Eugenia Wheeler Goff (1844–1922) was an American historian,

cartographer Cartography (; from , 'papyrus, sheet of paper, map'; and , 'write') is the study and practice of making and using maps. Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality (or an imagined reality) can ...

educator A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

, and author. She was also a co-founder of the National Historical Publishing Company, which is known for publishing historical maps.

Biography

Eugenia was born January 17, 1844, in North Clarkson,

Monroe County, New York Monroe County is a county in the U.S. state of New York, located along Lake Ontario's southern shore. As of 2022, the population was 752,035, according to Census Bureau estimates. Its county seat and largest city is Rochester. The county is ...

to Joseph Lacy Wheeler and Sarah Ann Peck. In 1859, her parents decided to move to

Winona, Minnesota Winona ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Winona County, Minnesota, United States. Located in bluff country on the Mississippi River, its most noticeable physical landmark is Sugar Loaf (Winona, Minnesota), Sugar Loaf. The population was 2 ...

. Ten years later, she graduated at the state's Normal school. Her school employed Eugenia after graduation and she worked there for eight years. When she left, she had a rank of first assistant. Eugenia then held teaching positions in a teachers' training school and in various state institutes. She was also a state inspector of training schools for teachers in Minnesota. An account cited that she worked for two years under the State Superintendent of Schools, teaching patriotism and good citizenship to teachers and students. In 1894, she ran for the

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

school board. Although she lost, Eugenia was endorsed by the

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 ...

Populist Populism is a contested concept used to refer to a variety of political stances that emphasize the idea of the " common people" and often position this group in opposition to a perceived elite. It is frequently associated with anti-establis ...

, and Democratic parties. Eugenia was married to Henry Slade Goff in 1882. The couple founded the National Historical Publishing Company, which published her historical maps. Eugenia died on May 12, 1922.

Works

In 1876, Eugenia wrote ''Minnesota, Its Geography, History, and Resources''. The book was later adopted in all common and graded schools in her state. The text was considered groundbreaking for combining history, resources, and geography, an idea later used by other textbook publishers in the United States. Prior to her marriage, she was already the creator of historical wall maps that included historical events of countries. Together with her husband, Eugenia completed the ''Goff's Historical Map of the Spanish-American War in the West Indies, 1898.'' It was published in 1899 shortly after the signing of the

1898 Treaty of Paris The Treaty of Peace between the United States of America and the Kingdom of Spain, commonly known as the Treaty of Paris of 1898, was signed by Spain and the United States on December 10, 1898, and marked the end of the Spanish–American Wa ...

, which concluded the

Spanish-American War Spanish Americans (, ''hispanoestadounidenses'', or ''hispanonorteamericanos'') are Americans whose ancestry originates wholly or partly from Spain. They are the longest-established European American group in the modern United States, with a ...

. This work recorded the battles that transpired during the war in the

West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

and included the military and naval maneuvers in

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

and

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

. Eugenia's collaboration with her husband produced over 100 historical maps, charts, and books, which included the historical atlas called ''The United States and Her Neighbors'' and the ''Goff's Historical Map of the Philippine Islands''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Goff, Eugenia Wheeler American women historians Historians from Minnesota Historians from New York (state) American cartographers 1844 births 1922 deaths People from Monroe County, New York People from Winona, Minnesota Women cartographers 19th-century cartographers 19th-century American historians 19th-century American women writers 20th-century cartographers 20th-century American historians 20th-century American women writers