John And Anne Galding Of New Kent

9:6 The Immigrants to Virginia

John Gaulding and Anne Stuart of New Kent County, Virginia

The first mention I’ve found in a printed book of a John Gaulding married to Anne living in New Kent County, Virginia is in a book called Men of Matadequin: Three Hundred Years from New Kent County (Virginia) by June B. Evans. The book was published by Bryn Ffyliaid Publications in 1984 and the few remaining copies are on sale through various booksellers and eBay. Men of Matadequin has long been a sourcebook for the related family lines of Banks, Blackwell, Burnett, Durvin, GAULDING, Goodman, Lipscomb, McGhee, Parsley, Slaughter, Weisiger, Wood, Zall and others as well as the genealogies of several of the early colonists and their families who resided in Hanover and Kent County, Virginia. The book itself is very scarce, but I was able to find it in the Clayton Library for Genealogy Research, located in Houston, Texas and also in the DAR Library in Washington, DC.

The following information about the division of Hanover County from New Kent County is from the Find a Grave entry for John "of New Kent" Lewis maintained by Cherie Lynn.

"Hanover County was formed on November 26, 1720 by "An Act for Dividing New Kent County." Hanover County was named in honor of King George I, the first British monarch from the House of Hanover, who ruled over Great Britain and its colonies from 1714 to 1727… upper New Kent County near the Matedequin Creek, an area which, in 1720, became a part of the newly formed Hanover County. To meet the needs of the growing and scattered population, St. Peter's Parish was divided in 1704, the upper part becoming the new St. Paul's Parish. Until 1720, St. Paul's parish was in New Kent County when it then became parish for the new Hanover County. ("Vestry Book of St. Paul's Parish - Hanover County, Virginia 1706-1786", C. G. Chamberlayne, Virginia State Library, 1940). The names of many parishioners in the early St. Peter's Parish Register appear in the later St. Paul's Vestry book ("Men of Matadequin: Three Hundred Years from New Kent County", June Banks Evans, p. 101). Of the fifteen or so names of John Jones' neighbors which appear on the processing lists for his precinct in St. Paul's Parish in Hanover County, at least seven are in the early St. Peter's Parish register. (Fisher, p. 289)

It is not likely that all of these people moved. The change of parish and county reflects only boundary changes. Both New Kent and Hanover are "burned counties" and few records of either from the colonial era still exist. This paucity of records combined with the lack of a parish register for St. Paul's made genealogical research for New Kent/Hanover County a challenge."

The excerpt from the text of Men of Matadequin says John Gaulding who married Anne was probably from England but Judith Evans does not give the location. By my estimation, he almost certainly came from South Warwickshire, but there are no records there that give information about his birth. I make the statement about his point of origin based on solid genealogical analysis, but I believe the conclusions to be accurate. Below is a brief bio I have put together, based on my conclusions.

John Gaulding of New Kent

His Likely Life on or Near Eltham Plantation in Early‑1700s New Kent County, Virginia

When John Gaulding first appeared in the records of St. Peter’s Parish, New Kent County, he was already a young husband and father. His name entered the parish register not as a landowner or planter, but simply as a man whose children were baptized by the Anglican minister who rode the circuit between scattered plantation chapels. Nothing in the surviving records ties him to land of his own. Instead, everything about his life—his location, his economic status, the parish’s charity toward his family—points to a man who lived and worked in the shadow of one of the most powerful estates in Tidewater Virginia: Eltham Plantation, home of Colonel William Bassett.

Origins and Arrival

Though his exact birthplace is unknown, the demographic patterns of the time strongly suggest that John arrived in Virginia as an indentured servant sometime between 1685 and 1695. Thousands of young English men came to the colony under similar circumstances, bound to service for four to seven years in exchange for passage. Most were assigned to large plantations along the rivers, where tobacco culture demanded constant labor.

Eltham Plantation—already well established by the late 1600s—was precisely the kind of estate that received indentured servants. Its owner, Colonel William Bassett, was a wealthy planter, vestryman, and political figure whose lands stretched across the Pamunkey River corridor. If John served his indenture at Eltham, he would have spent his early years clearing fields, tending tobacco, repairing fences, and performing the unending manual labor that sustained the plantation economy.

A Life Rooted in the Pamunkey River Landscape

By the early 1700s, John had completed his term of service and married Anne, a woman whose surname may have been Stewart, based on proximity and parish patterns. Like many former servants, John did not leave the plantation district after gaining his freedom. Instead, he likely remained as a tenant farmer, share‑worker, or hired laborer, living in the western reaches of St. Peter’s Parish near the King William County line. This area—just a few miles from the Bassett mansion—was dotted with small tenant houses, tobacco patches, and modest dwellings occupied by families who worked the land but did not own it. The Gauldings fit this profile exactly. Their children were baptized at St. Peter’s Church, but no land patents, deeds, or processioning records ever mention John. His absence from these records is not a gap—it is a clue. Landless families left few paper trails beyond the parish register.

Daily Life on or Near Eltham Plantation

John’s daily world would have been shaped by the rhythms of tobacco agriculture that would have entailed dawn-to-dusk labor in the fields, seasonal cycles of planting, topping, cutting, curing and packing tobacco, labor on the docks as

hogsheads of tobacco were rolled to the Pamunkey landing and periodic visits from the parish minister. He would have had obligations to the plantation owner for rent, shares, or wages. He likely lived in a simple wooden dwelling—one or two rooms, a packed‑earth floor, a small garden, and a few animals. His children would have grown up alongside the children of other tenant families, enslaved laborers, and plantation workers, all part of the same tightly knit rural community.

The Parish Connection: A Window Into His Status

The most poignant record of John’s life comes from September 1721, when the St. Peter’s Parish vestry authorized the purchase of a winding sheet to bury his daughter Martha. This was a form of parish poor relief, given only to families who lacked the means to provide burial necessities themselves. Because Colonel William Bassett served as a vestryman—and because the Gauldings lived in his district—he would have been directly involved in approving this expenditure. The entry reveals two things: the Gauldings were poor or landless and they lived under the oversight of the Bassett estate. This single line in the vestry book is one of the strongest pieces of evidence tying John’s family to the Eltham Plantation community.

A Family on the Move

As John’s sons reached adulthood, they followed a well‑worn path taken by many landless Tidewater families: they moved westward. The opening of Amelia County in the 1730s and Prince Edward County in the 1750s offered cheap land and new opportunities. John’s sons—Samuel, John “Matthew,” and Alexander—became part of this migration, establishing themselves as landowners in the Piedmont where their father could not. Their movement westward is a silent testimony to John’s own status. Men who owned land in New Kent stayed. Men who did not saw the frontier as their children’s future.

Legacy

John Gaulding likely died around 1730, leaving behind no will, no land, and no estate inventory—only the names of his children in the parish register and the faint outline of a life lived in the orbit of a great plantation. Yet his story is deeply representative of the thousands of men whose labor built the Tidewater economy but whose names appear only in the margins of official records. His legacy endures not in property or wealth, but in the generations of Gauldings who carried his name westward, transforming themselves from landless laborers into landowners on the Virginia frontier.

St. Peter’s Episcopal Church is located about 7.3 miles from New Kent Courthouse, off the New Kent Highway.

Matadequin Creek is known as where The Battle of Old Church took place during the Civil War when on May 30, 1864 Lt. General Ulysses S. Grant opposed Confederate General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. The armies faced each other across Totopotomy Creek were a Union cavalry division under Brig. Gen. Alfred T. A. Torbert clashed with a brigade of cavalry under Brig. Gen. Matthew C. Butler. The outnumbered Confederates were driven back to within 1.5 miles of Old Cold Harbor, an important crossroads that fell to Union forces the following day.

John Gauling is first mentioned in the St. Peter’s Parish Vestry Book when his daughter Anne was born sometime between 1705 and 1710. The last record of the family is in 1735 when Ann his wife died on October 27, 1735. John Gauling and his family arrived at St. Peter’s close to the time when the Parish was divided and part of the Congregation moved to St. Paul’s Episcopal in Hanover County.

“To meet the needs of the growing and scattered population, St. Peter's Parish was divided in 1704, the upper part becoming the new St. Paul's Parish.”

Referring back to the previous information regarding the division of St. Peter’s Parish after 1704:

St. Peter’s Vestrybook, New Kent, Virginia

John Gaulding and his wife Anne are found in the Vestrybook in New Kent in numerous places:

The entries with pages numbers:

The link to the Vestry Book

Gaulin, See Gaulding

Gauling, See Gaulding

Gawlin, See Gaulding

Gawling, See Gaulding

Also listed on page 573 of the Vestry Book are:

1769 1769 “Sarah, Daughter of Jacob and Elizabeth Gaulding born August 5 and baptized September 17”

1772 1772 “Child of Jacob and Elizabeth Gaulding born February 4”

John "of New Kent" Gaulding is my 6th Great-Grandfather. He was born about 1670 in England and he died in 1742 in St. Peter's Parish, New Kent, Virginia. The place of his burial is not known. He married Anne and her last name may be Stewart. She was born about 1685 and the Parish Register records her death as 1735. They had several children:

Anne Gaulding 1707– Her baptism is recorded in the St. Peter's Vestry Book, date not given but sometime between 1705 and 1710. She probably died young.
Matthew "John II" Gaulding 1709–1773 - There is a Christ Church Parish Virginia Record 1653-1812 that lists Matthew, son of John Galling, baptized 9 Feb. 170_. Matthew Gaulding was married to Sarah Elizabeth Geers sometime before 1735 and she is probably the Sarah listed in the Vestry Book of St. Peters. After Alexander Gaulding was executed in Williamsburg, Matthew and his wife Sarah petitioned the court for custody of Alexander's children. This happened in Prince Edward County, Virginia. John "Patriot" Gaulden, who was with General Marion during the Revolutionary War was their son.
Martha Gaulding 1711–1721 - Martha died at around the age of 10 years. The date of her death is recorded in the St. Peter’s Vestry Book.
Sarah Gaulding abt 1712 - She probably died young.
Honour Gaulding 1714– Her birth is recorded in the Parish Register of St. Peter's as 4 June 1714 but her death date is not recorded. It is assumed she died young.
Alexander Gaulding Sr. 1717–1753 - Alexander Gauldin, Sr., son of John Goldinge and Anne Stuart was hanged for highway robbery in 1752. He left two orphaned children. Susannah was bound out to Thomas Scott and JAMES STUART was awarded custody of either but it is not known which, perhaps Jacob. He would have been the brother of Anne Stuart and grand-uncle of Jacob and Susannah. Matthew (John II) Goldinge and his wife, Sarah Elizabeth Geers petitioned the court for custody but they were denied. This supports the assumption that his mother Anne's name was Stuart or Stewart.
Elizabeth Gaulding 1720–1729 - Christ Church Parish, Virginia Records, 1653-1812 "Elizabeth, daughter of John Gawling b 7 Jun 1720". She probably died young.
Samuel Gaulding 1732–1785 - Samuel Gaulding is my direct ancestor. He was born about 1732 in New Kent, Virginia and he died in 1785 in Campbell County. He was my 5th Great Grandfather. He married Elizabeth and her name was probably Turner. William T. Gaulding, a Patriot of the American Revolution was their son. In 1742 Samuel Gaulding was apprenticed to Thomas Edwards of St. Northam Parish in Goochland, Virginia. "Goochland Oct. 1742 Court Case: 'Ordered that Churchwardens of St. James Parish do bind Saml. Gauling, an Orphan boy, to Thos. Edwards, a carpenter.”

Jacob Gaulding listed in the Parish Register may be the son of Alexander Gaulding who was executed. If that is the case then his wife’s name was Elizabeth.

A brief history of St. Peter’s in New Kent

A History of St. Peter's Parish Church is available on vimeo.com and in it is the following description:

"The Parish itself was created in 1679. A church was constructed near the current area of Eltham, Virginia across the Pamunkey River from West Point. That church was in use from 1679 until its destruction in around the 1690's. At that point in time the Vestry of the Church decided to build a new Church and this was the result of that decision." (Gauldin) Source: Gleanings from St. Peter’s Episcopal

Additional information is found on the St Peters Church website. (Early History of St. Peter's Church)

This is an early history article presented by Steve Avent to the New Kent Historical Society

"The parish of St. Peter's was established by the general court of Virginia on April 29, 1679. There were at that time two churches in the parish: one was the "upper church", located about three miles west of the present village of Old Church, near a town on the Pamunkey River named Newcastle, now vanished. The second was called the "lower church" to distinguish it from the other and was also called the "broken back'd" church, referring apparently to some structural weakness in the building. This Church was the precursor to present day St. Peter's, and was most likely located some three 1/2 miles west of the present church, near where routes 608 and 606 meet. St. Peter's parish must have been a rather difficult place for its ministers. From 1680 to 1700 the parish had 12 ministers. In a letter to the Lord Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry, dated April 12, 1697, the Rev. Nicholas Moreau, who had come to St. Peter's in 1696, said that he had "got in the very worst parish of Virginia and the most troublesome". Hopefully, things have settled down a bit since then." (St. Peter's Parish Vestry Book and Register, 1684-1786)

Going back to the entry on page 247 of the Vestry Book of St. Peter's Parish, St. Peter's Episcopal church in New Kent, Virginia that reads:

“To Captain Joseph FOSTER for 1 sheet delivered to JOHN GAWLIN to bury his daughter 9 in to be about 12/6 79”

I put in a general search for the name "Foster" and a few names came up, including Colonel Joseph Foster, Captain John Foster, Major William Macon and William Bassett.

Joseph Foster and William Bassett were vestrymen. "..vestry held at house of John Park, Jr. 84; vestry held at house of JOSEPH

FOSTER, 81; vestry held at house of WILLIAM BASSETT, 53.." (St. Peter's Episcopal Church Vestry Book). Colonel William Bassett owned a large plantation called Elham and I believe John Gaulding was a tenant farmer there until his death. His sons later moved to Prince Edward County, Virginia, probably after the death of their mother in 1735 in order to seek greater opportunities.

This occurrence would have been in about the year 1735-6 as the events are recorded sequentially by year. This entry no doubt refers to Martha, who was born around 1720 as the date of her death is not recorded. This is not confirmed, however. John Foster and William Bassett were carrying out one of the many said duties required of them as Vestrymen of the Church.

There is a marriage record for a man named JOHN GWALTNEY born in Virginia who married Mary. Again, some claim that Gwaltney is synonymous for the name Gaulding, but there's no proof of that being the case as far as I can determine. Dr. Charles H. Gaulden, a descendant of John Gaulding’s son Matthew wrote in his book The Gaulden, Gauldin, Gaulding Family History; a Seven Hundred Year Study, Volume 1

"Mr. John Goldinge was born ca. 1665 in England. This is a guess for I cannot find any Gauldens proven to be in a direct line before that date. He died about 1748 in New Kent Co. Virginia." The church records listed in St. Peter's Parrish Register of New Kent show that a John Goldinge and Anne (Stuart) had a son named Alexander and possibly one named Matthew. A belief is that Matthew's full name must have been John Matthew Goldinge. Some basis of the belief centers on a particular court record in which John Goldinge and Elizabeth Geers of Prince Edward county, Virginia are seeking the custody of Alexander Goldinge's children, John and Susannah, upon Alexander's tragic death in December of 1752 (Court of Dyer and Terminer in Williamsburg, VA Library)" Furthermore, Dr. Goldinge writes, "William Goldinge of Kansas concludes that John and Alexander must have been brothers, ..and I think he is correct." (Gaulden, 1999, p. 23)

He also makes this comment “"Another interesting note comes from a record in Gloucester, England, Westburg-on-Sevren (CO 32752-6397) listing a John and Ann Goldinge/Goldinge having a son John, born 2-17-1688. Could this be the same John and Anne of New Kent with a son John II?" (Gaulden, 1999, pp. 23-4) I do not believe this to have any connection to John Gaulding of New Kent. The Goulden family of Warwickshire and Oxfordshire and the Goulding family of Gloucestershire do not seem to have any family connection. They are completely separate and distict.

Dr. Gaulden also made the following note on page 22 of his book. "There is an interesting note in a book entitled THE PIONEERS OF WIREGRASS GEORGIA by Huxford, vol eight p. 115. (Huxford, 1988-2006) The note is on the Gaulden family, stating the family came from England and arrived first in Chester County, Pennsylvania and then moved to Virginia. I also found a similar note in Laura Gaulden's (b. 1854) HISTORY OF THE GAULDEN FAMILY, which is filed with the Daughters of the American Revolution… Dr. Gaulden said in his book that Laura Gaulden was amazingly accurate with most of her family traditions. He confirmed several of them with court records. She wrote that the family was from England, were Quakers and first arrived in Chester County, Pennsylvania before moving to Virginia. Vols. 8-12 compiled and published by the Huxford Genealogical Society, Homerville, Georgia. I do not believe this has any direct connection to John Gaulding of New Kent. He and his family were Anglican and not Quaker and I believe he followed the established migration route of the time and migrated directly from Warwickshire to Virginia, probably arriving by boat up the Pamunkey River where he was indentured to William Bassett. He lived his life on the tobacco plantation called Elham.

Out of curiosity and a desire to see Laura Gaulden's document, I went to the DAR Library in Washington and asked if such a manuscript existed in their catalogue and I was told no, there was no such listing nor had there even been one, so that part of Dr. Gaulden's narrative is incorrect. The paper was probably kept by her Chapter and not in the National Library. I did eventually find it. Laura Jane "Lucy" Gaulden, the author of the Gaulding Family History was several generations away from John "of New Kent" Gaulding and his wife Anne. She was born January 18, 1854 in Abbeville, South Carolina, USA and she lived until June 1, 1932 and died at Rock Hill, York, South Carolina. She was the daughter of John Gaulden (1808-1889) and Jane Elizabeth McFall (1821-1880) and the granddaughter of James Gaulden (1761-1827) and Frances Johnson (1789-1879). Her great-grandparents were John "Patriot" Gaulden (1735-1782) and Susannah Brumfield (1740-1827). John "Patriot" Gaulden was the son of Matthew Gaulding and Sarah or Elizabeth (her name was not Geers) and the grandson of John "of New Kent" Gaulding and his wife Anne Stewart.

She was certainly closer to John Gaulding than anyone in the 21st century is. Research in Virginia is difficult. Colonial records in New Kent County were decimated first in a fire that happened in 1787 and again when the records were moved to Richmond and were burned during the Civil War. The man in question, John Goulding of Westbury-on-Severn would have been part of the Gloucestershire line and there is no connection, so he and John of New Kent cannot be the same person, nevertheless the question needed to be answered.

The Burned Counties of Virginia, including New Kent County

New Kent County may have been named for either the English county of Kent or for Kent Island in the upper waters of Chesapeake Bay. William Claiborne was a native of Kent who had been driven from Kent Island by Lord Baltimore and he was a prominent resident of the area when the county was formed from York County in 1654. Part of James City County was added in 1767.

Irreplaceable colonial records were destroyed in New Kent when the clerk’s office was destroyed by fire on July 15, 1787 and additional damage was done when the courthouse was partially destroyed by fire again in 1862 during the War Between the States. The archives were then moved to the Confederate Capitol and further damage was done when Richmond was burned on April 3, 1865. (A Guide to the New Kent (VA) Circuit Court Records, 1688-1858)

On July 12, 1787 John Price Posey escaped from the New Kent County Jail with help from Thomas Green. On July 15th they returned, accompanied by two slaves named Hercules and Sawney. They burned the jail and then turned their attention to the county clerk's office two miles down the road, which they burned to the ground, destroying all the county's records. Posey did not leave the area after the crime and Green let it be known who the arsonist was. Posey was arrested and placed under strong guard and on August 15 was brought before eight justices of the New Kent County Court who acted as an examining court. After deliberating all afternoon, Posey was remanded to stand trial for arson and was sent to the Richmond jail. (Courthouse burned 1787)

The 1787 fire was a disaster but the culprit John Price Posey was justifiably hung for what he did.

I have made the final conclusion that John Gaulding of New Kent was a member of a family cluster named Gouldin who had probably been in the same area around Banbury in Oxfordshire, England since the 13th century. I have created a document that is available for download from this website. It is called GAULDING ORIGINS: THE DESCENDANTS OF JOHN OF NEW KENT. It is a compilation of my most recent research and conclusions.

References

(n.d.). Retrieved from Gleanings from English Archives: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_New_England_Historical_and_Genealogi/_RFAAAAAYAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Blennerhasset+of+Suffolk&pg=PA97&printsec=frontcover

A Guide to the New Kent (VA) Circuit Court Records, 1688-1858. (n.d.). Retrieved from Library of Virginia: https://ead.lib.virginia.edu/vivaxtf/view?docId=lva/vi01564.xml

A History of the County of Gloucester, Vol 10, Westbury and Whitstone Hundreds. (1972). London, England: Originally published by Victoria County History.

Chamberlayne, C. (1940). Vestry Book of St. Paul's Parish - Hanover County, Virginia 1706-1786. Virginia State Library.

Courthouse burned 1787. (n.d.). Retrieved from New Kent Historical Society, "Newsletter 2004": https://docslib.org/doc/5573302/john-price-posey-burns-the-jail-at-brickhouse

Early History of St. Peter's Church. (n.d.). Retrieved from St. Peters Church website: http://stpetersnewkent.thediocese.net/About_Us_Mission_and_Ministries/History/Early_History_Articles/

Fisher, C. b. (n.d.). Vital Records of Three Burned Counties, 1680-1860.

Gaulden, D. C. (1999). The Gaulden, Gauldin, Gaulding Family History, A Seven Hundred Year Study, Vol 1. Self Published.

Gauldin, C. (n.d.). Gleanings from St. Peter's Episcopal Church Vestry Book.

Huxford, F. c.-1. (1988-2006). In The Pioneers of Wiregrass Georgia, Vol 8-12. Homerville, Georgia, USA: Huxford Genealogical Society. Retrieved from https://aigensoc.org/library/pioneers-of-the-wiregrass/

Quakers in Gloucestershire and Other Possible Ties with New Kent County, Virginia. (n.d.). Retrieved from Vikings and Virginians: https://vikingsandvirginians.com/2015/03/07/quakers-in-gloucestershire-and-other-possible-ties-with-new-kent-county-va/

St. Peter's Episcopal Church Vestry Book. (n.d.). Retrieved from ancestry.com: https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7469/images/StPeters-VA_0806?ssrc=&backlabel=Return&queryId=5d3b5e23dcb7fb97b86531142bfdaa19&pId=1645&rcstate=StPeters-VA_0806%3A1055%2C2082%2C1158%2C2115

St. Peter's Parish Vestry Book and Register, 1684-1786. (n.d.). Retrieved from ancestry.com: https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7469/

Westbury-on-Sev. (n.d.). Retrieved from Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westbury-on-Severn

Westbury-on-Severn: Non-Conformity. (n.d.). Retrieved from British History Online: https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/glos/vol10/p101

Gaulding Origins

by Catherine L. Gauldin