Family History! (English "Howard" & Welsh "Goff")

I asked my Great Aunt for information about my family history on my Dad's side. She is the aunt to my father on my Dad's side. Sometimes I've wondered if actually my Dad's father is Italian and he's the result of a love affair between my grandmother Davis and her Italian lover in NY. But if not, and everyone denies this, then what my Great Aunt says fits. Well, and I suppose it would explain the musical talent history in my family.

I guess I have relatives in Pennsylvania if what she says is true.

Part of what she wrote:

I don't really know that much about the Garretts. Good question. I will pursue it. My father had 3 sisters. My Grandfather Garrett passed before I was around, I think. He was a scoundrel. Very bright and talented. Taught all the children to play several instruments well and put them to work to support the family! Dad didn't get to finish high school and maybe some sisters, too. They taught music and prospered greatly as they played for silent movies. This all had to sight read and follow cues in the movie. (no rehearsing!) They played in a theater in Morgantown, WV. When sound movies came it was a very rough time for musicians. The Hush-Hush story about Grandfather was he would leave the bed with his wife and go to the hired girls room and have sex with her!!!!!! Left his family and was rumored he had another one in Philadelphia area. Later came to live with my Mom and Dad as he was dying with cancer and mother took care of him. One time he acted very badly and she told him she would not take it. So I guess he went without food and attention that day. Complaining to my dad when he got home my dad supported mother. No more abusive talk and behavior from Grandpa after that. I think in the heritage there was a mix of English, Dutch and German and maybe some Irish. I don't recall French but I really don't know.

My mother was a Howard. Her mother and father were cousins and both Howards. The Howard family has ancestors that come from Ireland. I think the name was Goff. They left during the great potato famine. They were protestant and there was much tension between protestants and catholics. They came to America. We don't know why they landed at New Orleans. The father could not find work. He took a trip up the Mississippi River looking for work. The last he was seen he was having a heated argument on deck with an Irish catholic. Can you imagine? He never returned. Much of the linens, etc., they brought with them were confiscated and burned as yellow fever had broken out while the ship was still at sea. There were children to take care of. The wife was an excellent seamstress and found she could work out of a hotel embroidering initials, etc., for wealthy ladies. She raised her family doing this. I still have some of the china that came with them. Wish I had paid better attention to what came from where.

More later. Somewhere I have some documenting my mother did. It's been on my mind for a long time I need to locate it and sort it all out.
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This is the end of the clip. So I looked up something about the English name Howard. Ha! I found out Katherine Howard was one of King Henry's (Henry VII) wives who was executed for adultry. Hahaha. http://www.blurtit.com/q546489.html. Hmmm. I guess it wasn't Henry VII, but the infamous Number 8. Howard was Numero Cinco, the daughter of an Edmund Howard. She was a rambunctious and beautiful teenager he actually loved, but others determined to have her found guilty of adultry.

Oh weird. I just found out Goff is actually WELSH. It means "red" because those with this name had red hair. But they settled in Ireland and then some left for America. http://www.magoo.com/hugh/gough.html
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I looked up Morgantown on wiki. The theatre my family played music for was The Warner Theatre and it's an Art Deco structure. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warner_Theatre_(Morgantown,_West_Virginia)
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Now I've found at least something about Howards in Ireland but I need to find out specifics from whatever is recorded that my Great-Aunt has. Then I can trace this more easily. OOOOOoooh. Now I'm rereading what my aunt wrote and she just says the Howard family also has ancestors from Ireland, the Goffs. Because both her mother and father of her mother were from the Howard family. I guess there are a lot of them. So it may be the Howards were English but had ancestors who were Goffs from Ireland or it may be they are all from Ireland.
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Whoa. The plot thickens. There was some Goff from New Orleans on the communist list and then I guess Edward Lee Howard was CIA and defected and escaped to Russia and then died just recently in 2002. Well! I don't think we're related. I just want to know who exactly I am really related to.


I love this song: A Dustland Fairytale. I love it today.