History of the Lemen family, of Illinois, Virginia and elsewhere . emen, died in infancy before Goff was born,and hence the love of his mother, a very spiritualwoman, centered on him as a gift from God, in an-swer to fervent prayer for a son to train for God. Night and morning she prayed that Goff wouldgrow up to become a minister of the gospel. Earlyin life, at the age of eight years, he professed con-version and offered himself as a candidate for bap-tism to the Baptist Church. At that day the churchesdid not take kindly to receiving children so young,and hence the pastor and deacons advised
History of the Lemen family, of Illinois, Virginia and elsewhere . emen, died in infancy before Goff was born,and hence the love of his mother, a very spiritualwoman, centered on him as a gift from God, in an-swer to fervent prayer for a son to train for God. Night and morning she prayed that Goff wouldgrow up to become a minister of the gospel. Earlyin life, at the age of eight years, he professed con-version and offered himself as a candidate for bap-tism to the Baptist Church. At that day the churchesdid not take kindly to receiving children so young,and hence the pastor and deacons advised him to he did without complaint, having, even at thatage, high regard for the decisions of the attended the church meetings, the prayer meet-ings, Sunday-school and all services. In the prayermeetings he often spoke and prayed. Thus he con-tinued, everybody calling him the little would invite his playmates to his home and haveprayer meetings and talk to them of Bible so pleasant did he make it for them that some of. 230-REV. JOSEPH GOFF LEMEN. BIOGRAPHICAL. 179 the wildest boys, such as are generally called the hard cases, came to be his friends, and seldom re-fused his invitations. At the age of thirteen he again presented himselfto the church and was baptized iDto the fellowshipof the Baptist Church of Salem, Illinois. At the age of sixteen he entered Shurtleff Col-lege, Upper Alton, Illinois, and was a student therefor four years. While at college he became possessedwith a desire for worldly favor, and, after a greatstruggle with his conscience, decided to study when he left school he studied law, attended onesession of law lectures at Harvard University and wasadmitted to the bar by the Supreme Court of Illinoiswhen he was twenty-one years of age. He thenbought an interest in a newspaper, moved to Lebanon,Mo., and conducted the paper and practiced law forseven years. He was successful in business and ac-cumulated there
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