GOFFE (or Govc11),

See also:

• WILLIAM
• WILLIAM (1143-1214)
• WILLIAM (1227-1256)
• WILLIAM (1J33-1584)
• WILLIAM (A.S. Wilhelm, O. Norse Vilhidlmr; O. H. Ger. Willahelm, Willahalm, M. H. Ger. Willehelm, Willehalm, Mod.Ger. Wilhelm; Du. Willem; O. Fr. Villalme, Mod. Fr. Guillaume; from " will," Goth. vilja, and " helm," Goth. hilms, Old Norse hidlmr, meaning
• WILLIAM (c. 1130-C. 1190)
• WILLIAM, 13TH

WILLIAM (fl. 1642-1660)  , English parliamentarian, son of Stephen Goffe, puritan rector of Stanmer in Essex, began life as an apprentice to a London salter, a zealous parliamentarian, but on the outbreak of the civil war he joined the army and became captain in Colonel Harley's regiment of the new model in 1645 . He was imprisoned in 1642 for his share in the petition to give the control of the militia to the parliament . By his marriage with Frances, daughter of General Edward Whalley, he became connected with Oliver Cromwell's family and one of his most faithful followers . He was a member of the deputation which on the 6th of July 1647 brought up the charge against the eleven members . He was active in bringing the king to trial and signed the death warrant . In 1649 he received the honorary degree of M.A. at Oxford . He distinguished himself at Dunbar, commanding a regiment there and at Worcester . He assisted in the expulsion of Barebone's parliament in 1653, took an active part in the suppression of Penruddock's rising in July 1654, and in October 1655 was appointed major-general for Berkshire, Sussex and Hampshire . Meanwhile he had been elected member for Yarmouth in the parliament of 1654 and for Hampshire in that of 1656 . He supported the proposal to bestow a royal title upon Cromwell, who greatly esteemed him, was included in the newly-constituted House of Lords, obtained Lambert's place as major-general of the Foot, and was even thought of as a fit successor to Cromwell . As a member of the committee of nine appointed in June 1658 on public affairs, he was witness to the protector's appointment of Richard Cromwell as his successor . He supported the latter during his brief tenure of power and his fall involved his own loss of influence .

In

November 1659 he took part in the futile mission sent by the army to Monk in Scotland, and at the Restoration escaped with his father-in-law General Edward Whalley to Massachusetts . Goffe's political aims appear not to have gone much beyond fighting " to pull down Charles and setup Oliver "; and he was no doubt a man of deep religious feeling, who acted throughout according to a strict sense of duty as he conceived it . He was destined to pass the rest of his life in exile, separated from his wife and children, dying, it is supposed, about 1679 .