WOOD ~ McLAIN ~ GOBLE FAMILIES
 
Transcribed and contributed by Sharon R. Becker, February of 2015
 
The Wood ~ McLain ~ Goble Families

In Loving Memory of a Name by Herb Reckinger

John and Elizabeth (Goble) Wood came to Iowa between 1844-1846. Before that time they can be traced to the State of Virginia. John and Elizabeth were both born there. We know from census records in later years that the parents of Elizabeth were born in Virginia, as was John's father, his mother was born in North Carolina.

Strong speculation indicates that John Wood was born in Scott County, Va. Scott County lies in the S.E. tip of Virginia in the Appalachian Mountains and was formed in 1814 from three neighboring counties: Washington, Russell and Lee. John was born January 31, 1821. We are not sure of the country of origin of his grandparents, but for now we have assumed that they were British. The exact birthplace of John's parents is unknown at this time.

John and Elizabeth married November 24, 1839 in Washington County, Virginia. She was twelve years old John was almost nineteen. The Woods may have been migrated to Iowa with Elizabeth's brothers George and Thomas Wilson and a uncle, George Gobble. Her brother Archibald's family and sister Rachel, with husband Joseph Hudson came later. They traded some of the most beautiful country in the nation for some of the most fertile.

The Wood family settled in Black Hawk Township, Jefferson County, IA. They had four more daughters: Cynthia Jane, April 24, 1846; Minerva, 1849; Eda A., November 2, 1851 and Letta A. in 1853. The Wood and George Goble families moved to New Buda Township, Decatur County, Iowa in 1854 where Sarah T. was born May 11, 1855; Eliza E., July 30, 1858; Douglas, 1860; Rachel L., 1864 and William P., 1871.

The Wood homestead was in sections three and four [New Buda Township of Decatur County], about three miles west of Davis City on present highway 69.

Two of John and Elizabeth Wood's daughters married McLain boys. Cynthia Jane and Adam McLain continued the wedding anniversary began earlier by her parents, marrying on November 24, 1864. (Their son Joseph married Millie Jane Davis, November 24, 1889; their son Stephen married Retha Reynolds, November 24, 1932; a generation was missed and their granddaughter, Patricia McLain married Patrick Wohletz, November 24,1984.) Eda A. Wood married Henry McLain, July 4, 1870.

The Wood family stayed in Decatur county. They had a lot in common with the McLain's in addition to the two marriages. The McLain's came to Decatur county, by way of Jefferson county, from Pennsylvania in 1854. The parents were John and Mary Mariah (Ketring) McLain. Most of their thirteen children lived on sections ten and fifteen, directly south of section three.

The McLain's dedicated a area of their farm on section fifteen, eighty by eighty, for a cemetery. This small five-row cemetery was well used until 1916. The dirt road leading to it is difficult just as the one hundred-yard walk to the cemetery is overgrown with brush. John and Elizabeth Wood; three of their children: William P., Eliza E. Fetty and Mary E. Laddusaw and three of their grand children, (children of Douglas) are buried there.

As for Elizabeth Goble, we know much about her family from the research of others. We know that she lived close to Scott County and her family is one that has been traced back to Europe. Goble was originally, Gabel, changed to Gobble then shortened to Goble. The German word for "fork."

The "Gable" story begins in the 1600's in the village of Offenbach in the old Grand Duchy of Zweibrucken. Offenbach lies in West Germany about halfway along the one hundred mile stretch from Trier to Mannheim. The village today is in the Pfalz Berg area of the Rhineland on the tiny Glan River, a tributary of the Rhine River.

Hans Jacob Gabel married Maria Margaretha Rheinmueller, January 9, 1691, in the Lutheran church of Saint Julian. The church book listed the already deceased father of Maria, Hans Conrad Rheinmueller.

Hans Jacob and Maria had a son two months after their wedding on March 21, but his name was not given. The next known child born, was Johann Phillip, August 14, 1698. Johann Friedrich was next and baptized April 14, 1701. On May 22, 1725, Johann Friedrich married Maria Magdalene Spiess, daughter of Hans Georg Spiess in Saint Julian's Church. There were six children born to them and listed in the church book of Saint Julian. They were: Ann Catharina, March 19, 1726 (she lived four days); a second Anna Catharina, May 19, 1727; Johann Phillip, April 3, 1730; Anna Elisabetha, June 4, 1732; Johann Friedrich, Jr, October 12, 1734 and Johann Georg, November 8, 1738.

In the summer of 1739, Johann Friedrich and brother Johann Phillip, with their families, left their homeland and came to North America. They arrived at Philadelphia on August 27, 1739 aboard the ship "Samuel." The two families first located in Salfordville near Philadelphia. The township was Wallbrucken and they attended Goshenhopper Lutheran and German Reformed Church. Johann Phillip's family would remain in the Salfordville area any many of them are buried in the Goshenhopper cemetery.

Johann Friedrich and Maria Magdalene had at least two more children in Pennsylvania. Marie died between 1744 and 1751. Johann Friedrich married Christina Henrietta Hauberger around 1751. Johann Friedrich and Christina had a son Phillip Frederick in 1751 and in 1754 another son Christian. It is not clear as to the events of Johann Friedrich's later years. A pension request by Christian from the Revolutionary War indicated that Johann Friedrich moved to Frederick County, Maryland. A 1777 land deed indicates that he died prior to 1768. He brought the family from Germany to Pennsylvania to Maryland. His son, Johann Fredrich, Jr. would take the family to Virginia.

Johann Fredrich Gabel, Jr., Americanized his name and accepted Frederick Gobble. Frederick married Elizabeth Weigel, May 10, 1757, in Pennsylvania. Elizabeth, the daughter of George Weigel and Anna Margaret Ditlich, was born December 20, 1737. George was the son of John Michael and Anna Maria Weigel. Anna Margaret was the daughter of Abraham and Anna Margaret Ditlich. The parents and grandparents of Elizabeth Weigel were most likely all German born and her parents the immigrants.

Frederick and Elizabeth had six children: John George, February 17, 1758; Maria, March 21, 1761 both born in Pennsylvania; John, February 10, 1766; Jacob, May 16, 1771, both born in Maryland; Abraham, February 10, 1775 and Isaac, June 9, 1778, born in Virginia.

Frederick, with his half-brothers Phillip and Christian, moved to Fincastle County, Virginia, (it became Washington County in 1777) in southwest Virginia. He purchased land in 1773/4 along the banks of the North Fork of the Holston River. The land supposedly lies two miles upstream from where the river crosses the present day Highway 19. Washington County lies in a Valley between the Blue Ridge and Appalachian Mountains near Abingdon. Abingdon is the county seat and one of the older towns in the state. It was first named Wolf Hills and was recorded in the journals of Daniel Boone as the place where his dogs were attacked by wolves. Frederick died around 1792; Elizabeth on June 10, 1794. Supposedly, both are buried on the homestead.

John George, the eldest son and known as George, served as a captain in the Revolutionary War and served in the Maryland forces. He married Elizabeth Linder, September 18, 1782, in Washington County. Elizabeth, born in 1760 in Washington County, was the daughter of Anthony Linder and Mary Newland. There children were: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Sally, John, Nancy, Mary, Alexander, Samuel, Benjamin and Rachel. George died in 1827; In the list of heirs at the time of their death, they were preceded by their son Isaac who also died in 1827. His share of the estate would go to his nine children.

Isaac was born about 1784. He married Elizabeth Musick (the third generation in a row to marry Elizabeths) about 1810. Their nine children were: Archibald, June 15, 1812; Sally, 1813; Rachel, October 9, 1815; Ann, 1817; Thomas Wilson, August 20, 1818; Amanda Jane, March 20, 1820; John B., 1823; George Washington, 1826 and lastly Elizabeth, April 19, 1827. She was born near the time of her father and grandfathers death. The mother and grand mother Elizabeths, both died in 1829. It is quite possible that she was raised by older siblings.

Family Album *** Decatur County IAGenWeb