Gaulding Origins

Across the rural South and the Appalachian foothills of Virginia and North Carolina, few folk beliefs carried the mystique and reverence of the seventh son of a seventh son. Families whispered the phrase with awe, and communities treated such a birth as a sign of divine favor. In places like Pittsylvania County and Rockingham County—where Dock Whitfield Gauldin was born and lived—this tradition blended Old World folklore with Southern folk medicine, creating a powerful cultur

William Gauldin, Jr. the son of William T. Gaulding and Margaret Lane is named in the chancery records related to the distribution of the estate of his father in 1841, but only indirectly. Although the 1852–1853 Pittsylvania County chancery suit dividing the estate of William T. Gaulding lists one distributive share going to “the heirs of William Gaulding, deceased,” the record does not reveal where this son died. The omission has long obscured the fate of William Gaulding J

Andrew Gaulding was born about 1780, probably in Bedford County and he died June 20, 1842 (1) in Pittsylvania County, Virginia in Pittsylvania County, Virginia. He is named as one of the heirs of the estate of his father William and he got a 1/8th share. His parents were married in about 1779 and Andrew was probably born the following year, but since there is no birth record, that date is a guess. The 1830 Census states only that he was at that time between the ages of 40