John Gould was born in Ipswich, Massachusetts, on December 1, 1662, son of John (1635-1710) and Sarah (Baker) Gould. He was a weaver by trade. He married Phebe French (1667-1718) in 1684. They had 10 children. He died November 5, 1727 in Topsfield, Massachusetts.

Daniel Gould was born in Topsfield on December 8, 1753, the son of Daniel (1699-1766) and Lucy (Tarbox) Gould. He was pursuing his studies at Dummer Academy in Byfield, at the time of the first hostilities in the American Revolution. Leaving school, he marched to Lexington in Captain Joseph Gould's company on April 19, 1775, and then enlisted in the militia. He served in the Army for nearly two years with his brother Samuel in a company of guards under Major Lee.

Returning, he entered Harvard College, where he graduated in 1782 and prepared himself for the ministry. He settled first in Wolfboro, New Hampshire, then in Bethel and Rumford, Maine. In Bethel, where he was installed in 1799 and remained until 1815, he established a classical school known as Gould's Academy.

He married Mary Booth (1751-1785) in 1782. He married Eunice Foster Perley in 1788. Later he married Ann M. Rawson. He had one daughter, Molly (September 1785- December 1785). He died on May 21, 1842 in Rumford, Maine.

Samuel Gould was born in Topsfield on March 6, 1759, the son of Daniel (1699-1766) and Lucy (Tarbox) Gould. He married Abigail Lamson (born 1758). He died on April 12, 1837.

Andrew Gould was born in Middleton, Massachusetts, on December 11, 1805, the son of Andrew (1777-1844) and Pamelia (Kinney) Gould. In 1829 he married Mary Prudence Lake (1809-1899). They had 12 children. He died in Topsfield in 1896.

Thomas W. Perley was born on January 21, 1831 in Topsfield, Massachusetts. He married Harriet Lake Gould (b. 1837), daughter of Andrew Gould (1805-1896), in 1857. They had one son. He died of consumption in 1871.

See Appendix I for a partial family tree.