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Byron C “Biff” Goss

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Byron C “Biff” Goss

Birth	:	27 Mar 1890 Rochester, Fulton County, Indiana, USA
Death	:	25 Oct 1964 Trappe Landing, Talbot County, Maryland, USA
Burial	:	Saint Michaels Catholic Cemetery, Suttons Bay, Leelanau County, USA
Coordinate	:	44.9735270, -85.6581040
Plot	:	Section 16, Row 2
Description	:	Byron's name is listed on this stone with his brother Ira Goss & his wives, but the cemetery shows that he isn't buried here. Byron is buried in the Dickinson Cemetery, Trappe, Talbot County, Maryland. Byron C. Goss and Mary (King) Goss _____ Published in The News-Sentinel (Rochester, Indiana) Monday, October 26, 1964 B. C. Goss Byron C. "Biff" GOSS, a Rochester native who gained an international reputation as an authority on fish and game, died Sunday noon at his home, Crosiadore, on the Chesapeake Bay at Trappe, Md. He was 74... Read More	Byron's name is listed on this stone with his brother Ira Goss & his wives, but the cemetery shows that he isn't buried here. Byron is buried in the Dickinson Cemetery, Trappe, Talbot County, Maryland. Byron C. Goss and Mary (King) Goss _____ Published in The News-Sentinel (Rochester, Indiana) Monday, October 26, 1964 B. C. Goss Byron C. "Biff" GOSS, a Rochester native who gained an international reputation as an authority on fish and game, died Sunday noon at his home, Crosiadore, on the Chesapeake Bay at Trappe, Md. He was 74 years of age. He was the brother of Ira D. GOSS, 1611 Main street, and was born at that site March 27, 1890, the son of Jonas and Mary HOFFMAN GOSS. Also surviving are the wife, the former Mary KING of Cleveland; one daughter, Mrs. James "Patsy" RHODES, Seattle, and a son, Richard [GOSS], Cleveland. A brother, Samuel W. [GOSS], died in 1931. Col Goss, who attained that rank during World War I, and his wife were spending the summer at their lodge near Jackson, Wyo., when he suffered a heart attack and stroke in late August. He was flown home to Maryland, where a blood clot later necessitated amputation of his left leg. Death then came Sunday from pneumonia. Private services will be conducted at Crosiadore. For over 30 years, since his retirement from munitions manufacturing, Col Goss traveled literally throughout the world on hunting and fishing trips. Russia was the only nation which he had not visited on these game-hunting sojourns. He had planned to go there soon. An international authority on fish, he often said that his first interest in this field was piqued by his boyhood trips on the Tippecanoe river and Lake Manitou. He also was an expert on birds of the world and his gifts of rare live and stuffed birds to the Cleveland Zoo were almost numberless. He also gave the Zoo a Bongo, rare African antelope, following its capture on one of his trips. It was the only such animal in captivity. Following another expedition, the Zoo received from Col. Goss 50 rare birds that were not included in its collection. He was a member of the select, international Explorers Club. A 1908 graduate of Rochester high school, he earned a B.S. degree from Wabash college in 1912 and then went on to Princeton university to gain M.A. and Ph. D. degrees in chemistry. President Woodrow Wilson, onetime Princeton president, later summoned Col. Goss to Washington to direct the U.S. chemical warfare section. He was sent to Europe as an observer prior to this country's entry into World War I and throughout that conflict was in charge of chemical warfare under Gen. John J. Pershing. Following the war, he entered the Munitions business in Cleveland and operated the U.S. Ordnance Engineers and the Lake Erie Chemical companites. The latter specialized in gas-protected vaults, which were installed at the government's Fort Knox, Ky., gold depository. Col. Goss advised many European nations on the use of these special protective vaults. Published in The News-Sentinel (Rochester, IN) Friday, October 30, 1964 Byron C. Goss CONSIDERED COMMENT by Jack K. Overmyer An extraordinary life of an extraordinary man came to an end this week when Col. Byron "Biff" GOSS died at the age of 74 at his home in the Chesapeake Bay area of Maryland. It was a life filled with astonishing military and business success, followed by enough travel and hunting adventure to fill a dozen lifetimes and as many novels. And it is of particular interest here because Col. Goss was a product of Rochester. He was born at 1611 Main street, where his brother, Ira D. GOSS, now resides after retirement from an insurance career. Col Goss launched his education in the Rochester schools, then completed it at Wabash college and at Princeton university by picking up three degrees. World War I put his knowledge of chemistry into use and he soon was made chief gas officer of the U.S. Second Army. As this country's leading expert on gas warfare, he was in every major battle of American forces from Chateau-Thierry until Armistice Day. His immediate superior cited Col Goss as doing "more than any other man to get the Army in the field to understand gas, its danger and, what was still more important to victory, its proper use." Since gas caused a third of all American casualties in World War I, this role indeed was an important one. Embarking upon a career as an industrialist after the War, Col. Goss made a fortune in the munitions and chemical businesses in the Cleveland area. During this period, he maintained lifelong friendships with the nation's top military men and often was called upon for advice in his field from foreign governments. He first formed the U.S. Ordnance Engineers company, then the Lake Erie Chemical company and remained as board chairman of the latter until his death. But his first love remained the hunting of fish and game. His goal was to help other persons to enjoy the world's most exotic examples of these species. So in his 50s he retired and devoted the rest of his days to this pursuit. Consider these accomplishments: He developed one of the nation's great kennels of field trial Pointers, including four champions. He became a trustee of the Cleveland Zoological Society and embarked on a series of collection trips that has made that zoo among the country's best. The contributions of Col. Goss include hundreds of rare birds, mainly trapped on safaris in Africa, and the country's only captive Bongo, a rare African antelope. Once he made a fishing trip into the Arctic to find the almost-mythical shee fish, said to be a connecrting link betwee the salman and white fish. Another time, he led a party to Tierra del Fuego, at the southern tip of South America, to examine game and to study habits of the natives of this remote outpost. It was his ambition to shoot or trap every type of known game birds and those who knew him realized that only death kept him from this realization. Col. Goss hunted or explored in every continent and in every country of the world except for Russia. Unable to obtain a visa to the Soviet Union, he still was trying to get the bar relaxed when death came. He was a man who sought excellence and who attained it in everything he did, regardless of the obstacles. One of the latter he overcame was loss of his right eye in an explosion years ago. But Col. Goss remained a crack shot with guns that had a special face-plate along the stock so he could level his good eye along the sight. He and his wife, Mary [GOSS], an expert hunter and accomplished pilot in her own right, owned the palatian "Crosiadore" estate in Maryland, ancestral home of the Dickinson family since 1660. It is recognized as one of the finest ducking shores in the Chesapeake Bay region. Literally thousands of wild ducks and geese can be seen feeding along the estate's shoreline almost any time. The Gosses also had a 10,000-acre plantation in Georgia and in the summers rented the famed Powder Horn ranch near Jackson Hole, Wyo., where his final illness overtook him. "Biff" Goss was a man who put truth into the dreams he spun in boyhood along the Tippecanoe river; who put his success to use in more than personal ways; and who, in so doing, left a legacy of accomplishment well worth imitation by successors. --J.K.O. SOURCE: Fulton County Indiana Obituaries - 1964 by Jean C. and Wendell C. Tombaugh __________________________________________ References to Byron C. Goss "leading" or "heading up" the Chemical Warfare service (CWS) in WWI are incorrect. Goss was Chief Gas Officer for the 1st Army Corps, and later promoted to Colonel and higher responsibility as Chief Gas Officer for 2nd Army when it formed in the final months of the war. The head of the AEF Chemical Warfare Service was Brigadier General Amos Fries and the Head of the CWS in the US was Major General William Sibert. Goss was a major figure in the CWS of WWI, but he was not the head or the leader of the effort. Not mentioned, but of interest is Goss's long relationship with Allen W. Dulles, whom he knew from Princeton. Several declassified letters of their correspondence during Dulle's tenure as head of the CIA are now available due to FOIA requests. Provided by: batmanintexas

frequently asked questions (FAQ):

Where is Byron C “Biff” Goss's memorial?
Byron C “Biff” Goss's memorial is located at: Saint Michaels Catholic Cemetery, Suttons Bay, Leelanau County, USA.
When did Byron C “Biff” Goss death?
Byron C “Biff” Goss death on 25 Oct 1964 in Trappe Landing, Talbot County, Maryland, USA
Where are the coordinates of the Byron C “Biff” Goss's memorial?
Latitude: 44.9735270
Longitude: -85.6581040

Family Members:

Parent

Jonas Goss

(1837 - 1918)

Mary Hoffman Goss

(1841 - 1926)

Siblings

Martha J Goss Seymour

(1864 - 1953)

Minerva Ella Goss Mow

(1867 - 1903)

Ira D Goss

(1878 - 1968)

Clara S Goss

(1882 - 1887)

Flowers:

Nearby Cemetories:

1. Saint Michaels Catholic Cemetery
Suttons Bay, Leelanau County, USA
Coordinate: 44.9735270, -85.6581040

2. Suttons Bay Township Cemetery
Suttons Bay, Leelanau County, USA
Coordinate: 44.9730940, -85.6576540

3. Lutheran Cemetery
Suttons Bay, Leelanau County, USA
Coordinate: 44.9707020, -85.6687670

4. Saint Marys Cemetery
Lake Leelanau, Leelanau County, USA
Coordinate: 44.9763985, -85.7039032

5. Maple Grove Cemetery
Keswick, Leelanau County, USA
Coordinate: 44.9393997, -85.6530991

6. East Leland Cemetery
Leland, Leelanau County, USA
Coordinate: 45.0175018, -85.7164001

7. Kateri Tekakwitha Catholic Church Cemetery
Peshawbestown, Leelanau County, USA
Coordinate: 45.0220900, -85.6037910

8. Saint Wenceslaus Cemetery
Leland, Leelanau County, USA
Coordinate: 45.0549640, -85.6785060

9. Beechwood Cemetery
Leland, Leelanau County, USA
Coordinate: 45.0396996, -85.7391968

10. Paulus Family Cemetery
Leland, Leelanau County, USA
Coordinate: 45.0265340, -85.7567930

11. Omena Cemetery
Omena, Leelanau County, USA
Coordinate: 45.0581830, -85.5919720

12. Omena Presbyterian Church Cemetery
Omena, Leelanau County, USA
Coordinate: 45.0572440, -85.5869750

13. Swedish Mission Cemetery
Centerville Township, Leelanau County, USA
Coordinate: 44.9462570, -85.8012140

14. Bohemian Cemetery
Peninsula Township, Grand Traverse County, USA
Coordinate: 44.9011002, -85.5481033

15. Kilwy Family Cemetery
Cedar, Leelanau County, USA
Coordinate: 44.9334650, -85.7980630

16. Bingham Township Cemetery
Bingham, Leelanau County, USA
Coordinate: 44.8666992, -85.6746979

17. Grindstuen Cemetery
Centerville Township, Leelanau County, USA
Coordinate: 44.9179110, -85.7954280

18. Saint Pauls Lutheran Church Cemetery
Cedar, Leelanau County, USA
Coordinate: 44.9378550, -85.8099100

19. Ogdensburg Cemetery
Mapleton, Grand Traverse County, USA
Coordinate: 44.9281006, -85.5033035

20. Peninsula Township Cemetery
Traverse City, Grand Traverse County, USA
Coordinate: 44.9110300, -85.5154900

21. Mount Calvary Cemetery
Isadore, Leelanau County, USA
Coordinate: 44.8789720, -85.7760520

22. Heimforth Cemetery
Elmwood Township, Leelanau County, USA
Coordinate: 44.8485985, -85.6900024

23. Lakeside Cemetery
Traverse City, Grand Traverse County, USA
Coordinate: 44.9631600, -85.4789500

24. Saint Josephs Catholic Cemetery
Mapleton, Grand Traverse County, USA
Coordinate: 44.8725014, -85.5152969