Benjamin Goings (abt. 1833 - 1903)

Born about 1833 in Puerto Rico

Died 1 Jul 1903 at about age 70 in Portsmouth, Rockingham, New Hampshire, United States

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Biography

Benjamin Goings is a part of US Black heritage.

Benjamin Goings birth location is different in different sources. They include West Indies, Spain (1900 census) and Puerto Rico, West Indies (son Carmilo's death record). Puerto Rico is an island in the Caribbean (West Indies), and was a Spanish colony 1493-1898, so that may explain and reconcile them all. (Using Puerto Rico as birth location. His birth date varies wildly in souces: from Feb 1824 (1900 census) to 1840 (1880 census), see reseach notes. Going with 1833, the calculated birth year from his grave marker, as it is also in between the extremes.)

Served as a sergeant in Co. F, 5th US Colored Troops Infantry according to his Find-a-grave memorial.

He married Caroline A. Brown ca 1869 (1900 census).

In 1880, he lived with his wife Caroline, her children from a previous marriage and their two sons Francesco and Carmilo in Portsmouth, Rockingham, New Hampshire, United States.

Benjamin passed away on July 1, 1903 in Portsmouth.^[1] He is buried in Harmony Grove Cemetery, Portsmouth.^[2]

During the Civil War, he was a Landsman and did Naval Services in: Monongahela, Vermont Prineceton, Mohican; Vandolia, Pocahontas, Lenghee, Conemaugh. ^[3]

Landsman rating was the bottom rung of the shipboard ladder during the American Civil War. Officially, as the name implies, it was assigned to men who had no prior maritime experience or skills of relevance to naval life. As a result, the lot of Landsmen on board wartime vessels could be an extremely difficult one. They could usually expect to undertake the most menial of tasks, including things like moving heavy loads, physically maintaining the vessel and cleaning the decks. If they stayed in the Navy long enough, the passage of years and the acquisition of skills could eventually lead to their promotion to ratings like Ordinary Seaman and eventually Seaman...^[4]

Research notes

Differing birth data:

• 1880 census: 40 years old (b. calc 1840), sailor b. in the West Indies
• 1895 son Carmilo's death record: Porto Rico, W.I.
• 1900 census: Feb 1824 (76 years old) in Spain to Spanish parents. Married 31 years (calc married in 1869)
• 1903 grave marker: 69 years, 11 months, 5 days (= b. calc 26 Jul 1833)

Sources

1. ↑ Death: "New Hampshire, U.S., Death and Disinterment Records, 1754-1947"
   Original data: “New Hampshire, Death and Disinterment Records, 1754-1947.” Online index and digital images. New England Historical Genealogical Society. Citing New Hampshire Bureau of Vital Records, Concord, New Hampshire
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 5242 #432031
   Benjamin Goings death 1 Jul 1903 (age 69) in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, USA.
2. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/11716407/benjamin-goings: accessed 14 februari 2024), memorial page for Benjamin Goings (–), Find A Grave: Memorial #11716407 Find a Grave Memorial ID 11716407, citing Harmony Grove Cemetery, Portsmouth, Rockingham County, New Hampshire, USA; Maintained by Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War (contributor 48353502).
3. ↑ U.S., Civil War Pension Index: General Index to Pension Files, 1861-1934. Ancestry)
4. ↑ About Landsmen in the Civil War on Civil war Blue Jackets website: https://civilwarbluejackets.com/2023/01/24/ratings-focus-landsmen/

• 1880 Census: "1880 United States Federal Census"
  Year: 1880; Census Place: Portsmouth, Rockingham, New Hampshire; Roll: 768; Page: 13B; Enumeration District: 224
  Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 6742 #16434871
  Benjamin Goins (40), married, Sailor, head of household in Portsmouth, Rockingham, New Hampshire, USA. Born in W Indies.
• "United States Census, 1900", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M3YX-5CY : Tue Oct 03 19:15:54 UTC 2023), Entry for Benjamin Goings and Caroline A Goings, 1900.