Betsey Gookin (maiden name: Dole) was born around 1827 in New Hampshire to Daniel and Betsey Dole. She married Daniel Gookin, they had at least three children: Charles, born around 1853; Hellen, born around 1855; and Arabella, born around 1857. The family lived in Portland, Maine, and her husband worked as a carriage maker. In 1860, they owned $200 of personal property; a decade later, they owned $1,000 of personal property. Daniel died in 1885, and Betsey moved to Lowell, Massachusetts, sometime before 1890. She died of “old age” in Keene, New Hampshire, on November 17, 1909.