Benjamin Franklin Goss (April 24, 1823 – June 6, 1893) was an American

farmer A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials. The term usually applies to people who do some combination of raising field crops, orchards, vineyards, poultry, or other livestock. A farmer ...

printer Printer may refer to: Technology * Printer (publishing), a person * Printer (computing), a hardware device * Optical printer for motion picture films People * Nariman Printer (fl. c. 1940), Indian journalist and activist * James Printer (1640 ...

and

merchant A merchant is a person who trades in goods produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Merchants have been known for as long as humans have engaged in trade and commerce. Merchants and merchant networks operated i ...

from

Pewaukee Pewaukee is a city in Waukesha County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 15,914 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Milwaukee metropolitan area. The name of the city of Pewaukee comes from that of the name of the village, the ori ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

, who served two terms in the

Wisconsin State Assembly The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The Assembly is controlled by the Republican ...

from

Waukesha County Waukesha County () is a county (United States), county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 406,978, making it the third-most populous county in Wisconsin. Its median income of $88,985 placed ...

: one in 1855 as a Whig, and the other in 1893 as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

. In the interim, he had spent some time in Illinois, Iowa, and Kansas, and served as an officer in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. In his later years, his greatest fame was as an amateur

ornithologist Ornithology, from Ancient Greek ὄρνις (''órnis''), meaning "bird", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study", is a branch of zoology dedicated to the study of birds. Several aspects of ornithology differ from related discip ...

Early life

Goss was born April 24, 1823, in

Lancaster, New Hampshire Lancaster is a town located along the Connecticut River in Coös County, New Hampshire, United States. The town is named after the city of Lancaster in England. As of the 2020 census, the town population was 3,218, the second largest in the cou ...

, received a public school and

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

education, and learned the printer's trade. He worked as a printer until he moved with his family to

Wisconsin Territory The Territory of Wisconsin was an organized and incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 3, 1836, until May 29, 1848, when an eastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Wisconsin. Belm ...

in 1841, and eventually purchased and farmed 160 acres of land near the east end of Pewaukee Lake. On January 21, 1851, he was married in Pewaukee to Abby B. Bradley, a native of

Cayuga County, New York Cayuga County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 76,248. Its county seat and largest city is Auburn. The county was named for the Cayuga people, one of the Native American tribes in the I ...

; they had one child, Clara F. Goss. In 1854, he was elected to the State Assembly from the north-east district of Waukesha County for the session of 1855 as a Whig, to succeed fellow Whig Chauncey Purple.

Leaving Wisconsin

After the 1855 Assembly session ended (Goss was succeeded in the next session by Democrat James Weaver of

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

), he moved to

Freeport, Illinois Freeport is the largest city in Stephenson County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. The population was 23,973 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, and the mayor of Freeport is Jodi Miller, elected in 2017. Freeport is k ...

, to join his brother N. S. Goss in operating a large grocery store for about one year; he then moved to

Waverly, Iowa Waverly is a city in Bremer County, Iowa, United States. The population was 10,394 at the time of the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Bremer County and is part of the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metropolitan area. The sister city of Waverly is ...

, and went into the real estate business for about two years, after which he moved on to

Neosho Falls, Kansas Neosho Falls is a city in Woodson County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 134. History Neosho Falls was founded in 1857, making it the oldest town and first county seat in Woodson County. It was ...

, where he (along with his brother N. S. Goss and two others) formed a company, purchased several hundred acres of land,

plat In the United States, a plat ( or ) (plan) is a cadastral map, drawn to scale, showing the divisions of a piece of land. United States General Land Office surveyors drafted township plats of Public Lands Survey System, Public Lands Surveys to ...

ted Neosho Falls, built a dam, erected mills, and made other improvements. He continued doing business at Neosho Falls until October, 1861, when (the

being under way) he organized a

company A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of legal people, whether Natural person, natural, Juridical person, juridical or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members ...

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from ''cheval'' meaning "horse") are groups of soldiers or warriors who Horses in warfare, fight mounted on horseback. Until the 20th century, cavalry were the most mob ...

of which he was elected

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

; the company became Company F of the 9th Regiment Kansas Volunteer Cavalry. Company F was in the battles of Cane Hill and Prairie Grove and many smaller engagements. For a large part of their service time they were stationed on the

frontier A frontier is a political and geographical term referring to areas near or beyond a boundary. Australia The term "frontier" was frequently used in colonial Australia in the meaning of country that borders the unknown or uncivilised, th ...

, serving as

scouts Scouting or the Scout Movement is a youth social movement, movement which became popularly established in the first decade of the twentieth century. It follows the Scout method of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activi ...

. They were mustered out of the service in January, 1865, "Goss having served as its captain, participating in every march, movement, etc., his command was in". Shortly after his return from the army, he sold his interests in Neosho Falls.

Return to Wisconsin

In 1866, he returned to Pewaukee and became a prosperous and successful merchant, also holding various offices in the Village of Pewaukee. In 1892, he was again elected to the Assembly from the second Waukesha County district (

Towns A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

of Delafleld,

Eagle Eagle is the common name for the golden eagle, bald eagle, and other birds of prey in the family of the Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of Genus, genera, some of which are closely related. True eagles comprise the genus ''Aquila ( ...

, Genesee, Merton,

Mukwonago Mukwonago is a village in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 8,262 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. The village is located mostly within the Mukwonago (town), Wisconsin, Town of Mukwonago in Waukesha County, Wisconsin ...

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

, Oconomowoc,

Summit A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. The topographic terms acme, apex, peak (mountain peak), and zenith are synonymous. The term (mountain top) is generally used only for ...

, Lisbon and Pewaukee; and the city of Oconomowoc) as a Democrat with 1,968 votes, thus by four votes unseating Republican incumbent Omar L. Rosenkrans, who received 1,964 votes;

Prohibitionist Prohibitionism is a legal philosophy and political theory often used in lobbying which holds that citizens will abstain from actions if the actions are typed as unlawful (i.e. prohibited) and the prohibitions are enforced by law enforcement.C Canty ...

George McKerrow drew 129 votes. He was assigned to the

standing committee A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly or other form of organization. A committee may not itself be considered to be a form of assembly or a decision-making body. Usually, an assembly o ...

s on

road A road is a thoroughfare used primarily for movement of traffic. Roads differ from streets, whose primary use is local access. They also differ from stroads, which combine the features of streets and roads. Most modern roads are paved. Th ...

s and

bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

s, and on

ways and means A ways and means committee is a government body that is charged with reviewing and making recommendations for government budgets. Because the raising of revenue is vital to carrying out governmental operations, such a committee is tasked with fi ...

. He died suddenly of a hear attack at his home in Pewaukee on June 6, 1893. (He was succeeded in the Assembly by Republican Caleb C. Harris.)

Birds and nature

From an early age, Goss was an avid amateur

naturalist Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...

, beginning at the age of 18 a correspondence with fellow enthusiasts (including

Louis Agassiz Jean Louis Rodolphe Agassiz ( ; ) FRS (For) FRSE (May 28, 1807 – December 14, 1873) was a Swiss-born American biologist and geologist who is recognized as a scholar of Earth's natural history. Spending his early life in Switzerland, he recei ...

and experts at the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...

) which lasted for many years. He was an avid

birder Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device such as binoculars or a telescope, ...

and amateur

(as was his brother N. S. Goss); they traveled widely throughout the U.S., and gathered a collection that represented 720 species of birds. The collection (including what was described as "one of the largest and most valuable collections of the eggs of North American birds in this country") was donated mostly to the

Milwaukee Public Museum The Nature & Culture Museum of Wisconsin (formerly known as Milwaukee Public Museum) is a natural and human history museum in the Westown neighborhood of Downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The museum was chartered in 1882 and opened to the public ...

, of which Goss was honorary

curator A curator (from , meaning 'to take care') is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the particular ins ...

of ornithology and

zoology Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the anatomy, structure, embryology, Biological classification, classification, Ethology, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinction, extinct, and ...

. At his death, he was called "one of the foremost ornithologists of this country"."Death of Benj. F. Goss; Dies Suddenly at His Home in Pewaukee" ''The Oölogist: For the Student of Birds, Their Nests and Eggs'' October, 1893 (Vol. X, Number 10); p. 281-282

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Goss, Benjamin F. 1823 births 1893 deaths Farmers from Wisconsin American ornithologists American printers Birdwatchers Businesspeople from Wisconsin Members of the Wisconsin State Assembly Wisconsin Democrats Wisconsin Whigs People of Kansas in the American Civil War People of Wisconsin in the American Civil War People from Lancaster, New Hampshire People from Pewaukee, Wisconsin Politicians from Waukesha County, Wisconsin Union army officers People from Woodson County, Kansas 19th-century American merchants 19th-century members of the Wisconsin Legislature