Leora (Goff) Wilson was my grandmother. She’s the dark-haired girl in the back row, the oldest in the family, born in 1890. She is the heroine of Leora’s Early Years: Guthrie County Roots, Leora’s Dexter Stories: The Depression Years of the Great Depression and Leora’s Letters: The Story of Love and Loss for an Iowa Family During World War II.
Here’s a photo of the family taken July 4, 1907, Audubon, Iowa.
By 1911, when he bought a farm at Wichita, Iowa, Sherd Goff would not allow his older children to go to high school.
The three oldest sons–Merl, Wayne, and Jennings (born in 1892, 1893, and 1896)–were farming when drafted in WWI.
The three youngest sons were allowed to attend high school–Willis, Perry, and Clarence.
Perry dropped out as a sophomore, shortly after he had an appendicitis attack. He also worked late at Cronk’s Cafe and it was hard for him to get up in the morning, so his dad kicked him out of the house–not an uncommon occurrence in this household.
Their Only High School Graduates
Having that high school education was a big benefit to these two brothers. They were the most successful ones out of a family of ten. Willis went into cosmetics in Southern California.
These Goff brothers were my mother’s uncles, who visited their mother and oldest sister (my Grandma Leora) regularly at Guthrie Center, Iowa.
Perry and Rolla were the only two I don’t remember. They never married, but arranged to have their remains sent home from the east coast for my grandmother to bury.
Merl seemed to love arguing about politics. Wayne and Willis were the most outgoing to young great nieces.
J.B., Rolla, and Perry died in their seventies. C.Z. lived to be 84. (Rolla and Perry are buried at Guthrie Center.)
Three brothers lived into their nineties–Wayne to 93, Merl to 94, and Willis to 99.
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It’s interesting how committed that large family was to remaining connected, even when many lived away from home. It’s also interesting that the one son was kicked out of the house after he dropped out of school, forcing him to become self-supporting. Such a contrast to so many young people today, who are allowed to remain at home long after they should be on their own!
Mom said that all the boys but Merl were kicked out at one time or another! One of the younger ones “rode the rails” as a young man, but was later became a success.
Their story definitely reflects a different era, one of transition away from farming. Large families like that became less common. Quite a variety of life outcomes for those boys!
I was amazed at how Sherd Goff’s attitude changed. He’s counted on his farm as the best way to make a living, but he went broke from trying probably three times. Growing up, I thought of all these men as Grandma’s age, but the younger three are at least a dozen years younger. And I didn’t figure it out until recently that the ones successful in business were the younger ones who were finally welcome to finish high school.
Wow – awesome photo’s and information – great post!
I think you’ve mentioned all of your great-uncles except for Rolla. He must have moved away relatively young?
That’s my guess. Seems like they always sent their mother a card at Mother’s Day. Wish I’d paid better attention to them.
I know what you mean. Hindsight and all that . . .
So interesting.
Marvelous photos! It is true about a photograph conveying so much…a picture does tell a thousand words! 🙂
What was even more fun was learning “the rest of the story” because of Grandma’s memoirs and a few newspaper clippings: https://joynealkidney.com/2019/07/03/independence-day-1907/