Friday Family Photo--The Goff Family

This week we've been bustling about trying to create more storage space. I know none of you ever have this problem. My husband had already talked to one of his favorite contractors about building a slotted storage file to fit in the down stairs shower for our art work. Usually I'm aware of pending projects, but this one I didn't know about until Mark knocked on the door on Tuesday. I was horrified--where would I store our off season coats, I asked. Plus, we've actually used that shower once in 5 years for guests. I launched into planning mode, rushing around looking at all the nooks and crannies. I was completely successful and the shower has been saved. I have one large empty shelf; I've taken two sacks of books to the library sale I would probably never read; some suitcases are under the bed; and I found the photograph of my husband's great grandparents, Sarah and Herbert Goff.

Back: Charles, Herman, Walter; front: Edna, Sarah, Herbert, Eula, Irma
I checked my FamilyTreeMaker database and I did have all but one of these people, but other than their last known address, Crown Hill Cemetery, 700 West 38th Street in Indianapolis where they are all awaiting the resurrection, I knew very little, and my husband couldn't remember much. I asked him why his grandmother and one of her sisters had the same married name, but he didn't know. I asked him if he could remember meeting any of them, but he wasn't sure. So, I'll need to call my sister-in-law who is a little older and probably hung around when the relatives were visiting, or maybe might have gone to funerals. From the sleeves, I'd date this about late 1890s. The photo is in very poor condition and appears to have been enlarged from a smaller one maybe 10 years later from notes on the back.

Just by chance, I googled "Herbert Goff + Vernon Indiana" and found this article at a website for the Ironton, Ohio Register, and I'm pretty sure I've found him, plus the name of his father.

Ironton Register, clippings from Oct. 25, 1888: "In a private note from our old friend, S. W. Goff, who is with his son Herbert, at Vernon, Indiana, he says "my first vote was in 1836, when I voted for Harrison. I, also, voted for him in 1840, and will vote for the grandson in 1888."

Isn't the internet amazing?

"Crown Hill is the third largest cemetery in the United States at 555 acres (2.2 km²). It contains 25 miles (40 km) of paved road, over 150 species of trees and plants, over 185,000 graves, and services roughly 1,500 burials per year. It sits on the highest geographic point in Indianapolis. (Wikipedia)." "Crown Hill Cemetery was constructed in response to a movement for a new cemetery in the 1860s. Unlike the tidy rows of pioneer cemeteries, Crown Hill was large in scale and picturesque in appearance. Its massive stone gates and Romanesque Revival waiting station gave the cemetery an imposing quality. The individual stones and mausoleums provide a remarkable collection of sculptural work.[National Park Service]" If you think you may have family there, the data base is terrific. I've only been there once that I can remember, in 1996 for Aunt Babe's funeral, but it is lovely.