RECORDS OF CAPTAIN JAMES GOFFEY

B/GOF/1/1 - 14 Accounts of Voyages 1839 - 1857

B/GOF/2/1 - 7 Navigation and Course Notes 1826 - 1852

B/GOF/3/1 - 7 Personal Papers and Correspondence of Captain James Goffey 1839 - 1855

B/GOF/4/1 - 37 Cargo and Provision Books, etc. 1836 - 1857

B/GOF/5/1 - 30 Business Correspondence (including Bills of Lading) 1840 - 1855

B/GOF/6/1 - 8 Accounts and General Finance 1841 - 1855

B/GOF/7/1 - 23 Miscellaneous Correspondence - Papers 1840 - 1855

B/GOF/8/1 Note of Interview with W. Goffey 1972

The collection was purchased from a private dealer in 1987.

Acc. No.: MMM.1989.137

James Goffey was born in 1807, into a family which is believed to have been in Liverpool since 1775. He began his African career as a mate on board the brig Jane, sailing for Africa in 1826, and his navigation exercise books survive in the collection. He undertook his first voyage as master on board the brig Gannet to Bonny, Africa, in 1839. He obtained his Masters Certificate in 1851 and continued to sail to Africa until at least 1857, the date of the last document in the collection.

James, in partnership with his brother William, a joiner, formed the firm of J. & W. Goffey, which continued to trade with Africa well into the twentieth century until the decline of sail after World War I. Despite the records of the partnership not surviving, the records of Captain James Goffey are an important and rare record of Liverpool's trade with Africa in the early to mid-nineteenth century. The collection is rich in the working documents of the trade, including voyage accounts, and cargo and provision books, which include detailed accounts of amounts of oil taken on board and the names of native dealers.