William Gaulden, son of Matthew "John II" Gaulding
Several branches of the Gauldin/Gaulden family, descendants of William Gaulden, the son of Matthew “John II’ Gaulden moved from colonial Virginia into the expanding American frontier. Josiah Gauldin of Cumberland County, Virginia appears as a member of the early Virginia Gauldin line, part of the generation living in the Piedmont counties during the mid‑eighteenth century. His descendants participated in the westward movement that carried many Virginia families into new territories.
One branch of Josiah’s extended family migrated to Saline County, Missouri, forming the Gauldin presence there in the early nineteenth century. This movement reflects the broader pattern of Virginia families relocating into the Old Northwest and the Missouri frontier during the post‑Revolutionary period.
Another major line descends from Rev. Jonathan Gaulden and Rhoda Paisley, whose children and grandchildren carried forward a strong Baptist identity. Their descendants became ministers, church founders, and active participants in Baptist life across Georgia, Florida, and Louisiana, establishing a recognizable religious legacy within the family.
Among Jonathan and Rhoda’s children was William Boatner Gaulden, who became politically active in Georgia. He served as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1860, representing Georgia’s First Congressional District during the sectional crisis preceding the Civil War. His participation places the Gaulden family within the political events of the period.
Together, these individuals and movements form a documented chain linking the Gauldin/Gaulden family from its origins in Cumberland County, Virginia, through religious leadership in the South, political involvement in Georgia, and westward migration into Missouri.
Read more about the family of William Gaulden, son of Matthew “John II” Gaulding
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Josiah Gauldin of Cumberland County, Virginia
The Gauldin Migration to Saline, Missouri
A Baptist Legacy: The Descendants of Rev. Jonathan Gaulden and Rhoda Paisley
William Boatner Gaulden was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1860
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