This collection holds 19 items related to the Goheen family of Geneseo, New York. William H. Hipple, an employee of the Texas & Pacific Railway Company, wrote 10 letters to members of the Goheen family between March and June 1874, following the death of fellow railroad employee Edward L. Goheen, as well as 1 in April 1882. Mrs. H. H. Richardson, a family friend from Chicago, Illinois, wrote 2 letters to Patience Doty, Edward's mother; Edward Goheen wrote a letter to his brother Charles A.; and [Myrtie] Culver of Marshall, Texas, wrote 2 letters to Fannie Goheen. Remaining items include 2 financial records related to the late Edward L. Goheen, a newspaper clipping with an account of Edward’s fatal accident, and a broadside advertisement.
The bulk of the collection consists of William H. Hipple's letters to the Goheen family following Edward L. Goheen's death in a railroad accident on March 24, 1874. Hipple, who worked with Edward Goheen at the Texas & Pacific Railway Company in Marshall, Texas, first provided his condolences in a two-page fragment dated March 25, 1874, and continued to correspond regularly with the Goheen family until June 1874. In his first letters, William described his affection for Edward, provided a detailed account of the accident and of Edward's burial, and discussed some of Edward financial affairs. Throughout the following months, Hipple continued to grieve with the family, and occasionally mentioned the possibility of meeting with them while visiting his own family in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. He also shared some of his impressions of Texas and of local people, whom he viewed as immoral, and many letters reflect his strong religious views. In his last letter, dated April 13, 1881, he told Mrs. Goheen about the recent death of his father.
Mrs. H. H. Richardson wrote 2 condolence letters to Patience Doty Goheen on January 6, 1874, and April 6, 1874, describing her recent move to Chicago, Illinois, and providing condolences for recent losses, including the death of Edward L. Goheen. Edward had known the Richardson family prior to moving to Texas. Also included are two financial records documenting Edward's finances in the spring of 1874, as well as a letter to Fannie Goheen from [Myrtie] A. Culver, a student at Bishop Baptist College in Marshall, Texas, who wrote of a recent visit to Edward L. Goheen's grave (January 1, 1882). Culver also related that the Goheens' lawyer said they "ought to have received damages," but the railroad company had the best chances of winning a lawsuit.
The remaining two items include a newspaper clipping from an unidentified publication, printed in March or April 1874, which contains an account of Edward L. Goheen's death, and a broadside advertisement for George Babcock, a railway ticket agent. Babcock offered his services to emigrants and others who wanted to move to the western or southern states, claiming the ability to secure the cheapest tickets. On the reverse side of the broadside is a railroad map of much of the continental United States, excluding areas west of New Mexico and Nebraska.
Charles Goheen (1810-1874) and his wife, Patience Doty (b. 1817), lived in Groveland and Geneseo, New York, where Charles was a farmer and flour merchant. They had six surviving children: Charles Arthur (b. 1843), Frank (b. 1848), Edward Landerdale (1851-1874), Mary Elizabeth (b. 1855), Sarah Anna (b. 1857), and Fannie Jane (b. 1860). Edward moved to Marshall, Texas, around 1874, and worked for the Texas & Pacific Railway Company. He was killed in a railroad accident on March 24, 1874.
William H. Hipple, a native of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, was employed by the Texas & Pacific Railway's master mechanic's office, and worked with Edward L. Goheen in Texas. Hipple corresponded with the Goheen family throughout the years following Edward's death. He and his wife Sarah had at least 3 children: John, Mary, and Francis (or Franklin).
