #00409 & 00430 GS Film #534813 Ref 66 & 84	Solomon Goss Jr.
1829	Fearing Twp., Wash Co., Ohio	Ohio Tax Records 1800-1850Familysearch.org	DF#4021669 Image#00070 GS Film: 522845	Solomon Goss Jr.
1830	Fearing Twp., Wash Co., Ohio	Ohio Tax Records 1800-1850Familysearch.org	DF#4021669 Image#00367 GS Film: #522845	Solomon Goss Jr.
1832	Fearing Twp., Wash Co., Ohio	Ohio Tax Records1800-1850Familysearch.org	DF#4021670 Image#00084 GS Film: #522846	Solomon Goss

In the above chart we see the shift taking place.  Solomon Goss dies in 1825 and his son Solomon Goss (Jr) moves onto the land in Fearing Twp., stays there till about 1832 and sells the land and moves to Hardin Co., Ohio.  Daniel and Elizabeth are the only children that stay behind in Washington Co., Ohio. I have written several posts about Solomon Goss (Jr) and his family.  See the categories to the right under Surnames – Goss.

 Tax record for 1826:

Solomon Goss Junior
Acres 100
Lot 82
R T Sec: 8, 3, 18
[Aoof] 100/80
Horses
Part or allotment D.Cr.
Original proprietor M. Williamson
State Tax 16.0
County Tax 40.0
Road Tax 4.0
Town Tax 24.0
Total 84.0
Remarks

It is going to be wonderful when all these Ohio tax records are indexed and the images uploaded.  I am looking forward to Morrow, Knox, Franklin and several other counties to review for these records. So go and check out the Familysearch Ohio Tax records, remember they are only 17% complete.

When I copied my census/tax study to this post it squished and moved things around.  Here is a PDF of my Census Tax Record Study all in one:  CensusTaxStudyWashCoOhioEarly1800s

 

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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.

========================================================

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.

=========================================================

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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The Goss Cemetery, Medina Twp., Lenawee County, Michigan

Levi Goss and his family are buried in the Goss Cemetery in Lenawee County, Michigan.  The opportunity to attend the Federation of Genealogical Society Conference  (FGS) in 2007,  in Fort Wayne, Indiana, made it possible for me to take a day trip to this cemetery and more.

I left early in the morning after getting a hearty breakfast and went north to Michigan from Fort Wayne, Indiana.  It was a lovely sunny pleasant day, just perfect for a drive in the country.

The Goss Cemetery is located west of Morenci, a lovely town, in Lenawee County, Michigan.  I actually missed the cemetery as I was going east and had to ask at the local grocery store in Morenci where it might be.  I headed back going west and quickly spotted the cemetery on the north side of the Morenci Road.  So this is a tip, drive from several directions if you are having trouble locating a cemetery.

Here is a published source for this cemetery:  Burial Records of Lenawee County, Michigan, Vol. 2, Medina Twp., #3 Goss/Perry/Woodworth Addition, Morenci, Michigan, 2011, FHL#977.431 V3b V.2.

Find A Grave has a listing for this cemetery but not necessarily tombstone photos. There is a map showing where the cemetery is located.

This link to township maps for Lenawee County, Michigan, might help get you oriented:  http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~keller/lenawee/work/index.html

Remember to click the photo and it will open in a larger window and then click your back button to return to this blog.

Overview:

Overview of the Goss Tombstones

Levi and Sophia’s tombstone:

Levi and Sophia’s Obelisk

Levi close up.  Levi lived 16 years beyond Sophia’s death.

Levi Goss Inscription

Sophia’s inscription on the back of this same obelisk:

Sophia’s inscription close up

Nancy Rummerfield:

Nancy Rummerfield tombstone – 63 years at death

Olive Goss Bailey’s tombstone, on the right of her parent’s obelisk:

Olive Goss Bailey’s tombstone

Their son, Solomon Goss’ tombstone:

Solomon Goss’ tombstone, son of Levi

The Goss/Perry Cemetery was lovely and very pleasant to visit.  It was well-kept.

From this cemetery I headed north to Monroe County and passed through Adrian the county seat.  My goal was to pay my respects to Flora who is buried in the Rice Cemetery.  I will share about that in a future post.

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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 Goss, youngest son receives land from his Father!

Levi Goss received land from his father, Solomon Goss, in 1815, just like his other siblings.  A piece of the same land in Knox Co., Ohio.  In this deed, Solomon, refers to Levi as his youngest son.

Solomon Goss’ deed to Levi, my youngest son

Source:  Deeds, Knox Co., Ohio, FHL #314037, Vol. B-C pg. 273.

Note:  Click on the deed above and it will open in a bigger window.  To return to this post click your back button. 

Fast forward 15 years and we have a deed with Levi Goss as the Grantor and John Spracklin, his brother-in-law, as the Grantee. 

Deed Levi Goss to John Spracklin 1830

On 20 September 1830 Deed of Levi Goss, a resident of Upper Canada, selling land to John Spracklin of Knox Co., Ohio for $200. Witnesses were Alexr. Elliott and Wm. Bevans JP. Description of Land:

Description of Land: “…piece or parcel of land lying and being in the County of Knox and State of Ohio and more particularly described as follows; to wit, Situate, lying and being in the fourteenth Range, sixth township and second quarter of the United States Military Lands in the County of Knox and containing one hundred acres be the same more or less; bounded as follows, Beginning at the northwest corner of said lot and on the line of William Hoggs land, thence east forty-eight chains; thence south twenty chains 83 1/3 links, thence west forty-eight chains; thence north twenty chains 83 1/3 links to the place of beginning and is bounded on the north by lands of Bartholomew and Cyrus Hewitts and to the east by lands owned by Courtland Sheppeard…”

 Source:  Deeds Knox Co., Ohio, FHL #314039, Vol. H, pg. 622-623.

 

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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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