by Phillip G. Goff, GGFA Director of Genetic Genealogy
This is the last of a ten-part series on early Goffe families in England.
The Norfolk Record Office (“NRO”) maintains a database of online historical records. In Norfolk, like elsewhere in the south and east of England, Goffe is the earliest form of the surname. The Goff spelling appears in the NRO online documents in the 18th century. Gough mainly appears in Norfolk records beginning in the 18th century. The below is a partial list of abstracted records of Goffe entries in the NRO https://nrocatalogue.norfolk.gov.uk from 1421 to 1691:
This is the final part of a 10-part series on early Goffe families in England.
Phillip Goff is the co-author, along with Roy L. Lockhart, of The Four Goff Brothers of Western Virginia. Since 2004, he has run the Goff/Gough Surname DNA Study, which today has about 400 participants.
Hello im a Goff from east london looking to see if any family history are here
regards Rob Goff
Hi Rob, please email me at phillip.g.goff@gmail.com with your family tree. If you have not joined the GGFA, I urge you to do so. The cost is $25USD per year and includes the quarterly newsletter, full access to blog posts, TNG family tree database, archives, etc. Also males from an unbroken chain of Goff, Gough or McGough ancestry qualify for a fully sponsored Big Y 700 DNA test if the lineage has not yet been tested, budget permitting. This is a $400USD test and is the gold standard in tracing your surname. Kind regards, Phil
Rob, I am eager to hear about your lineage. Once we know something of your lineage, then we can determine what is known already about your history. There is some evidence that my Goff family is from the area between Essex and Norfolk. Regardless of whether there is currently information about your Goff family here, the GGFA is dedicated to sorting out all Goff/Gough/McG lineages worldwide. Today we are reconstructing lineages back to the 1500s, but the tools exist to get back to the 1300s. Let’s email about whether you’ve taken a DNA test. Best, Phil
My ancestor Daniel Goff was born in Yaxham in 1795 before he moved to nearby Reymerston – his son John was born in Reymerston around 1839 and he had a son called Robert born 1878. Robert was the brother to my grandmother Harriet. Harriet moved to Halifax in West Riding of Yorkshire where she married my grandfather Richard Marsden. Her uncle Francis had moved to Halifax from Reymerston to join the Halifax Police and she lived with him at first.
Steven Beasley
Hi Steven, do you know of any male-line Goff descendants of your Yaxham Goff family? If so, we can sort out the earlier lineage of the family with Big Y 700 DNA test. Phil Goff