John Gould

John Gould was born on October 3, 1735 in Caldwell, N.J. (although one alternative historical source places his birth in Staten Island), to John Gould and Antje Wynant.

On March 3, 1757, at the age of 21, he married Ann Cobb, a 19 year old, who was born on June 27, 1738 in Taunton, MA, to Ebenezer Cobb and Mehitible Robinson Cobb. We do not know what brought Ann from Massachusetts to New Jersey. Together, John and Ann had seven children: Julia (b. 1756, d. 1757); Encrease (or possibly “Increase”) (b. November 27, 1759, d. January 5 or 11, 1815); Sarah (also known as “Sallie”) (b. June 20, 1762); John Robertson (or possibly “Anthony”) (b. September 17, 1764, d. September 9, 1797); Mehetable Gould Dod (b. October 1771 or May 9, 1772, d. June 10, 1857 or October 6, 1857); Julia (named for her sister who died in infancy) (b. 1773, d. unknown); and Anna Gould Crane (b. August 15, 1774, d. November 15, 1846).

John’s wife Ann died on March 3, 1780. Following Ann’s death, John married Dorcas Baldwin in 1781. Dorcas, the daughter of John Baldwin IV and Elizabeth Baldwin, was born in 1744 in Horse Neck. John and Dorcas had just one child together, Moses Encrease (b. December 29, 1782, d. 1830).

Although little more is known about John Gould’s life, during the Revolutionary War, he served as a private in Captain Squire's Company, 2nd Regiment, Essex County NJ Militia. He served beside his brothers, uncle, and cousins. John Gould was one of the founding members of the First Presbyterian Church at Caldwell when it officially organized in 1784, and this father of 8 and grandfather of at least 46 was buried at the Old Burying Ground of the First Presbyterian Church upon his death on August 25, 1807.