The Geers Family of Prince Edward County, Virginia
Matthew "John II" Gaulding lived in New Kent, Hanover, Goochland, and Amelia County, Virginia during the eighteenth century. His wife is documented only as Elizabeth, and no surviving record identifies her maiden surname. A later tradition claimed she was Elizabeth Geers, but no eighteenth‑century evidence supports this identification.
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The surname Geers became associated with Elizabeth in the twentieth century when researchers attempted to assign her a family of origin. The name was linked to the Henrico County Geers, a separate family headed by Francis “Francil” Geers, but no record connects Francis Geers or any member of his family to John “Matthew” Gaulding. The Henrico Geers did not appear in the counties where the Gauldings lived during the period in which the marriage occurred.
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Another Geers family lived in Amelia County during the mid‑eighteenth century, including individuals such as Thomas Geers and Mackness Geers, but they arrived decades after Matthew "John II" Gaulding’s marriage and have no documented relationship to him or to his wife Elizabeth. No deed, will, court record, parish entry, or tithable list identifies Elizabeth as a Geers or shows any interaction between the Gaulding and Geers families.
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The individuals involved—John “Matthew” Gaulding, his wife Elizabeth, Francis “Francil” Geers, and the Amelia County Geers—are connected only through a later genealogical assumption. No historical record establishes a relationship between the Gaulding and Geers families, and Elizabeth’s maiden name remains unknown.
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Read more about the Geers Family on Gaulding Origins
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The Probable Origin of the Elizabeth Geers Tradition
Did John “Matthew” Gaulding marry Elizabeth Geers?
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