The Genealogy of Ellen G. White

Grandparents

Joseph Goold/Gould

born Kittery [now Eliot?], Maine, fall of 1751 GEGW 11.6

died Portland, Maine, 15 November 1838 GEGW 11.7

married Falmouth, Maine, 24 October 1773 GEGW 11.8

Lydia Lowell

born Falmouth (now Portland), Maine, 22 December 1754 GEGW 11.9

died [Portland, Maine?] about 1842 GEGW 11.10

Children, born in Maine, correct order unknown:

Sarah Gould

Mary Gould

Joseph Gould, born 24 May 1779 in Kittery; living in June 1859; married (intention Portland, 10 Oct. 1802) Abigail Henshaw.

John Gould, born 1781, probably in Kittery; married 1801 Lydia Goold.

Robert Gould; perhaps the Robert, born about 1782—83, died 14 July 1825, aged 42, buried in Eastern Cemetery in Portland (Portland death record indicates Robert died 19 July); married (intention Portland, 20 October 1803) Sarah/Sally Jordan.

Lydia Gould, born 1784; married 1801 John Norwood.

Eunice Gould, born about 1786, probably in Portland; married Robert Harmon.

Dorcas Gould; perhaps the Dorcas whose marriage intentions with Jeremiah Milliken were recorded in Portland 2 Aug. 1806.

Abner B. Gould, born about 1792, probably in Portland; married (intention 25 Oct. 1807) Elizabeth Green.

Charlotte S. Gould

Hannah Ricker Gould, born 8 Aug. 1796 in Portland; died 16 Jan. 1865, aged 70y 5m; married (intention 20 March 1813) William A. Green.

No primary record has been found connecting Eunice (Gould) Harmon (ca. 1786—1864?) with her purported parents, Joseph and Lydia (Lowell) Goold/Gould of Kittery and Portland, Maine. There is no birth record for her and no will or other estate record for either parent in which she was identified as a daughter. ¹⁶ She is also not mentioned in Joseph Goold/Gould’s Revolutionary War pension file. GEGW 12.1

As noted above, Robert Harmon, husband of Eunice (Gould) Harmon, purchased a lot in Portland, Maine, from Abner Gould and his wife, Elizabeth, the date of the conveyance being 31 May 1836 (Cumberland Co., Maine, Deeds, 147:108, in research notes of James R. Nix and copy of notes revised 24 October 1991 supplied by Ellen G. White Estate from previously copied genealogical records). While no relationship between the Goulds and the Harmons is stated in the deed, Abner was almost certainly the brother of Eunice (Harmon) Gould and named for their mother’s father, Abner Lowell. Robert Harmon and Abner Gould, Jr., were enumerated near each other in Portland in the 1840 Federal Census (research notes of James R. Nix and copy of notes revised 24 October 1991 supplied by Ellen G. White Estate from previously copied genealogical records). GEGW 12.2

Additional circumstantial evidence is noted in land records, suggesting connections among the siblings of Eunice (Gould) Harmon. Joseph Goold, Jr., of Portland, trader, in 1808 quitclaimed land to John Goold of Portland, joiner, probably his brother. Abner Goold of Portland, yeoman, with wife, Elizabeth, sold in 1826 a lot of Bridge Street, Portland, to Joseph Goold Jr. of Portland, merchant, doubtless his brother. And in 1829, Abner Goold of Portland, yeoman, sold to Joseph Goold Jr. of Portland, merchant, five lots, including three on Spruce Street, Portland (Cumberland Co., Maine, Deeds, 63:85, 104:309, and 118:347, in research notes of James R. Nix and copy of notes revised 24 October 1991 supplied by Ellen G. White Estate from previously copied genealogical records). GEGW 12.3

The onomastics of the two families—that of Robert and Eunice (Gould) Harmon and of Joseph and Lydia (Lowell) Goold/Gould—provide only slight circumstantial evidence. For example, Gould was used as a middle name for Robert and Eunice’s daughter Ellen, although that was the mother’s maiden name, as is clear in the record of her marriage to Robert Harmon. That Robert and Eunice’s children John B., Mary Plummer, and Sarah B. Harmon were named for their mother’s siblings could just as easily be argued that they were named for their father’s brother and sisters. GEGW 12.4

The account of the Goold family in Everett S. Stackpole’s Old Kittery and Her Families (1903; reprint Somersworth, N.H.: New England History Press, 1981), page 462, indicates Joseph Goold, a Revolutionary soldier, born about 1752, died in 1838, aged 87 [sic], married 24 October 1773, Lydia Lowell, daughter of Abner and Lydia (Purington) Lowell of “old” Falmouth, Maine, born 22 December 1754, died about 1842, and that they had the above eleven children, including daughter Eunice. Unfortunately, this account includes no documentation, although Stackpole doubtless obtained much of his information about the various Kittery families from descendants. (The above list of children is supplemented with a few dates and marriages from various sources and notes provided by Ellen G. White Estate, but further research on these children was not conducted for this report.) GEGW 12.5

Delmar R. Lowell, comp. and ed., The Historical Genealogy of the Lowells in America from 1639 to 1899 (Rutland, Vt.: The Tuttle Company, 1899), page 330 (copy supplied by Ellen G. White Estate from previously copied genealogical records), shows Lydia Lowell, daughter of Abner and Lydia (Purrington) Lowell, was born “in Falmouth (Portland),” ¹⁷ Maine, 22 December 1754; married by Rev. Smith, 24 October 1773, Joseph Gould. No further information is given in this work about Lydia (Lowell) Gould, including whether or not she had any children. Her birth in 1754 is roughly supported by her declaration of 10 February 1839, in her husband Joseph Goold’s Revolutionary War pension file, in which she stated her age as 85, which calculates to a birth about 1753—1754. She also stated she was a resident of Portland, that she was the widow of Joseph Goold, a pensioner, who died 15 November 1838, and that they were married 24 October 1773. The pension file includes a sworn statement of the then town clerk of Falmouth, indicating Joseph Goold and Lydia Lowell were married on this date. On 15 February 1839, son Joseph Goold of Portland, age 58, stated Lydia Goold is his mother and the widow of Joseph Goold, late of Portland, who died 15 November 1838, and that he has supported his parents many years. No other children are identified in the pension file (copy of pension file, W23123, supplied by Ellen G. White Estate from previously copied genealogical records). The marriage of Joseph Goold and Lydia Lowell by the Rev. Thomas Smith on 24 October 1773, is also documented in the published Cumberland County marriage records (Enclosure 1-11). GEGW 12.6

The only discovered record of Joseph Gould’s age is in his Revolutionary War pension file. On 26 October 1832, he made a declaration for a pension, stating he was age 81, which would place his birth about 1750—1751. He also stated he was born in Kittery in 1751, probably in the fall of that year, that he was living there when he served in the war, and that after the war he moved to Portland, where he has lived since. Joseph’s statement about his military service was supported by a deposition of 28 August 1832, by Alexander Gould of Eliot, ¹⁸ Maine, age 83, who was in the same regiment as Joseph (copy of pension file, W23123, supplied by Ellen G. White Estate from previously copied genealogical records). According to C. L. Gould of Wellton, Arizona, Joseph moved to Portland in 1784. C. L. Gould did not indicate his source, but the migration date is probably based on Joseph’s purchase of land in Portland in June 1784, as noted his deed of 1800, discussed below (notes of C. L. Gould of Wellton, Arizona, 1975 or earlier, copy supplied by Ellen G. White Estate from previously copied genealogical records). GEGW 13.1

The official, published roster of Massachusetts soldiers and sailors in the Revolutionary War (Maine was part of Massachusetts until 1820) shows Joseph Goold/Gould, Jr. of Kittery was a private in Capt. Samuel Leighton’s Company, Col. Ebenezer Francis’s Regiment, with service at Dorchester Heights in 1776 (Enclosure 1-12). This record confirms that the Joseph Gould of Portland who applied for a pension in 1832 was indeed a resident of Kittery at the time of the American Revolution. That he was styled junior is suggestive, although not proof, that he was the son of an older Joseph, for in those times junior meant the younger of two men of the same name in the same community, regardless of relationship, if any. GEGW 13.2

As noted above, Joseph Gould was enumerated in Portland, Maine, in the first United States Census, taken in 1790. His household then included a male over sixteen, four males under sixteen, and four females (Enclosure 1-10). GEGW 13.3

On 3 December 1799, Joseph Goold of Portland, laborer, sold to “my son” Joseph Goold Jr., also of Portland, housewright, a lot in Portland, adjoining “my own land” and John Kimball’s land. His wife, Lydia, relinquished her dower (Cumberland Co., Maine, Deeds, 31:284, in notes provided by Ellen G. White Estate). The following year, Joseph Gould was enumerated in Portland—next to John Kimball—with a household consisting of one male 10—16 (born 1784—90), one 26-45 (born 1755—74), three females under 10 (born 1790—1800), one 10—16 (born 1784-90), one 16—26 (born 1774—84), and one 26—45 (born 1755—74) (Enclosure 1-13). Although this was almost certainly the household of Joseph Gould who married Lydia Lowell, Joseph seems to have been enumerated in the wrong age group. If indeed he was born in the fall of 1751, he would have been age 48 or 49 when the 1800 Census was taken. The line-up of the females, however, seems to be in harmony with the age of the mother—Lydia would have been 45—and the daughters as presented above, including Eunice, born about 1786, who would have been the female 10—16 in 1800, or born about 1784—1790. This census also suggests son Abner may have been born closer to about 1790 than about 1792. GEGW 13.4

On 20 October of that same year—1800—Joseph Goold of Portland, laborer, sold another Portland lot to Joseph Goold, Jr., of Portland, housewright, “next to a lot I purchased from Edward Watts in June 1784, ¹⁹ and by land of John Kimball and William Hans, including land I conveyed to Joseph Goold Jr. 3 December 1799 (Cumberland Co., Maine, Deeds, 33:491, in notes provided by Ellen G. White Estate).” That John Kimball was an abutter to this piece of land clearly identifies the grantor as the same Joseph Goold who sold land to his son Joseph, Jr., in 1799, and as the same Joseph Gould listed next to John Kimball in the 1800 Census. Joseph’s move to Portland “about 1784” is given in another source, in which it is also claimed he was still “living in upper part of the town [Kittery] in 1782.” ²⁰ GEGW 13.5

Based on the son Joseph’s 1839 deposition in his father’s Revolutionary War pension file that he had supported his parents for many years, it is likely the two sales to the younger Joseph in 1799 and 1800 were with the understanding the parents would be cared for. Joseph Goold was enumerated in Portland in the Federal Census for 1810, with one male age 45 and upwards (born 1765 or earlier), two females 10—16 (born 1794—1800), two 16-26 (born 1784—94), and one 45 and upwards. Listed nearby was the household of Robert Goold, who was 16-26, probably Joseph’s son. Also listed were two John Goolds and a John Goold Jun., all 26—45, the age group of Joseph Gould’s son of that name (Enclosure 1-14). Unfortunately, with the names arranged by first letter of surname, it is not possible to determine how close these Goulds may have lived to one another. GEGW 14.1

Ten years later, when the 1820 Federal Census was taken, the Joseph Goold household in Portland had one male 45 or older (born 1775 or earlier), one female under 10 (born 1810—20), one 16—26 (born 1794—1804), and one female 45 and older, but there seems to be no mark in one of the columns indicating Joseph’s occupation—agriculture, commerce, or manufacturing. Also listed in the census for Portland were Abner, Robert, and Joseph Goold Jr., all born 1775—1794 and no doubt all sons of the elder Joseph. The John Goold listed in Portland, however, was 45 or older, and more likely the elder Joseph’s brother (Enclosure 1-15). The names in this census were grouped by first letter of surname, as they had been in 1810, so it cannot be determined—at least not by the census—who the nearest neighbors were to Joseph Gould. GEGW 14.2

The last census in which Joseph Gould would have been listed as a head of household (assuming he was not living in the home of someone else, such as one of his children) was 1830. That year, Joseph Goold was listed in Portland with a household of two persons, a male and female both age 70 to 80, or born 1750—1760, which is in agreement with the dates of birth of Joseph and Lydia (Lowell) Gould (Enclosure 1-16). GEGW 14.3

One other record source may help document Joseph Gould’s presence in Portland, Maine. City directories for Portland were first published in 1823, and two Joseph Goulds were listed. Based on later city directories, wherein one Joseph Goold/Gould was listed as junior and with the occupation grocer, the Joseph who was a cordwainer living on Spring Street may have been the Revolutionary War veteran (Enclosure 1-17). Unfortunately, the only indication of the older Joseph’s occupation known at this time is that he was called a laborer in the two deeds by which he sold land in Portland to his son Joseph in 1799 and 1800. GEGW 14.4

Joseph Goold was buried in Eastern Cemetery in Portland, but it is unclear if the life dates for him (1752—1838) shown in a publication about the burials is from a marker on his grave. If his widow, Lydia, was also buried in this cemetery, she either had no marker, or it was illegible or gone when the inscriptions were read (Enclosure 1-18). Joseph almost certainly died in 1838, as also revealed in his Revolutionary War pension file, but some sources give the year as 1839. ²¹ GEGW 14.5

Joseph’s widow, Lydia, was supposedly living in 1840, when the next Federal Census was taken. No Lydia Gould or Gould was found listed in the 1840 Census for Cumberland County, Maine, however, so in that year she was likely enumerated in the household of one of her children. GEGW 14.6