John Gaulding, Jr.

The death of Matthew “John II” Gaulding reshaped the future of the Gaulding line. When he died in Prince Edward County, his sons and grandsons began leaving Virginia in search of new land, economic opportunity, and the promise of a better life on the expanding southern frontier. Their migration marked the beginning of the Gaulding family’s permanent establishment outside the Tidewater and Piedmont counties where earlier generations had lived for nearly a century. John Gaulding Jr., represents the pivotal link between the Virginia homeland and the emerging settlements of the Carolinas and Georgia.[i]

During the Revolutionary War, John Jr. contributed to the patriot cause through civil service, documented in Gaulding Origins as his role as a Petit Juror. This form of public duty is recognized as patriotic service and reflects the family’s participation in the civic life of the new nation. Gaulding Origins also corrects a long‑repeated family tradition that John Jr. died of smallpox at Eutaw Springs; no surviving record supports this claim, and the story appears to be a later myth rather than historical fact.

John Jr.’s son, James Gaulden, continued the family’s movement into the southern frontier. Records show that James owned racehorses, a detail that places him within the social and economic world of early South Carolina and Georgia. His activities illustrate how the family established itself in new communities as they moved farther from their Virginia roots.

The next generation is represented by men such as Zachariah Brumfield Gaulden, whose name reflects the enduring connection between the Gaulden and Brumfield families. His presence in the records demonstrates how the Gaulding line continued to expand geographically after the Revolution, taking root in the Deep South and contributing to the family’s long‑term presence in the region.

Together, these men—father, son, and grandson—carried the Gaulding name from Virginia into the broader South. Their migration, their service during the Revolutionary era, and their roles in their new communities helped establish the Gaulding family across multiple states. The evidence preserved in Gaulding Origins shows how their intertwined lives shaped the early history of the Gaulding/Gaulden/Gauldin family in America.

Read more about John Gaulding, Jr. and his family’s move out of Virginia

The Military Record of John Gauldin, Jr., the son of Matthew “John II” Gaulding

John Gaulden Jr. provided Civil Service as a Petit Juror during the Revolutionary War

James Gaulden, the son of John Gaulden owned racehorses

The story that John Gaulden, Jr. died of smallpox at Eutaw Springs may be a myth

Zachariah Brumfield Gaulden

[i] This branch of the Gaulding family is represented by:

......3 John Gaulden b: 1735 in Prince Edward, Virginia, USA, d: 20 Jan 1782 in Camden, Kershaw, South Carolina, USA. He married Susannah Brumfield* b: 1740 in Prince Edward, Virginia, USA, m: 1759 in Briery Creek, Prince Edward, Virginia, USA, d: 1810 in York, South Carolina, USA

.........4 James Gaulden b: 1761 in Prince Edward, Virginia, USA, d: 17 Jan 1827 in Abbeville, South Carolina, USA. He married Frances JOHNSON b: 1779 in Ninety-Six, Greenwood, South Carolina, USA, m: 1807 in Edgefield, South Carolina, USA, d: 29 Aug 1879 in South Carolina, USA

.........4 William Geers Gaulden b: 1764 in Orange, North Carolina, USA, d: 1839 in New Orleans, Jefferson, Louisiana, USA + Elizabeth MALONE b: Abt. 1772 in South Carolina, USA, m: Unknown, d: Bef. 1850 in Wilkinson, Mississippi, USA

.........4 Martha "Patsy" Gaulden b: 26 Nov 1765 in Sumter, South Carolina, USA, d: 12 Jul 1832 in "Byrd Plantation", Woodville, Wilkinson, Mississippi, USA + Francis "Frank" Richardson* Sr. b: 1763 in Stateburg, Sumter, South Carolina, USA, m: 1784 in Sumter, South Carolina, USA, d: 13 Dec 1820 in Woodville, Wilkinson, Mississippi, USA

.........4 Dempsey Gaulden b: 1767 in Sumter, South Carolina, USA, d: 1840 in York, Pennsylvania, USA + Elizabeth Jane Hemphill* b: 1801 in York, South Carolina, USA, m: Unknown, d: 14 May 1902 in York, South Carolina, USA

.........4 Zachariah Brumfield Gaulden b: 1767 in Orange, North Carolina, USA, d: 1828 in Mississippi, USA + Elizabeth MOORE b: Abt. 1790 in Georgia, USA, m: 24 Mar 1807 in Bryan, Georgia, USA, d: Abt. 1836

.........4 Elizabeth Gaulden b: 1769 in Sumter, South Carolina, USA, d: 12 Aug 1836 in Wilkinson, Mississippi, USA + William F. HATFIELD b: Abt. 1769, m: 02 May 1814 in Wilkinson, Mississippi, USA, d: Aft. 1820 + Col. William BOATNER b: Abt. 1769, m: Unknown

.........4 Rev. Jonathan Gaulden* b: 1776 in Camden, Kershaw, South Carolina, USA; Brooks County Line (Okapilco / Quitman), d: 05 Jun 1853 in Quitman, Brooks, Georgia, USA + Rhoda PAISLEY b: 1788 in South Carolina, USA, m: 12 Jul 1807 in South Carolina, USA, d: 19 May 1853 in Okapilco, Brooks, Georgia, USA

.........4 Keren Happuck Gaulden b: 1780 in Sumter, South Carolina, USA, d: 20 Sep 1823 in Newberry, South Carolina, USA + James S. Gilliam b: 14 Apr 1782 in Newberry, South Carolina, USA, m: Unknown, d: 20 Mar 1865 in Newberry, South Carolina, USA