Some GOSE FAMILY HISTORY      Compiled by Ted Gose, September, 1999  - Revised Dec 2002

Dear Gose Cousin or Other Website Guest,

Following is some family history which may be familiar to many Gose descendants.  It pertains primarily to the Gose line descending from the 1752 immigrant, Stephan Goß (Gose).  If you have any additional information and/or documentation that could further help clear up any remaining confusion on the family history, or any information about other Gose immigrant lines in the U.S., please share it with your fellow researchers.  This is the first of three family history articles that together will provide you with a very good base knowledge of the beginnings of Gose family genealogy in the U.S.  The second article, titled "In Search of Our Roots", goes into more detail on the beginnings of the Gose genealogy in the U.S. and the third, titled "The Immigrant Stephan Goß & Family", covers the life of the first known Gose generation in this country.

The "Four Gose Brothers" Come To America

Family stories passed down over the years tell of "four Gose brothers who arrived in this country a little before the American Revolution".

..From The Homeland…

The brothers were said to be "French Huguenots" from a "fairly wealthy family" in Strasbourg, which is located in the present day province of Alsace, France. It has also been said that they may have come to this country, at least in part, due to the desire for greater freedom of worship. Strasbourg is located in the northeastern area of France, on the Rhine River, and is very close to the German border.  I first visited the area in 1971 but at that time I had not yet begun any serious research into the family genealogy and therefore unfortunately did not know exactly where to look for the original home of our ancestors.

The Rhine valley surrounding Strasbourg has steep slopes and flat bottomlands. Trees and vines cover the slopes and rich farmlands lie along the river. The Rhine River forms part of France's present day boundary with Germany and is the main inland waterway in Western Europe. The Vosges Mountain Range, which is reminiscent of the Appalachians, is located a short distance to the southwest of Strasbourg.

The area where Strasbourg is located has, over the years, been under the rule of and associated with both German and French allegiances. Many of the people of Alsace and the adjacent French province of Lorraine, speak various types of German dialects as well as French. The area has been known for a long time as having the best soldiers of all of Europe. Napoleon said, "Let them speak German, so long as they fight (as) French!". The past battles of war have taken their toll on the area over the years, but most of the scars have healed and the area is a prosperous and pleasant place to visit today.

..To The New World…

From "The Gose Book - The Descendants of Stephen Mathus and Mary France Gerking Gose - Decatur, Wise County, TX" by Thelma Pearl Chitwood Yost, published in 1970:

"The writer grew up with the knowledge that the four Gose brothers came to North America from a very wealthy family on the Rhine in Germany...  Be that as it may according to records: September 22, 1752, the Ship Bros. from Rotterdam, Holland, docked at Philadelphia and among the immigrants were a Stephen Goss, born about 1740, we now think, and three of his brothers from Strasbourg on the Rhine."

Written accountings of family history in my possession, including that of one of my great uncles, born in 1894, and another from one of immigrant Stephan’s grandsons, Stephen Yancy Gose, born in 1826, tell similar tales.

From an old, typewritten letter from Stephen Yancy Gose (including typos):

"Written by Stephen Y. Gose September 8, 1914."

"The writer hereof was born on the 11th day of October, 1826 and will be 88 years old on the 11th day of next October. My fathers name was Stephen Gose, so was his father’s name Stephen Gose. My name is Stephen Yancy Gose."

"My grandfather in company with three brothers came to this country fro, Germany a little before or after the Revolutionary war. My grandfather and two of the brothers finally settled in western Virginia, two of them including my father in Russell County, and one in either Taswell or Withe County." (his spellings)

He goes on to say near the bottom of the one-page letter:

"I have heard when a boy that grandfather had a brother named Phillip who settled in Kentucky from whom sme kindred have come."

The letter (perhaps dictated) by Stephen Y. Gose thus only actually names his grandfather, Stephen Gose and Philip. (The Stephan Goß family spelled the name "Phillip" with one "l", which is the german way of spelling it.)  Our own family stories passed on by my great grandparents, and great aunts and uncles, give the names of the original immigrant brothers as "Stephen, George, Phillip, and Peter".

Upon closer investigation, however, we find that Stephen Yancy Gose is the great-grandson of the immigrant, Stephan Goß (Gose).  Thus when he speaks of his grandfather and his grandfather's brothers, it is actually the sons of immigrant Stephan Goß (Gose). So we can see by this that the story is already a little bit confused and misleading.

Go To Next Article In This Series For More Detailed Information On The Origins Of The Gose Family In The U.S.