William Gooch (c1714-1802/3) is a native of Virginia, who can be traced back to Hanover County, Virginia. He removed to North Carolina and left a large family. This family appears to be fairly well documented both in public records and in private records as well. His family has been extensively researched by Virginia Gooch Watson of Franklin, Tennessee, who is the primary source for much of the family history found in these notes. Mrs. Evelena Gooch Singleton also collected materials on this line, which she included in her 1943 compilation of Gooch family histories.
William Gooch is also mentioned in a family history written sometime after the Civil War. This history was found in a document owned by Rev. William Buckner Snead and is believed to have been written by this minister; however, transcriptions of the record do not clearly establish this fact [re: letter, Georgia College, Milledgville, GA; publ "Family Puzzler" No 74, pg. 1-5]. Rev. Snead descends from William Gooch's daughter, Mary, who married John Snead of Hanover County. He recognized that William Gooch owned valuable land at the time of his parents' marriage and that Gov. Claiborne was a near relation. This is the oldest recorded family recollection of a connection between the Gooch and Claiborne families.
William Gooch of Caswell County is often found listed as "William Sr." in public records. Researcher Mrs. Watson observes that he used the middle initial "W" in some records. The use of the matronym "Claiborne" is important in this family's naming patterns and suggests kinship. Mrs. Watson documents that he had at least eleven children by two wives. Interestingly enough, this William Gooch and the William Gooch found in Albemarle county, VA are of the same generation and the Claiborne name are used in both families, indicating either a common Gooch-Claiborne ancestor or that there was more than one Gooch-Claiborne marriage.
William Gooch's earliest records show him with land in St. Martin's Parish, Louisa/Hanover County, Virginia, by 1735 [ibid]. William served in the American Revolutionary War between 1777 and 1779 for the State of North Carolina [ibid]. William bought land in Granville County, NC in 1764 and sold this land by 1778, when he settles on the South Fork of Country Line Creek in Caswell County, NC. William acquired over 1500 acres in Caswell. William Sr. married twice, first about 1743-44 to Keziah Ann Hart. Keziah Ann Hart is the daughter of Thomas and Susan (Rice)Hart. From Rev. William B. Sneeds' family history we can establish that Keziah died in 1757. William Gooch married about 1762 his second wife, Frances Rice (died 1816), the daughter of John and Lettisha Rice. William wrote his will on the 05th of November 1801 and it was proved in January Court of 1803 in Caswell County. His executors were three of his sons: William, David, and John. Alexander Murphey and Henry Williams witnessed the will.
Many of William Gooch's children emigrated to Middle Tennessee, settling in Williamson, Davidson, and Rutherford Counties [re: Watson, V.G.; Notes (1990)]. The list of William's children found in these notes was compiled from Mrs. Watson's notes, incorporating dates and other details from Mrs. Nancy Crawford and from other secondhand sources. Mrs. Crawford has an excellent and detailed website including information on this family and a copy of the will of William Gooch at: "http://www.cysource.com/~powder/gen.htm".
Information on the as yet unidentified, Thomas Gooch family comes from an old typed one page history of the family, which provides dates that appear to have come from an old family Bible and transcribed by Miss Mary Lou Gordon White of Nashville, Tennessee.
© 1999 mahard@jps.net