William Goforth came from Holme Upon Spalding Moor, Yorkshire, England to Lacolle, Quebec sometime between 1822 and 1825. The 1825 census of Lacolle lists a Richard Goforth, probably William's father. The Goforth family was dedicated to the
Wesleyan Methodist cause and William's children married among the congregation at Odelltown. A Thomas Goforth was christened in Holme Upon Spalding Moor on 5 Nov., 1816 the son of William Goforth and Mary.