by Phillip G. Goff, GGFA Director of Genetic Genealogy
This is the third of a ten-part series on early Goffe families in England.
The Hampshire (UK) Record Office (“HRO”) maintains a database of online historical records. In Hampshire, like elsewhere in the south and east of England, Goffe is the earliest form of the surname. The Goff spelling appears in the HRO online documents in the very late 17th century. Hampshire references to Gough appear as early as the mid-17th century, earlier than in most other counties in south and east of England. Below is a partial list of abstracted records of Goffe entries in the HRO https://calm.hants.gov.uk/advanced.aspx?src=CalmView.Catalog from 1366 to 1712:
Each post in this 10-part series on early Goffe families in England will be published on a two-week schedule.
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.