William Goffe

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William Goffe (Gough), (* circa 1606 , † circa 1679 ) was a soldier and roundhead supporter during the English Civil War who was involved in the trial and conviction of Charles I of England .

First years

William Goffe was the son of Stephen Goffe, a Puritan pastor from Stammer in Sussex , and Deborath West. He had four brothers: Stephen (1605–1681); John (1610? -1661); James (16 ?? - 1656) and Timothie (1626-16 ??). Unlike his brothers John and Stephen, who were trained to be Anglican clergy at Oxford , he began training in July 1634 with William Vaughn, a London salt merchant who was an ambitious MP. His brother Stephen Goffe (Gough) was an agent of the royalists. William Goffe was also called "Praying William" because he had a strongly religious attitude. Between 1645 and 1650 he married Frances Whalley, daughter of General Edward Whalley, and thus gained family connections with Oliver Cromwell . His political goals were limited to disempowering Charles I and bringing Oliver Cromwell to power. He was imprisoned in 1642 by the loyal Lord Mayor Sir Richard Gurney for participating in a petition to give the power of the military to Parliament .

Civil war

When the English Civil War broke out, Goffe joined the army; the exact date is not known. However, in 1642 he was quartermaster in an infantry regiment and in 1645 captain of the New Model Army regiment under Colonel Harley. By Cromwell's favor, he was quickly promoted to staff officer . He was a member of the High Court of Justice, which was established for the trial of King Charles I, and was one of the 59 signatories of Charles I's death sentence in 1649. He received an honorary degree from Oxford University in the form of an MA Goffe proved himself at the Battle of Dunbar in 1650 as commander of Cromwell's personal regiment and a year later at the Battle of Worcester .

Time as major general

In 1653 Goffe helped dissolve the rump parliament , which was the English Commonwealth's last attempt to form a stable government before Oliver Cromwell was appointed lord protector . In July 1655 he played an active role in crushing the Penruddock uprising. When Oliver Cromwell changed the state constitution to a military dictatorship, Goffe became major general for Berkshire , Sussex and Hampshire . At the same time he was elected to Parliament in 1654 as spokesman for Yarmouth in Norfolk . In 1656 he was elected to Parliament for Hampshire. He was later accepted as a member of the newly established House of Lords and became William Lord Goffe. He also supported the proposal to give Oliver Cromwell a royal title, which earned him his respect. He acquired Lambert's Place as major general of the infantry and was widely viewed as a possible successor to Oliver Cromwell. In June 1658 he testified as one of the nine appointed members of the committee for public affairs and as a close confidante of Oliver Cromwell the appointment of Oliver Cromwell's successor Richard Cromwell and supported this until the end of his short protectorate. For his loyalty he received land in Ireland from Richard Cromwell. With Richard Cromwell's loss of power, William Goffe also lost his influence. He took part in the unsuccessful military operation of George Monck, 1st Duke of Albemarle in Scotland in November 1659 , before he fled to New England .

New England

Judges' Cave, where Goffe and Whalley are said to have hidden.

During the Restoration , William Goffe fled to Massachusetts with his father-in-law General Edward Whalley , leaving his wife behind in England. They landed in Boston on July 27, 1660 and settled in Cambridge . News of the general pardon for all crimes committed during the Commonwealth , approved by the English Parliament in August, arrived in Boston on November 30, 1660. However, the debt relief did not include William Goffe or Edward Whalley, as they were considered regicide and staunch Republicans. They faced the death penalty. The colonial government was therefore concerned about their safety and convened a council on February 22, 1661. Four days later, the two fled to New Haven , where they arrived on March 7, 1661. John Dixwell , another wanted regicide under an assumed name , already lived there . Goffe and Whalley were welcomed by Reverend John Davenport . When a reward was offered, they made the wrong track to New York , but soon returned to New Haven via detours. In May of the same year the royal arrest warrant for Goffe and Whalley arrived in Boston. The governor passed the warrant on to William Leete , the governor of the New Haven Colony , who lived in Guilford . Leete was deliberately slow to react to give them time to go into hiding. The two spent most of the summer in Judges' Cave near West Rock.

Letters to Increase Mather and others give little clues as to where Goffe was. Presumably he spent the rest of his life in exile in New England for fear of arrest and execution. Rumor has it that he lived for over twelve years with the Reverend John Russell in Hadley , Massachusetts and, according to legend, reappeared as the "Angel of Hadley" in 1674/75 to lead the defense of this city against an attack by the natives in King Philip's War .

At the same time, Goffe's father-in-law Edward Whalley is said to have died. According to another rumor, Goffe lived under the false name "John Green" in Stow , Massachusetts, near his sister. He is said to have died there and was buried in an unmarked grave.

progeny

His marriage to Francess Whalley had four children: The three daughters Frances (November 1653), Elizabeth and Judith and one son, Richard.

See also

literature

  • Ursula Brumm : A “regicide” as a “champion” of American independence . In: Ursula Brumm: History and Wilderness in American Literature . Erichs Schmidt Verlag, Berlin 1980. pp. 119-134.
  • Ezra Stiles: History of Three of the Judges of Charles I, Whalley, Goffe, Dixwell , Hartford, 1794.
  • Mark Noble: The lives of the English regicides: and other commissioners of the pretended High Court of Justice , Volume 1. London 1798, p. 255.
  • Stephen C. Manganiello, The Concise Encyclopedia of the Revolutions and Wars of England, Scotland, and Ireland, 1639-1660 , (2004), p. 225.
  • James Phillips: William Goffe the Regicide In: The English Historical Review, Vol. 7, No. 28 (Oxfort University Press, Oct. 1892), pp. 717-720.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ DNB Goffe pp. 69-74; Burkes Peerage & Baronetage , 99th ed. (1949) p. 838; Closely. Hist Rev. (1892) Vol. VII pp. 717-720; FHL IGI Index for Sussex.
  2. ^ Temple, RKG: The English Regicides (1988) pp. A-24. Guildhall Library, London, Guildhall MS. 11593/1 f.48.
  3. ↑ Stephen C. Manganiello: The Concise Encyclopedia of the Revolutions and Wars of England, Scotland, and Ireland, 1639-1660 (2004), p. 225
  4. ↑ Edward Whalley was one of Cromwell's most loyal followers and was his second wife, Frances Cromwell, an aunt of Oliver Cromwell.
  5. ↑ Stephen C. Manganiello: The Concise Encyclopedia of the Revolutions and Wars of England, Scotland, and Ireland, 1639-1660 (2004), p. 225
  6. ↑ Anthony Wood: Fausti oxoniensis , 2nd pt. 1642-1691 (1820 ed) p. 136.
  7. ^ Mark Noble: The lives of the English regicides: and other commissioners of the pretended High Court of Justice , Volume 1. London 1798, p. 255.
  8. ^ State Papers John Thurloe, vol II, p. 668.
  9. ^ State Papers John Thurloe, vol VII, p. 504
  10. ↑ Coll Mass Hist. Soc. (1868) 4th ser. Vol viii pp. 122-225.
  11. ^ Charles II, 1660: An Act of Free and Generall Pardon Indemnity and Oblivion , Statutes of the Realm: volume 5: 1628-80 (1819), pp. 226-34. British History Online, accessed June 21, 2012.
  12. ↑ Angel of Hadley- Fact or Myth ? ( Memento from June 28, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
  13. ↑ Thomas Hutchinson Papers (1865) vol. 2 pp. 188-9; Judd. S. History of Hadley (1905) p. 138
  14. ^ Colonial Stow . In: Town of Stow website . Virtual Towns & Schools. Archived from the original on October 25, 2015. Retrieved May 6, 2012.
  15. ↑ Coll Mass Hist. Soc. (1868) 4th ser. Vol VIII pp. 122-225.
  16. ↑ Burkes Peerage & Baronetage , 99th ed. (1949) p. 838.
personal data
SURNAME Goffe, William
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Gough, William
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Soldier and politician in English Civil War
DATE OF BIRTH around 1606
PLACE OF BIRTH England
DATE OF DEATH around 1679
Place of death New England