Goffe, Arthur

d. by June 1737

Arthur Goffe, Council member and receiver general of North Carolina, was living in the colony by 1723. On 15 January of that year, after he produced for Governor Burrington and the Council his commission and instructions from the Lords Proprietors appointing him receiver general, Burrington appointed him to the Council.

By 1725, Goffe was in the lower house of the Assembly as a representative from Bertie Precinct. He was evidently among those in the lower house who protested the dismissal of Governor Burrington that year by the Lords Proprietors and the appointment of Sir Richard Everard as his successor. In November 1725 the lower house selected Goffe, Edmund Porter, and Sir Nathaniel Duckenfield as its agents to present a true "State & Condition of this Your Province" to the Lords Proprietors, including charges of corrupt administration of Everard and a request for the restoration of Burrington; however, Goffe was the only agent to travel to England. On 19 Jan. 1726 Governor Everard informed the Council that Goffe had left for England without leave from himself and the Council and thus declared Goffe's office of receiver general vacant. Everard then appointed William Little to the position with the stipulation that, should the Lords Proprietors approve Goffe's trip, Goffe would still receive his salary. It would seem that Goffe proved an able spokesman for the lower house, as Everard was removed and replaced by Burrington.

No further mention is made of Goffe after his return from England late in 1726. He may have spent most of the remainder of his life in Edenton or on his land in Bertie Precinct; in 1724 he had bought 130 acres from William Maule for £30 Crown money and in 1725 another 320 acres from Thomas Hoskins for £60 sterling. Goffe's will, written on 29 Nov. 1725 and proved in the Craven County Court in June 1737, named James Winwright of Carteret County as friend, executor, and sole legatee of his estate. Winwright had served as an assistant to Goffe during his term as receiver general. In 1743, Winwright sold 600 acres in Craven County on the north side of the Neuse River at Orchard Creek which had been patented by Arthur Goffe "of Edenton."

Whether Goffe ever married or was survived by relatives is not known; however, it seems unlikely that he was as they were not mentioned in his will. Nevertheless, the Bertie County Court Minutes of 1724–39 mention several individuals with the surname of Goffe.