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Goetchius Family Collection (MC 292) - Columbus State University

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Archives and Special Collections

Goetchius Family Collection (MC 292)

Biographical Note

The Goetchius family is one of the oldest families of Columbus, Georgia. Richard Rose Goetchius came to Columbus from New York in 1834 and established himself as a builder and architect, married Mary A. Bennett on Sept. 11, 1839 and built her the beautiful home which originally stood at 11th St and 2nd Avenue. It was in this house that their children were born: Henry R. Goetchius (1852 -1925) who became a prominent Columbus lawyer, Dr. George Goetchius (1845-1900) a minister, Mary (1856-1882) who married Guy McKinley from Milledgeville, Charles Rose Goetchius (1848-1850), Charles Bennett Goetchius (1860-1915) as well as John (1841-1863) and Edward (1843-1864), both killed in the Civil War. H.R. Goetchius also served as president of the School Board at the turn of the century.

The house remained in the family until 1969. From R.R. Goetchius and Mary, the house passed to daughter Mary and Guy McKinley, who passed it on to their daughter Mary, who married Sam Marshall Wellborn. The Wellborns lived there until the mid-1920s when it was rented to the pediatrician Dr. Mercer Blanchard and later his son . When Mary Wellborn died in 1955, the house passed to her son Sam Marshall Wellborn Jr. and was later donated to the Historic Columbus Foundation. They gave it to J. Woodruff in 1969, who then moved it to lower Broadway and restored it. The Goetchius House then became one of the city's most elegant restaurants.

Scope and Content

The collection consists of 2 boxes of material and 2 oversized genealogy charts. Box 1 is divided into two series; one of photographs of family members, the other of family papers. Most of the photographs are labeled with the person's name and a date. Box 2 contains one Holy Bible, 1857, belonging to the family, with births, marriages and deaths inscribed. There are numerous family histories and genealogy charts. Of particular interest might be the original deeds to the lots 334 and 560 in Columbus, Georgia.

Provenance

The material in this collection was donated to the CSU Archives by Sam M. Wellborn and Mary Wellborn Whiting on June 4, 2013.

Permission to Publish

Permission to publish material from the Goetchius Family collection must be obtained from the Columbus State University Archives at Columbus State University. Use of the following credit line for publication or exhibit is required: Goetchius Family collection (MC 292) Columbus State University Archives Columbus, Georgia

Note to Researchers

See also: Jordan, Family of C. Dexter Collection (MC 64)

Box and Folder/Item List

Box 1

Series 1: Photos of Goetchius, McKinley and Wellborn Families

  • Folder 1 - Photos - Daguerreotypes
    1. Daguerreotype photograph in case of the marriage of Richard Rose and Mary Ann Bennett Goetchius. (The cover is probably not original to picture.), 1839
    2. Daguerreotype photograph in case of John Goetchius (1773-1860)
    3. Tintype photograph in case of Mrs. Mary Goetchius taken at about 40 years of age, n.d.
  • Folder 2 - Photos of Goetchius family members
    1. Photo of Mr. Goetchius from “Mr. Goetchius to Mercer” (presumably Mercer Blanchard, whose doctor's office was later in this house), 1900
    2. Photo of Henry Richard Goetchius, Waynesville, North Carolina, August, 1912
    3. Photo of “Uncle Henry and Little Marshall”, Waynesville, NC, August 31, 1912
    4. Photo unnamed but same people and pose as # 6
    5. Photo taken of ?ommie Ellis & Mary, Dinglewood, August, 1903
    6. Photo, small, name illegible, of a car, July3, 1915
    7. Photo of Mary Goetchius at age 17, 1873
    8. Photo of “Sister Mary” (Mary E. Goetchius) taken by Van Riper, Columbus, GA, 1869
    9. Photo H.R. Goetchius taken by Van Riper, Columbus, GA, 1866
    10. Photo of a group of 14 adult men and women on porch of a log cabin at picnic at Bullard's country home. Names include H. R. Goetchius, Major B.H. Hardaway, Dr. W.H. Bullard, L.H. Chappell, T.C. Chappell, et al, July 1912
    11. Photo of an attractive couple sitting in a horse-drawn buggy. Typed description reads “Goetchius relatives, probably 1900”
    12. Photo of Richard Rose Goetchius at age 58, father of Henry R. Goetchius. Photo taken by Van Riper, Columbus, Georgia, 1872
    13. Enlarged photo (5x7), modern, of Richard Rose Goetchius in small photo above.
  • Folder 3 - Photo of Columbus young ladies (13) including: Laura Spencer, Louise Bullard, Etta Blanchard, Mattie Hatcher, Myra Bullard, Mary McKinley, Willie Yonge, Vera Hatcher, Kate Chears (?), Emmie Blanchard, Mattie O'Maley (?), Pauline Shepherd, Nettie Kirven, 1898
  • Folder 4 - McKinley Coat of Arms
  • Folder 5 - Photos of Mary Goetchius McKinley Wellborn family (wife of Samuel Marshall Wellborn), includes a Matthew Brady photo of R.E. Lee
    1. Guy McKinley…taken in Macon
    2. Misses Mary McKinley, Mary Beatty, Sarah Cobb, July 1900
    3. Willie and Mary McKinley (2)
    4. Mary and little Marshall 1908 (2)
    5. Interior photo of H.R. Goetchius, March 15, 1892
    6. Baby in bassinet u/I 4 ½ months
    7. Mother for Mary Mck (presumably McKinley)
    8. Uncle Henry and little Marshall, Waynesville, NC (2), August 31, 1912
    9. Billy MN & Bronco Ben, Ft. Stanton, NM, 1902
    10. Wm. Richard McKinley (3), 1901
    11. S.M. Wellborn Sr.
    12. S.M. Wellborn Jr. (Samuel Marshall b. 8/21/1907), 1909
    13. Unidentified young man (S. M. Wellborn ?)
    14. Lee and his daddy
    15. Group of 5 unidentified people
  • Folder 6 - Photos (22) taken of unidentified graves and home
  • Folder 7 - Photo, oversized, of 16 men posing on steps of a brick building; unlabeled, circa early 1900s

Series 2: Goetchius, McKinley and Wellborn Family papers

  • Folder 1 - Bennett family coat of arms
  • Folder 2 - Bills and receipts
  • Folder 3 - Civil War memoirs; Battles of Richmond & Petersburg 1862, 1898 newspaper clippings
  • Folder 4 - Confederate Memorial Day address by H.R. Goetchius (handwritten), April 26, 1885
  • Folder 5 - Correspondence of H.R. Goetchius
  • Folder 6 - Daughters of American Revolution applications for Junia McKinley, 1891, and Mary Goetchius McKinley, no date
  • Folder 7 - Deeds /abstracts to lots 334 and 560 in Columbus, Georgia
  • Folder 8 - Deeds involving H.R. Goetchius and family 1840-1899
  • Folder 9 - Deeds involving H.R. Goetchius 1900-1915
  • Folder 10 - Deeds to Russell land survey
  • Folder 11 - Diary of W. Edward Goetchius; as first year college student, August 13-Nov. 22, 1861
  • Folder 12 - Family tree and history of Henry R. Goetchius, son of Richard Rose and Mary Bennett
  • Folder 13 - From the Falls of the Chattahoochee to the Tides of the Gulf, 1906
  • Folder 14 - Genealogy of Goetchius family
  • Folder 15 - George Goetchius, Rev.
  • Folder 16 - Goetchius Oration (copy) held by UGA University Archives
  • Folder 17 - Harris family history (Colonial Dames pedigree from Mary Ross Russell Goetchius, wife of Henry R. Goetchius)
  • Folder 18 - Huguenot settlers
  • Folder 19 - Hymnal of Mary E. Goetchius
  • Folder 20 - John M. Goetchius, brother of Henry R. Goetchius
  • Folder 21- John and Edward Goetchius, brothers of Henry R. Goetchius; Letter reminiscing about their deaths in Civil War
  • Folder 22 - Letter from Gussie, (unknown) to her cousin
  • Folder 23 - Letters from Mary G. McKinley to Uncle Henry and Aunt Mollie (Goetchius) and obituary
  • Folder 24 - Mary Goetchius McKinley (Wellborn) born February 9, 1882 and died February.1955
  • Folder 25- Newspapers-various
  • Folder 26 - Notes on passage across the Atlantic-1735 (Heinr. Goetschius, Dutch Reformed Pastor
  • Folder 27- Obituaries of Henry R. Goetchius (1852-1925) and Mary Goetchius McKinley (1856-1882)
  • Folder 28 - Philadelphia Weekly Press, article about the Battle of Gettysburg, March 2, 1887
  • Folder 29 - Baby Book for Samuel Marshall Wellborn Jr., Aug. 31, 1907
  • Folder 30 - Samuel Marshall Wellborn, Sr., obit and photos (1869-1948)
  • Folder 31 - Treaty with Creek Indians March 1832, 1839, 1849 and the Wellborn plantation
  • Folder 32 - Will of Henry Richard Goetchius, 8 April 1925
  • Folder 33- Will of Mary McKinley Wellborn, March 15, 1907
  • Folder 34 - William Henry Bennett (August 7, 1836- December. 22, 1868), Civil War Captain
  • Folder 35 -William W. McKinley, M.D. 1880-1906-Colonial Dames papers and obituary
  • Oversized: Two copies of Genealogy chart for the Henry Richard Goetchius family

Box 2

  • The Holy Bible belonging to the Goetchius family with births, marriages and deaths inscribed, 1857

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