Guy Despard Goff (September 13, 1866January 7, 1933) was an American lawyer and politician - who served as a

United States senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

from

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the B ...

. Earlier in his career, he was

United States Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal ...

for the Eastern District of Wisconsin and served in various roles in the

United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United Stat ...

Life and career

Goff was a member of the political dynasty established by his father

Nathan Goff Nathan Goff Jr. (February 9, 1843 – April 23, 1920) was a United States representative from West Virginia, a Union Army officer, the 28th United States Secretary of the Navy during President Rutherford B. Hayes administration, a United States ...

, also a U.S. Senator from West Virginia. Born in Clarksburg, West Virginia, he attended the common schools and

the College of William and Mary ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

. He graduated from

Kenyon College Kenyon College is a private liberal arts college in Gambier, Ohio. It was founded in 1824 by Philander Chase. Kenyon College is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. Kenyon has 1,708 undergraduates enrolled. Its 1,000-acre campus is ...

(in Gambier, Ohio) in 1888 and from the law department of

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

in 1891; he was admitted to the bar the same year and commenced practice in Boston, Massachusetts. In 1893 he moved to

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

, and continued the practice of law; he was elected

prosecuting attorney A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the common law adversarial system or the civil law inquisitorial system. The prosecution is the legal party responsible for presenting the case in a criminal trial ...

of Milwaukee County in 1895 and, in 1911, he was appointed

for the Eastern District of Wisconsin by President

William Howard Taft William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) was the 27th president of the United States (1909–1913) and the tenth chief justice of the United States (1921–1930), the only person to have held both offices. Taft was elected pr ...

. He served two years into the presidency of

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...

, leaving office in 1915. Goff was appointed special assistant to the Attorney General of the United States in 1917, and, during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, he was commissioned a colonel in the Judge Advocate General's Department of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

and served in France and Germany in 1918-1919. Goff was appointed by President

general counsel A general counsel, also known as chief counsel or chief legal officer (CLO), is the chief in-house lawyer for a company or a governmental department. In a company, the person holding the position typically reports directly to the CEO, and their ...

of the

United States Shipping Board The United States Shipping Board (USSB) was established as an emergency agency by the 1916 Shipping Act (39 Stat. 729), on September 7, 1916. The United States Shipping Board's task was to increase the number of US ships supporting the World War ...

in 1920 and later became a member, serving until 1921; he was appointed an assistant to the Attorney General on several occasions from 1920 to 1923. He returned to Clarksburg in 1923 and was elected as a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

to the U.S. Senate and served from March 4, 1925, to March 3, 1931; he was not a candidate for renomination in 1930. While in the Senate, he was chairman of the Committee on Expenditures in Executive Departments (Seventy-first Congress). He resided in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

and died at his winter home in

Thomasville, Georgia Thomasville is the county seat of Thomas County, Georgia, United States. The population was 18,413 at the 2010 United States Census, making it the second largest city in southwest Georgia after Albany. The city deems itself the "City of Roses" an ...

, in 1933, aged 66. Interment was in

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...

. Guy D. Goff was a son of

, a U.S. Senator and

Representative Representative may refer to: Politics * Representative democracy, type of democracy in which elected officials represent a group of people * House of Representatives, legislative body in various countries or sub-national entities * Legislator, som ...

from West Virginia, and was the father of

Louise Goff Reece Louise Goff Reece (November 6, 1898 – May 14, 1970) was an American politician and a United States representative from Tennessee. Early life Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Reece was a daughter of Guy D. Goff and granddaughter of Nathan Goff, b ...

, a U.S. Representative from Tennessee.

References

Retrieved on 2008-07-02

External Links

*The

West Virginia & Regional History Center The West Virginia & Regional History Center (WVRHC), is the largest archival collection housing documents and manuscripts involving West Virginia and the surrounding central Appalachian region. Because of name changes over the years, it is some ...

West Virginia University West Virginia University (WVU) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Beckley, Potomac State Coll ...

houses the papers of Guy D. Goff withi
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Goff, Guy D. 1866 births 1933 deaths Kenyon College alumni Harvard Law School alumni Politicians from Milwaukee United States Army officers United States Attorneys for the Eastern District of Wisconsin College of William & Mary alumni Politicians from Clarksburg, West Virginia Republican Party United States senators from West Virginia West Virginia Republicans Burials at Arlington National Cemetery Wisconsin Republicans Washington, D.C., Republicans Massachusetts lawyers West Virginia lawyers Wisconsin lawyers Lawyers from Clarksburg, West Virginia