John Gooch who died in Granville County, NC in 1792 is the progenitor of the Gooch family found in Granville Co., NC. John and his sons can be traced back to Caroline Co., VA. Caroline may have had several Gooch families, probably with origins in King William or Hanover Counties, but unfortunately nearly all of the Caroline records have been lost to war.
On this page, I have provided biographical sketches on John and his children. You may wish to use the alphabetical listing of individuals belonging to this line to jump down the page. Please note that individuals in color and underlined, have additional information on a separte page, just click on the name to obtain the information.
Gideon Gooch is the son of John Gooch of Caroline Co., VA who settled in Granville Co., NC and died in 1793 leaving a will. Gideon is named in this will. Granville county records show that Gideon was one of the later arrivals of the Gooches to NC. The earliest record found for him is a poll tax in Amelia County, Virginia where records show him living with his brother John Gooch for one year; 1767. Tax records for the years before and the years after that poll tax do not list him in that county. Between 1768 and 1776 there is no record establishing his residence, but it is assumed he returned to Caroline County, Virginia. In 1776, Gideon's name appears in the Caroline County Order Book in which he appears in court to prove by oath a bond from James Terry of Granville Co., NC to John Gooch [ref: pg. 623]. In that same year, Gideon witnesses a deed between John Robinson and John Chiles [ref: pg. 624]. Perhaps Gideon farmed the 100 acres in Caroline County that his father would later transfer to him in his will. By 1778, Gideon had established himself in Granville County, North Caroline where he took an oath of allegence on the 22nd of May 1778. Between 1779 and 1800, Gideon acquired a large amount of land in northern Granville in the Island Creek district; now Vance County making him one of the largest land owners in that district. Gideon wrote his will on the 05th of September 1800 and the instrument was proved in November Court of 1800 [ref: Will Book 5, pg. 105]. Gideon's wife Mary and his children are listed in the will and an inventory of his estate show him to be a prosperous farmer with modest slave holdings. A deposition given by J. Satterwhite in 1817 recalls that Gideon "worked five or six hands on his farm and had a plantation of common size" and further details that Gideon's slaves consisted of three men, one woman, and a girl; the girl and sometimes the woman woked in the house. In the same court case, John Johnson relates that Gideon had three full hands and three sons old enought ot work the plow. Though not sizeable enough to compare with the great planters of Virginia and South Caroline, for Granville county Gideon's land and slave ownership far exceeded most inhabitants.
Gideon's children are well documented in his will and in other records in Granville county, but the identify of his wife (or wives) is obscured by the loss of most of the records for Caroline County, Virginia where he no doubt married and resided in his early years. The only clue that we have for Gideon's marriage is in an advertisement in the "Virginia Gazette" of 1790, which reads, "M'Gehee, Carr., dec'd, 527 ac. of his land in Caroline Co., to be sold by his ex., Henry Chiles; his legatees are: Gideon Gooch and Benjamin Hutchins of N. Caroline, Samuel M'Gehee of Amherst Co, and John M'Gehee of Bedford Co." [ref: 18th Century Virginia Newspapers, VGGA 24 Nov 1790]. Benjamin Hutchins is well documented by deeds and other records in Goochland Co., Virginia and a member of a prominent Quaker family associated with the Cedar Creek Meetinghouse. In the Quaker records it is clear that Benjamin Hutchins married Judith McGeehee; therefore, we can speculate that Gideon married Judith's sister. There is no evidence of this in the records of Cedar Creek Meeting House, but then Gideon and the Gooches were not Quakers by evidence of their slave holding status. Therefor, though the marriage is not substanciated by record, the guess work is probably not far from true. Helping to corroborate this connection to Judith McGeehee Hutchins, Gideon names one daughter "Judith". In addition to these various connections between Gideon and the McGeehee family, other Gooch family members leave records indicateing associations with the McGeehee family. In South Carolina's 96th district, Carr McGeehee Jr. turns up and is associated with Gideon's brother-in-law Joseph Minter. Language in Minter's will suggests that the Minter and McGeehees were members of the Presbyterian Church; a radial sect at that time. Gideon was not a Quaker by evidence of his slave ownership which was forbidden by the sect, so it is not surprising to find his name absent from their rosters. Cedar Creek Minutes record the expulsion of several of the McGeehee women from the Quakers due to their status as slave owners. Turning to McGeehee researchers, there is also recognition that Gideon Gooch married a Mary McGeehee and that this Mary is the daughter of Carr and Ann (Chiles) McGeehee of Caroline County, Virginia. As mentioned before, most of Caroline's records have been lost, but enough remain to indicate that a Joseph and a Carr McGeehee lived in that county. Mary Gooch, the widow of Gideon Gooch survived her husband. She remained in Granville County, NC on the Island Creek farm. Mary Gooch died in 1817 and there was a court case over her estate and the alleged abuse her son-in-law Hezekiah Strum inflicted upon her and the estate of Gideon Gooch during Mary's lifetime. Hezekiah Strum had married Gideon's daughter Susannah, but by 1817 his wife is found to be a woman named Rachel. The various depositions indicate that Mary Gooch, Gideon's widow lived in comfort and "kept a plentiful table before and after her husband's death", but then Hezikiah Strum moved in with Mary for one year until a house "in the yard was built" and the Strums kept a separate table. However Strum farmed with Mary and in the end Mary was left nearly destitute of provisions. Countering the harsh criticism the Strums received from neighboring families, Rachel Strum states in her deposition, "I was intimately acquainted with her [Mary], I don't know that I ever saw her but of the way, had seen her a little merry sometimes". It is unclear what she meant by this statement, but it was probably derogitory since references to drinking were often used as evidence to establish incompetence in an individual.
The children of Gideon Gooch are well documented in two respects. One their names are provided by Gideon's will and their marriages are established by marriage bonds in Granville County, NC. Marriage bonds and the will of Rowland Terry who died in Granville in 1824, establish that five of Gideon's seven children married the children of Rowland Terry [ref: Rowland Terry, Will Book 9, pg. 285]. Records in both North Carolina and Tennessee indicate that most of the Terry and Gooch family emigrated to White County, Tennessee. Many descendants of this line are actively researching Gideon and his descendants; however, oral family history and early genealogy within this branch appears to be nearly non-extant. The children of Gideon & Mary (McGeehee) Gooch are (note "mb" stands for marriage bond):
Elizabeth Gooch (c1735 - c1793-9)
Rowland Gooch of Granville is often confused with Rowland Gooch and his son Rowland of Louisa County, Virginia. This confusing is worthy of note, since names like Rowland, Gideon, and John are also used in the Louisa branch of the family and though yet undocumented, the connection between these two families is certainly close. Like many of his brothers, Rowland Gooch is first mentioned in the Amelia County, Virginia tax books when he was polled in that county from 1765 to 1767 in the household of his brothers John and William Gooch. At this time, Rowland appear to have neither land or slaves. In April of 1767, Edward Thweatt of Amelia deeds to "Roland Gooch of Amelia" 145 acres along Flat Rock in neighboring Lunenburg County, Virginia [ref: Amelia DB 9, pg. 170]. In 1770, Rowland, now "of Dinwiddie County, Virginia" sell the 145 acres along Flatrock Creek to Thomas Tabb [ref: Lunenburg DB 12, pg. 23]. In this 1770 deed, no wife signs for release of her dower share, indicating that Rowland is still unmarried. In 1771, Edward Thweatt deeded land to his daughter "Lively Gooch", suggesting that Rowland married Thweatt's daughter. This marriage is later corroborated by Edward Thweatt's will that names Rowland Gooch. The Tweatt connection is important, since Rowland eventaully follows the Thweatts to Granville County, NC and establishes his family there. Rowland was the first of the Gooch men to settle in Granville and his first deed is dated the 17th of December 1772.
Joseph Gooch (c1732-1810)
Joseph Gooch is my direct ancestor. There is quite a bit of controversy over my designation of Joseph as the son of John Gooch of Caroline County, VA, who died and left a will in Granville County, NC in 1793. John Gooch's will clearly states Joseph Gooch as a son and heir. Tax records and census record locate no other Joseph Gooch in Granville County or the surrounding area. Deeds in Granville also indicate that Joseph Gooch interacted with the children of John Gooch in a way that indicates a close relationship. Finally, Joseph Gooch's pattern of emigration from Caroline County, VA to Amelia Co., VA to Granville Co., NC mirror the same emigration patterns of the rest of John Gooch's children. Therefore, it seems to me to be obvious that Joseph is the son of John Gooch of Caroline and Granville County. However, family traditions pursist in naming Joseph's father as Rev. Thomas Gooch of Nansemond County, Virginia and this topic must be addressed in some detail.
The earliest account of Thomas Gooch as the father of Joseph comes from his descendant Fannie Gooch Hamilton who on her 1921 application to the DAR names Thoams Gooch as the father of Joseph Gooch. Annie Gooch Hardison also of the Joseph Gooch line states on her DAR application that "Thomas son of Rev. Thomas Gooch, came to American before 1700 and had three sons, the youngest, Joseph ..." [ref: DAR rec 153772]. This statement is wholely undocumented by any record that I have seen. As noted elsewher on my page concerning the Virginia Gooch family, this preoccupation with a Rev. Thomas Gooch comes from early attempts of the Gooch family to connect themselves with Gov. William Gooch and the Gooch family of Suffolk, England. Once it was clear that Gov. Gooch had left no heirs, family historians then tried to establish Gov. Gooch's brother Rev. Thomas Gooch, Bishop of London as an ancestor. This has been clearly proven to be untrue. Later in the 20th century, an unknown researcher made a further incorrect link placing Rev. Thomas Gooch in Nansemond County, Virginia. The Thomas "Gooch" that is found in Nansemond arrived about the time of Rev. Thomas Gooches birth. and is associated with a Hugh Goffe. Nansemond records indicate Thomas Gough/Goughf/Goffe as residing in that county from about 1687 to 1730; however, there is no indication that Thomas left Nansemond or was associated with Joseph. Instead, Joseph shows a clear emigration pattern not from Nansemond, but from a different part of Virginia the Tidewater region and Caroline County. In addition to the myths about descent from Bishop Gooch, there may have been a genuine confusion about ancestors, since the origin of the Thomas Gooch ancestor comes from a branch of the family descended from a Thomas Dudley also of Caroline and Amelia Cos., VA and who would have been the same generation as Joseph's father. Just to be fair and to add confusion to the whole issue, Amelia County deeds show that in 1762 a Thomas Gooch purchased 203 acres from William Russell of Lunenburg along Flat Creek bordering John Pride and John Drinkwater [ref: Amelia DB 7, pg. 703]. Two years earlier Joseph purchased land on Mayes Creek and John Drinkwater is named as an adjacent neighbor. However, Thomas Gooch is not found on tax records for Amelia and no further record is found concerning him.
Not only is Joseph Gooch's father a hotly contested issue among family historians, but the name of his wife and more importantly the name of Daniel Gooch's mother is also debated. Again for me, the traditional family history on Joseph's wife appears weak compared to the existing documented evidence. Family tradition states that Joseph Gooch married Jane Dudley and that this Jane Dudley was a sister to Ruth who married Capt. Samuel Sneed. Sneed and Gooch's children marry in Granville County. As detailed on the Samuel Sneed section on this Webpage, Samuel was the one who married Jane Dudley. The family tradition that Joseph Gooch married Jane Dudley in Goochland County, VA also proves to be unsubstantiated, since there are no records indicating Joseph's residency or marriage in Goochland, despite the fairly complete records still surviving for that county. The surviving records and the naming patterns among Joseph's children indicate that Joseph married three times and the first marriage was to a woman named Rachel who is the mother of all three of Joseph's children. When Joseph Gooch sold land to his borther John Gooch in 1762, Rachel his wife signs away her dower share. This establishes Rachel as his wife; however, it does not substantiate her as the mother of Daniel Gooch who was born in 1755. The evidence for Rachel as the mother of Daniel Gooch is in the naming pattern of his children. Daniel names his eldest son after his father-in-law, the wealthy planter Samuel Sneed. His eldest daughter is named "Rachel". Daniel's second son is named Joseph after his own father. The second daughter is named Jane Dudley after Daniel's mother-in-law. This more than any record is compelling evidence that Rachel was his mother. The naming of his eldest daughter is especially poignant in that by the birth of Rachel Gooch in 1793, Rachel the wife of Joseph Gooch had already been dead at least 11 years. Daniel Gooch's daughter Rachel is found in a tax records listed as "Rachel P.", which suggests to me that the identity of Rachel's maiden name may be found among one of the families of Caroline that begin with "P", such as Pollard, Pomphrett, Pendleton, Pickett, Pitts, or Phillips. The evidence for Rachel's death is found in the deeds and first US Census of Amelia County, Virginia. Rachel signs away her dower in a 1779 deed in Amelia, but by 1782 when the first Census was compiled based on tax lists no adult woman is listed in Joseph's household suggesting her death by that time. Rachel is clearly dead by 1794, when Joseph Gooch marries Anne Marshall the widow of Abner Lockett. This marriage is documented by a prenuptial agreement made in Mecklenburg County, Virginia where Anne resided. The Lockett family were neighbors of Joseph Gooch in Amelia, thereby explaining Joseph's association with a woman who lived in a different county. Anne is believed to be the same woman who was born on the 28th of January in 1733 to William and Anne Marshall as recorded by the Bristol Parish Register [ref: pg. 340]. In addition to the detailed pre-nuptual agreement between Joseph and Anne there is another interesting document dated 1804 in which Joseph places a slave named Jenney intrust for Anne. The instrument reads, "...provided she the said Ann do live with said Joseph her Husband asa wife & not depart from his House without a Lawful cause, but if he the said Ann sould depart from said Joseph her Husbnd & not dwell with him as a wife without a Lawful cause then it shall be the duty of the aforesaid trustee [James Smith Sr.] at the death of said Joseph to cause the sadi Negro Jenny & her Increase to be equally divided between his three sons to wit Daniel , Amos & William..." [ref: Granville, 11 Sep 1804]. Anne must have died by 1806 when Joseph marries again. To date, no record of Anne's death has been found, though she clearly owned property. On the 26th of July 1780, Joseph Gooch took out a bond in Granville county to marry Sarah "Sally" Harris, the widow of John Hawkins of Granville County. Sally survived Joseph Gooch and in 1811 the heirs of Joseph Gooch, his sons Amos, Daniel, and William, sell to Sally Gooch 92 acres, probably the same 92 acres that Joseph Gooch is tax upon before his death. This sale is not a simple transfer of land, but complicated by the fact that the Gooch men purchase this tract from Howell Frayzur (sic) who is probably Sally's son-in-law and then this same tract is transfered directly to Sally [ref: DB V, pg. 174, 189]. This process of transfer may reflect some debt owed by Sally to Frazier.
John Gooch (c1737-1814)
John Gooch Jr. is well documented in the records of Virginia and North Carolina. He is named in his father's will of 1793 as a resident of Virginia. Records in Virginia's southside counties indicate that John came to Amelia County where he became involved in milling and farming. His marriage to Judith Radford is documented by a marriage bond dated the 20th of November 1764 in Amelia County. Judith's parents have not been identified by Virginia records, though by namein gpatters one suspects that her father may have been named "William" and her mother may have been of the "Anderson" family. John Radford who came originally from Goochland County, Virginia is a man close to Judith's age and is found in Amelia County records about the same time as Judith's marriage to Gooch.
Anna Mariah Gooch is named in her father's will of 1793 in Granville County. We have a great deal of information on Anna Mariah, due to the wills of her father and her two husbands. She also left her own will, probated in Edgefield, South Carolina in 1802. Anna Mariah married first Joseph Minter, probably in Caroline County, Virginia. The loss of records in Caroline obscures further information on this topic; however, the presence of an Anthony Minter in Caroline suggest that Joseph had kin in that county and we know fromt he Caroline Order Book and her father's will that Anna Mariah's family came from Caroline.
Joseph Minter was one of the first in the family to come to Granville County, NC. Joseph Minter purchased land from Nathaniel Holly between 1762-1763 [ref: Granville DB F, pg. 57]. The 1767 tax list from Granville show Joseph with three polled White men in his household and six taxable slaves, making him one of the larger slave owners in the district. Other Minter family connections are suggested in the records of Granville County. George Whitlock names a child Anne Minter Whitcok and Negroes in Caroline County, Virginia in his will of 1773; this will is witnessed by a John and Mary Minter [ref: Granville Will Book 1, pg. 21-2].
Joseph Minter sells land in 1779 and about this time removes to the 96th District of South Carolina, which would later become Edgefield County. Joseph Minter made a will in Granville dated the 18th of April 1774 and stating that he was " sick & weak but of sound reason & memory". However, Joseph must have recovered and completed his settlement in South Carolina, as he made a second will in 1784 [ref: Box 65, Pack. 1562, Abbeville, SC]. The tax records for 1784 show that the family lived on Turkey Creek and his will indicates they had 12 slaves.
After Joseph's death in 1784, Anna Mariah married Capt. John William. Williams was also a Virginia native with a similar background as Anna Mariah. William was born in Hanover County, Virginia to Daniel & Ursula (Henderson) Williams; relatives of the Williams and Henderson families that settled Granville County, NC. Capt. John Williams had married in 1759 to Mary Atwood in Amelia County, VA and appears to have known Anna Mariah's brother Joseph Gooch who was also a resident of Amelia in that time period. Anna Mariah had no issue by Williams and he died in September/October of 1794 in Edgefield, South Carolina.
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