States, probably in 1728. He studied divinity, and in 1737 applied for ordination to the presbytery of Philadelpiiia, but was refused, and he was ordained by his instructor. At the end of ten years' work in the ministry the question of his ordination again arose ; it was submitted to the New York and Long Island conferences, and Mr. Goetschius was reordained. During the contest churches were closed against him, and some of his parishioners had their children rebaptized. In 1749 he removed to Hackensack, N. J., disagreed with his colleague on ecclesiastical questions, and so hot was the discussion as to his ordination that one Sunday, apprehending a resistance to his preaching, he buckled on a sword and entered the pulpit, prepared to use the weapon if forcibly ejected. Mr, Goetschius was an instructor in divinity and a trustee in Queens (now Rutgers) college, and, although of violent passions, was learned and devout. His publications are "The Unknown God" and "Sermons" (Newton, N. J., 1742). — His brother, John Mauritius, b. in Liguria, Switzerland, in 1720; d. in New Jersey about 1800, removed to this country in 1744, and practised medicine, but was persuaded by his brother, Johannes, to study for the ministry. He preached to both Dutch and Germans in Schoharie, N. Y., and also practised medicine. He was one of the original trustees of King's (now Columbia) college.
GOFF, Nathan, politician, b. in Clarksburg, W. Va., 9 Oct., 1848. He was educated at the Northwestern Virginia academy, Georgetown college, and the University of New York. In 1861 he enlisted in the National array in the 3d regiment of Virginia volunteer infantry, served as lieutenant and then adjutant of this regiment, and in 1863 was promoted major of the 4th Virginia cavalry. In 1865 he was admitted to the bar and elected to the West Virginia legislature, in 1868 was appointed district attorney, which office he resigned in 1881 to accept the secretaryship of the navy, to fill out the unexpired term of Richard W. Thompson, who had vacated it. In March, 1881, he was reappointed district attorney of West Virginia, which office he again resigned in July, 1882. He was elected to congress as a Republican in 1884, and was re-elected in 1886.
GOFFE, William, regicide, b. in England about
1605; d. in Hartford, Conn., in 1679, or, as is held
by some historians, at New Haven in 1680. The
weight of testimony is in favor of Hartford. He
was the fourth son of Stephen Goffe, rector of Stanmore,
Sussex. The elder Goffe was “a very severe
Puritan,” and his son inherited his hatred of papist
and churchman. Prior to his joining the army in
1647 he was engaged in some commercial pursuit.
He rose rapidly in the parliamentary army, becoming
a major-general in 1655, with command in
Sussex, Hampshire, and Berkshire. He commanded
the soldiers at the clearing out of Barebones's
parliament, and assisted in the violent proceeding
known as Pride's purge, in which obnoxious
Presbyterians were summarily excluded from parliament.
He was returned a member of parliament
from Yarmouth in 1654, and from Southampton in
1656, and Cromwell appointed him to a seat in his
house of lords or “other house.” He varied his
military duties by exhorting in religious gatherings.
He was made master of arts at Oxford in
1649, in company with ten other parliamentary
officers. He was held in great esteem by Cromwell
and by the court in general — so much so that
he was spoken of with favor as the successor to the
protectorship. On the news of Charles's return,
Goffe, with Whalley, his father-in-law, made prepa-
rations to go to America. They arrived in Boston,
27 July, 1660, and took up their residence in
Cambridge. When the news arrived in Boston, on the
last day of November, that the act of indemnity
passed by parliament in August excepted them
from its provisions, the government of the colony
began to be uneasy, and a meeting of the council
was held, 22 Feb., 1661, to consult as to their
security. Four days later Goffe and Whalley departed
for New Haven, reaching there 7 March, 1661.
Here, or in the neighborhood, they remained till
1664, when they removed to Hadley. During their
stay in New Haven they at times appeared in public,
but often were compelled to conceal themselves
when pursued by crown officers. At one time they
lived in a cave in West Rock (Providence Hill).
In 1675, according to tradition, Goffe appears as a
savior of the town from the Indians. The truth of
the story has been cast in doubt. Prof. Franklin
B. Dexter, in a paper on the regicides, in the New
England colonial historical society papers, finds
evidence in its favor, while a late writer in the
New England historical genealogical register
re-examines the testimony and decides against it.
The story has been woven into fiction by Walter
Scott in “Peveril of the Peak,” and by Fenimore
Cooper in “Wept of Wish-ton-Wish.” Whalley
died, it is thought, at Hadley, between August,
1674, and August, l676. Goffe went to Hartford
in 1679, and probably died soon afterward. It is
held by some that he died at New Haven, and
three rough stones, found in a cemetery there, are
thought to mark the graves of Whalley, Goffe, and
Dixwell. Goffe, from the time of his departure
from Westminster, kept a diary, which was in Gov.
Hutchinson's possession, and was destroyed by fire
in the attack on his house in 1765. A contemporaneous
transcript, covering only from 4 May to 6
Sept., 1660, found among the Winthrop papers,
was printed in the Massachusetts historical
society proceedings in December, 1863. Goffe's
letters from 1662 till 1679, with other papers, are
printed in the collection of the Massachusetts
historical society (4th series, vol. iv.) from the originals
in the Mather papers belonging to the Prince
library, deposited in the Boston public library.
GOICOECHEA, José Antonio de Llendo y
(goi-co-cha'-ah), South American naturalist, b. in
Cartagena, Colombia, in 1735; d. in Guatemala in
1814. He studied in his native city and Bogotá,
entered the Franciscan order, and, after serving as
teacher in several of the convent-colleges of his
order in Europe, was called as professor of philosophy
and theology to the university of Guatemala.
He was an eminent preacher, and also brought
into his adopted country many useful inventions.
He was an indefatigable student of natural
history, and established at the university courses of
instruction in botany and agricultural chemistry.
In 1795 he united with some friends to establish
the “Economical Society of Guatemala,” under
the presidency of Jacobo de Villaurrutia, which
has done much for the progress of Central America.
Goicoechea wrote treatises on botany, agriculture,
mendicancy and the means of suppressing it, all of
which were read in the Economical society, a volume
of sermons, and an eloquent representation in
favor of the Indians to King Charles IV.
GOLDSBOROUGH, Charles, statesman, b. in Maryland in 1760; d. in Shoals, Md., 13 Dec., 1834. He served in congress as a Federalist from 2 Dec., 1805, to 3 March, 1817, and was governor of Maryland in 1818-'19.— His cousin, Charles Washington, clerk of the navy department, b. in Cambridge, Md., 18 April, 1779; d. in Washington, D. C., 14
