Rebecca Emma Patterson Beane - obituary

Several genealogy publications have recently mentioned NewspaperARCHIVE.com as a source for historic newspapers. The site contains digital images of nearly 2500 news publications. Fortunately, the Charleston Daily Mail and the Charleston Gazette are two papers that have digitized their historic papers and included them on this site. A subscription is available monthly or yearly. I have located dozens of obituaries, marriage announcements and other family information on this site in the past week. It is well worth the subscription if the newspapers cover your research area.

While obituary hunting on this site, the following two were found for my great-great grandmother Rebecca Emma Patterson Beane.

Charleston Gazette - 12/12/1949

BEANE, Mrs. Rebecca - 51 of Charleston, RFD 3, died yesterday in a local hospital. Surviving are one daughter, Mrs. Bertha Asbury of Tyler Mountain; one sister, Mrs. Ada Javins of Charleston; eight grandchildren and 27 great grandchildren. The body will remain at Cunningham mortuary pending completion of funeral arrangements.

Charleston Daily Mail - 12/12/1949

BEANE, Mrs. Rebecca - 81, of Charleston RFD 3, Sunday in a local hospital. Surviving are one daughter, Mrs. Bertha Asbury of Tyler Mountain; one sister, Mrs. Ada Javins of Charleston; eight grandchildren and 27 great grandchildren. The body will be taken to the residence at 4 p.m. Monday. Services will be held at 2 p.m. Tuesday at the Community Chapel at Kelly's Creek with Elder Josh Hammonds officiating. Burial will follow in Asbury cemetery at Kelly's Creek under the direction of Cunningham mortuary.

Amelia Catherine Tate Goff - obituary

I recently transcribed the obituary for Amelia Catherine Tate Goff to include it in my genealogy program (Legacy Family Tree), so it seems appropriate to include add it here. "Mealie" was married to Delbert Harrison Goff. She is shown on the right of this photograph with her sister Annie Tate Bailey and Annie's daughter Donna.

Mrs. Amelia Goff
Mrs. Amelia Catherine Goff, 74, of Charleston Rt. 5 (Tuppers Creek) died yesterday at her home after an extended illness.

She was a lifelong resident of Kanawha County and a member of Liberty Primitive Church on Sissonville Road.

Surviving husband, Delbert H.: son, Walter L. of Charleston; daughters Mrs. Martha Lewis and Mrs. Ecil Mason, both of Charleston and Mrs. Erma Houston of Washington, D.C.; brothers Richard and Joseph Tate, both of Charleston; a sister, Mrs. Annie Bailey of Charleston; 11 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Service will be held tomorrow at 1 p.m. in Cunningham Funeral Home by the Rev. Claude Osborne. Burial will be in the Good Cemetery on Sissionville Road.

The body is at the funeral home.

SOURCE: Charleston Daily Mail - 4/10/1964

World War I Draft Registration for Delbert H. Goff

According to Ancestry.com:

"In 1917 and 1918, approximately 24 million men living in the United States completed a World War I draft registration card. These registration cards represent approximately 98% of the men under the age of 46. The total U.S. population in 1917-1918 was about 100 million individuals. In other words, close to 25% of the total population is represented in these records."

My great-grandfather, Delbert Harrison Goff, registered in the first WWI draft registration on 5 June 1917, which was for men aged twenty-one to thirty-one --- men born between 6 June 1886 and 5 June 1896. His record states that:

• Delbert H. Goff, age 25, registered for the World War I Draft in Precinct 3, Kanawha County, West Virginia on 05 Jun 1917.
• He lived in Guthrie, West Virginia with no dependents.
• He was a citizen, born 30 Jul 1891 in Kanawha County, West Virginia.
• He was single, Caucasian, and worked as a farmer for Js. N. Holmes [his step-father] in Two Mile, West Virginia.
• Delbert was of medium height and build, had gray eyes, dark hair, and no disabilities.

WWI Draft Registration for Delbert H. Goff

Delbert Harrison Goff

Having recently sold my great-grandfather Poppy's house, I thought that it would be appropriate to begin this blog with information about him.

Delbert Harrison Goff (aka Poppy) was born in Guthrie in the Union District of Kanawha County, West Virginia on July 30, 1891 to Martha F. Edens and Leonard Sylvester Goff. Poppy married Amelia Catherine Tate on April 16, 1918 in Charleston, West Virginia. Five of their six children are now deceased (Martha Hasel, Ecil Delores, Harley Russell , Walter Leroy and Noral).

Delbert served in WWI. He probably was trained at one of the bases in South Carolina as this photograph shows him in uniform on Table Rock near Greenville, South Carolina. I am currently searching for more information on his WWI service.