Bishop's "History of Roane County" is the standard work on its subject, but its chief appeal to the genealogist can be found in the hundreds of genealogical and historical essays of pioneer families of Roane County that comprise the second half of the work. Those essays, which, in most cases, are based upon interviews conducted by the author with a surviving family member, generally go back to the early nineteenth century and pertain to migrants from Virginia and the middle states possessing British, Irish, or Scotch-Irish stock.
Established in March 1856, Roane County was named for Virginia jurist Spencer Roane. The town of New California was selected as the county seat, and in 1858, the name was changed to Spencer to further honor the judge. The courthouse built in 1859 was destroyed by fire in 1887. A new county courthouse was completed in 1889, and the railroad arrived in Spencer in 1892. New businesses and industry flourished as Spencer became the county hub. Summer normal schools were established throughout the county to prepare young teachers for state certification. In 1914, Spencer High School graduated one pupil in its first class. The early recognition for education expanded with the construction of one- and two-room schools within each community. Timbering began as people moved westward and established new homes and farming lands. The development of the gas and oil industry soon followed, and Roane County became a major producer by the early 1900s.
Brothers James Goff, John Turton Goff (d. 1803), Thomas Goff (1747-1824) and Salathiel Goff (d. 1791), were probably born in England or Wales. They emigrated and settled in Virginia and Maryland. Descendants and relatives lived mainly in Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Missouri, Kansas and Texas.
As a body, these records are extracted from roughly 750 known Bibles and extend from the late 18th through the early 20th centuries, with the greatest concentration from the mid-19th century. Most of the entries refer to births, marriages, and deaths and in most cases indicate the name(s) of the principals, the date of the event, and, sometimes, such supplementary information as his/her age or address, the maiden name of a parent, etc. Each Bible record is identified by family name and followed by a reference to the Huguenot Society records where the original can be found. In all, the records refer to more than 2,500 main families named in the surname index at the back of the volume and embrace a staggering 25,000 individuals of Huguenot or possible Huguenot ancestry--connections and allied families that would otherwise be lost to us in the unpublished files of this august organization.
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