Orlando Scott Goff (September 10, 1843 – October 17, 1916) was a 19th-century photographer of the American West.

Early life

Orlando Scott Goff was born in

Middletown, Connecticut Middletown is a city in Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States. Located along the Connecticut River, in the central part of the state, 16 miles (25.749504 km) south of Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford. Middletown is the largest city in the L ...

on September 10, 1843, the youngest of five children of Alfred Goff, shoemaker and Adaline, née Giddings. In his late teens Goff was apprenticed to learn the trade of carriage maker, but after the outbreak of 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 ...

he enlisted in October 1861 at the age of 18 with the 10th Connecticut Regiment Infantry of the Union Army seeing service in

the Carolinas The Carolinas, also known simply as Carolina, are the U.S. states of North Carolina and South Carolina considered collectively. They are bordered by Virginia to the north, Tennessee to the west, and Georgia to the southwest. The Atlantic Ocean ...

, Florida and

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

. On October 13, 1864 Goff was wounded at the Battle of Darbytown Road near

Richmond, Virginia Richmond ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. Incorporated in 1742, Richmond has been an independent city (United States), independent city since 1871. ...

. He spent two months at a military hospital at

Fort Monroe Fort Monroe is a former military installation in Hampton, Virginia, at Old Point Comfort, the southern tip of the Virginia Peninsula, United States. It is currently managed by partnership between the Fort Monroe Authority for the Commonwealth o ...

and upon his release, he was promoted to 1st sergeant and later to 2nd lieutenant. On August 2, 1865 Goff was mustered out of service.

Career

Chief Joseph by Orlando Scott Goff 1877 Bismarck Dakota Territory

He first returned to his native

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

but half a year later he relocated to

Lyons, New York Lyons is a town in and the county seat of Wayne County, New York, United States. The population was 5,682 at the 2010 census. It is named after Lyon, France.

where he would remain for the next two and a half years. It was there where he learned the trade of photography. By 1868 he had moved to

Portage, Wisconsin Portage is a city in Columbia County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. The population was 10,581 at the 2020 census, making it the largest city in Columbia County. It is part of the Madison metropolitan area. Portage was named for ...

where he practiced his trade of photography, also operating a small gallery in nearby Columbus. While in the latter place he met and engaged as an apprentice his future business partner, David Francis Barry. In 1871 he moved to Yankton in Dakota Territory and in 1873 to Bismarck where he established a photographic studio and gallery. In 1875 he accepted the position of post photographer at

Fort Abraham Lincoln Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park is a North Dakota state park located south of Mandan, North Dakota, United States. The park is home to the replica Mandan On-A-Slant Indian Village and reconstructed military buildings including the Custer House. ...

while Lt. Colonel

George Armstrong Custer George Armstrong Custer (December 5, 1839 – June 25, 1876) was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the American Indian Wars. Custer graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point ...

and several units of the

7th Cavalry Regiment The 7th Cavalry Regiment is a United States Army cavalry regiment formed in 1866. Its official nickname is "Garryowen", after the Irish air " Garryowen" that was adopted as its march tune. The regiment participated in some of the largest ba ...

were stationed there. Goff took the last pictures of Custer and his officers and men prior to their engagement at the

Battle of the Little Bighorn The Battle of the Little Bighorn, known to the Lakota people, Lakota and other Plains Indians as the Battle of the Greasy Grass, and commonly referred to as Custer's Last Stand, was an armed engagement between combined forces of the Lakota Si ...

against

Sitting Bull Sitting Bull ( ; December 15, 1890) was a Hunkpapa Lakota people, Lakota leader who led his people during years of resistance against Federal government of the United States, United States government policies. Sitting Bull was killed by Indian ...

’s allied

Sioux The Sioux or Oceti Sakowin ( ; Dakota/ Lakota: ) are groups of Native American tribes and First Nations people from the Great Plains of North America. The Sioux have two major linguistic divisions: the Dakota and Lakota peoples (translati ...

Cheyenne The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. The Cheyenne comprise two Native American tribes, the Só'taeo'o or Só'taétaneo'o (more commonly spelled as Suhtai or Sutaio) and the (also spelled Tsitsistas, The term for th ...

and

Arapaho The Arapaho ( ; , ) are a Native American people historically living on the plains of Colorado and Wyoming. They were close allies of the Cheyenne tribe and loosely aligned with the Lakota and Dakota. By the 1850s, Arapaho bands formed t ...

. Goff returned to Bismarck to attend to his studio. In 1877 he took the first photograph of

Chief Joseph ''Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt'' (or ''hinmatóowyalahtq̓it'' in Americanist orthography; March 3, 1840 – September 21, 1904), popularly known as Chief Joseph, Young Joseph, or Joseph the Younger, was a leader of the wal-lam-wat-kain (Wallowa) ...

of the

Nez Perce people The Nez Perce (; Exonym and endonym, autonym in Nez Perce language: , meaning 'we, the people') are an Indigenous people of the Plateau who still live on a fraction of the lands on the southeastern Columbia River Plateau in the Pacific Northwes ...

and on July 31, 1881 a photograph of

of the

Hunkpapa The Hunkpapa (Lakota: ) are a Native American group, one of the seven council fires of the Lakota tribe. The name ' is a Lakota word, meaning "Head of the Circle" (at one time, the tribe's name was represented in European-American records as ...

band of the

Lakota people The Lakota (; or ) are a Native Americans in the United States, Native American people. Also known as the Teton Sioux (from ), they are one of the three prominent subcultures of the Sioux people, with the Eastern Dakota (Santee) and Western D ...

. He often embarked on travels outside of his studio, capturing images across the Plains and of Native Americans.Heski, Thomas M., "Little Shadow Catcher: Icastinyanka Cikala Hanzi The Story of D.F. Barry” 1978

Later life

By the mid-1880s Goff sold his business interests to his friend and partner David Francis Barry and eventually moved to

Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

. He served one term with the

Montana Legislature The Montana State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to t ...

in 1907-1908 and soon thereafter moved to live with his daughter in Idaho. Orlando Scott Goff died in

Boise, Idaho Boise ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Idaho, most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, there were 235,685 people residing in the city. Loca ...

on October 17, 1916.

Family

Goff was married in 1875 to Annie Eaton who was originally from New York. The couple had one child, a daughter, Bessie, who was born at Bismarck on September 22, 1878.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Goff, Orlando Scott American photographers 1843 births 1916 deaths People from Middletown, Connecticut