Goss Family Papers
Scope and Contents
The collection consists of three photographs and two letters pertaining to the family of William and Mollie Goss. The photographs consist of one photograph of five men in late nineteenth/early twentieth century attire. The second is of three women and one girl in late nineteenth/early twentieth century attire. The final is a man and woman in late nineteenth/early twentieth century attire in a horse-drawn buggy. All individuals in the photographs are unidentified. The first letter is dated September 25, with no year given, and is addressed to “my dear children” from “your affectionate mother.” It concerns the mothers grief after the death of one of “your kind hearted brother” and updates about home and neighborhood life, including preparations for winter, enslaved individuals, and updates about neighbors. Letter two is to Mollie Goss from her husband, William Goss. It is dated Saturday, November 12, 1859. It contains romantic musings of “melancholy” for missing his wife and child.
Dates
- Creation: 1859
Creator
- Unknown Creator (Person)
Conditions Governing Access
Open for research.
Biographical / Historical
William Henry Goss was born November 16, 1835 in Troup County, Georgia, the son of Jesse Hamilton Goss and Rhody Ann (Baker) Goss. The 1850 census shows 14-year old William to still be living with his parents in Troup County, Georgia, the second of four children. Ten years later, William H. Goss is shown in the 1860 census as a 22-year old schoolteacher residing in Chireno, Nacogdoches County with his aunt Mary Newport(Goss)and her husband Washington G. Atkinson.
The National Park Service's "Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System" lists 19 men in the Confederate military with the name "William Goss." There was a private William Henry Goss in Company F, 21st Regiment, Georgia Infantry, during the Civil War. This regiment recruit soldiers from Troup County, so it is likely this is the same individual as in the collection. The company roster shows Goss enlisted March 4, 1862 and was last recorded as absent without leave March 1, 1864.
[1] Benjamin Goss Sr. m. Elizabeth Hamilton
...[2] Benjamin Goss Jr. m. Susannah Davis
......[3] Mary Newport Goss m. Washington G. Atkinson
......[3] Jesse Hamilton Goss Sr. m. Rhody Ann Baker
.........[4] William Henry Goss
Sources:
--"Atkinson, Washington G." 1985. Nacogdoches County Families. Dallas: Curtis Media Corp., 142-143.
--Ericson, Carolyn Reeves, ed. 1978. The People of Nacogdoches County in 1860, An Edited Census. Nacogdoches, 1978, 62-63.
--National Park Service. 2018. Soldiers and Sailors Database. Online at https://www.nps.gov/civilwar/search-soldiers.htm (Accessed 18 January 2018).
--"Troup - Ben Hill County, GA - Military - Civil War Co. F 21st Regiment 'Ben Hill Infantry.'" USGenWeb. Online at http://files.usgwarchives.net/ga/troup/military/civilwar/rosters/cof21.txt (Accessed 18 January 2018).
--"William H. Goss" [Household 639, District 800, Troup County, GA]. 1850 United States Federal Census. 2018. HeritageQuest Online. Online at https://www.ancestryheritagequest.com/ (Accessed 18 January 2018).
--"William Henry Goss." 2018. Geni. Online at https://www.geni.com/people/William-Goss/6000000000670152525 (Accessed 18 January 2018).
Full Extent
0.01 Cubic Feet
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
The William and Mollie Goss Collection consists of two nineteenth-century letters concerning family relationships, bereavement, domestic life, and enslaved individuals, and three photographs of unidentified individuals dating from the late nineteenth or early twentieth century. The correspondence includes an 1859 letter from William Henry Goss to his wife, Mollie Goss.
Arrangement
This collection consists of five items described in one folder and housed with other collections in a banker's box.
- Title
- Guide to the Goss Family Papers
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the East Texas Research Center Repository
