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Bertha Lee Gauldin and William Frederick “Fred” Webb

Writer: Catherine Gauldin
Catherine Gauldin
Sep 8
7 min read

Bertha Lee Gauldin and William Frederick “Fred” Webb were born only months apart in 1893, each in different parts of the South—Bertha in Pittsylvania County, Virginia, and Fred in Spartanburg County, South Carolina. Though their early lives unfolded in separate states, both grew up in families shaped by rural labor, limited schooling, and the economic transitions of the late 19th century. Their paths eventually converged in the textile‑mill communities of Rockingham County, North Carolina, where they would build a life together.

 

Bertha was the daughter of Dock Whitfield Gauldin and Catherine Powell Gauldin, (1) part of a large family that moved between Virginia and North Carolina as work opportunities shifted. By 1900 (2), she was living in Ruffin, Rockingham County, with her parents and siblings, including her older brother Robert Bruce Gauldin. Her childhood was typical of mill‑village families—modest means, close quarters, and early entry into the workforce. 

 

Bertha Gauldin
Bertha Gauldin

By 1910 (3), sixteen‑year‑old Bertha was working as a cloth inspector in the cotton mill at Leaksville, contributing wages to a household that included her widowed mother and numerous siblings. She could read and write but had only limited schooling, reflecting the realities of mill‑town life where children often left school early to help support the family.  She also appears in the 1920 census, still living with her parents. (4)

 

Bertha Gauldin married Howard Franklin “Fred” Webb

Fred Webb’s early adulthood took a different path. Born in Spartanburg, South Carolina he enlisted in the U.S. Army during World War I, serving as a Corporal in Company B of the 28th Battalion, U.S. Guards from December 1917 to December 1918. The U.S. Guards protected domestic infrastructure during the war, and Fred’s service placed him among the thousands of young men mobilized for national defense. 

 

Application for a marriage license for William F. Webb and Bertha Gauldin.  N.A. Winston, Justice of the Peace, married them on 17 May 1920.  Witnesses were __ Stanford of Stoneville, NC, Nina Rochelle of Wentworth and Hunter Irving.  Her parents are given as Dock and Catherine and he was the son of Gilbert Webb and Mary Welch. (5)
Application for a marriage license for William F. Webb and Bertha Gauldin.  N.A. Winston, Justice of the Peace, married them on 17 May 1920.  Witnesses were __ Stanford of Stoneville, NC, Nina Rochelle of Wentworth and Hunter Irving.  Her parents are given as Dock and Catherine and he was the son of Gilbert Webb and Mary Welch. (5)

On May 17, 1920 they applied for a marriage license and they were married by the Justice of the Peace on the same day.  The 1930 census shows them living together in Ruffin with their son Howard Franklin Webb, born around 1922. Fred worked as a weaver in the cotton mill, and Bertha kept house, marking the beginning of a long marriage rooted in the rhythms of mill‑village life.


The 1930 census shows Howard F. Webb and Bertha living on a farm near Ruffin.  He was born in South Carolina. (6)
The 1930 census shows Howard F. Webb and Bertha living on a farm near Ruffin.  He was born in South Carolina. (6)

Throughout the 1930s and 1940s, the Webbs lived in the interconnected communities of Ruffin, Leaksville, Spray, and Draper, all part of what is now Eden, North Carolina. Fred continued working full‑time as a weaver, while Bertha managed the household. The 1940 census (7) shows her highest level of education as fourth grade, a reminder of the limited opportunities available to girls in rural Virginia and North Carolina at the turn of the century. Howard was working 40 hour weeks and they lived in a house in the mill housing district that was worth $8.00.  Their son Howard grew to adulthood in these same mill villages, eventually working and living nearby.

 

By 1950, the couple lived at 116 W. Delaware Avenue in Draper, where Fred was still employed and Bertha kept house. Their marriage had endured nearly three decades, marked by steady work, family responsibility, and the close‑knit social world of the textile mills.


The 1950 census show Fred and Bertha living in a house and neither one of them was working. (8)
The 1950 census show Fred and Bertha living in a house and neither one of them was working. (8)

Bertha’s life ended on 9 December 1950, when she died at age 57 from heart disease and hypertension. (9) Fred served as the informant on her death certificate, and she was buried at Danview Cemetery in Draper, a resting place shared by many members of the Gauldin and Webb families.

 

Bertha’s Find a Grave Record lists her middle name as “Ulena” (1), but I have never heard that name related to her before as it has been reported to me as “Lee”.  Her marriage license records her middle initial as L. 
Bertha’s Find a Grave Record lists her middle name as “Ulena” (1), but I have never heard that name related to her before as it has been reported to me as “Lee”.  Her marriage license records her middle initial as L. 

 

Bertha’s death certificate indicates she died of heart disease.  The names of her parents is not given on this document. (10) 
Bertha’s death certificate indicates she died of heart disease.  The names of her parents is not given on this document. (10) 

The following year, on 7 August 1951, Fred remarried. His second wife was a widow Agnes Light.   She was the daughter of Wooster Benford Light and Alverta "Allie" Fulcher and her first husband was Isaac Homer Boulding with whom she had several children.  At their deaths, Agnes was buried beside her first husband while Fred Webb was buried beside Bertha. near Bertha and other family members.  Agnes was born in 1904, and their marriage took place in Reidsville.

 

Marriage Record William F. Webb and Agnes Light Boulding (11)
Marriage Record William F. Webb and Agnes Light Boulding (11)

Fred transitioned from mill work to operating a grocery business, and by the time of his death he was described as a retired grocer. He died on 21 February 1967 in Leaksville at age 73, and was buried at Danview Cemetery. 


Marriage Record, William F. Webb and Agnes (Boulding). (11)
Marriage Record, William F. Webb and Agnes (Boulding). (11)

 Together, the lives of Bertha Gauldin and William Fred Webb reflect the experience of thousands of families in the Piedmont South: early labor in the mills, modest but stable homes in mill villages, strong family networks, and the quiet endurance of daily life shaped by work, community, and family. Their story is preserved through census records, military documentation, death certificates, and the legacy of their son, Howard, who carried their family line forward in Rockingham County.

 

Howard Franklin Webb (1921–1989) and His Wives: Ruby Mae Montgomery, Faye Webb, and Christine Hall Webb

Howard Franklin Webb was born on 3 July 1921 in Pittsylvania County, Virginia, the only child of William Frederick “Fred” Webb and Bertha Gauldin Webb. (13) Although born in Virginia, Howard grew up entirely in the textile‑mill villages of Rockingham County, North Carolina, where his parents lived and worked. His childhood unfolded in the close‑knit communities of Ruffin, Leaksville, Spray, and Draper, places defined by mill labor, modest homes, and strong family networks.

 

By the late 1930s, Howard was a young man working locally and preparing for adult life. On 21 June 1941, at age twenty, he married Ruby Mae “Faye” Montgomery, age nineteen, in Rockingham County. Ruby was the daughter of A. L. Montgomery and Augie Montgomery, and the marriage joined two long‑established families in the region. Their union occurred just months before the United States entered World War II.

 

The marriage record of Howard Webb and Ruby Mae “Faye” Montgomery shows his parents W.F. Webb and Bertha Gauldin Webb in attendance.  They were married by his mother’s brother Rev. Harry P. Gauldin. (13)
The marriage record of Howard Webb and Ruby Mae “Faye” Montgomery shows his parents W.F. Webb and Bertha Gauldin Webb in attendance.  They were married by his mother’s brother Rev. Harry P. Gauldin. (13)

Howard registered for the World War II draft on 16 February 1942 in Draper, listing his birthplace as Schoolfield, Virginia, and confirming his residence with his parents. He served in the Army during the war and his BURLS Death File indicates he enlisted on 28 September 1942 and was discharged on 20 January 1946. (15) 

 

By 1950, Howard was living on South Avenue in Draper as the head of his own household. The census lists him as a weaver in a sheeting mill, working a full 40‑hour week. His wife at that time was Faye Webb, age twenty‑five, and they had a young son, Billy Webb, age two. Their household resembled the typical mill‑village family—steady work, modest housing, and a young child growing up in the same community that had shaped Howard’s own childhood.  His marriage to Ruby “Faye” appears to have ended sometime before 1950, as later records show Howard remarried.  Only the marriage record exists, so Ruby’s date of death or what happened to her is not known.  Howard’s Find a Grave record also lists his marriage to Faye Navey. (16) There is a marriage record for Gladys Faye Navey who married Howard Franklin Webb on 30 June 1946 (17), so Howard evidently married three times and Faye was his wife between Ruby and Christine.  She was the daughter of Thomas Baxter Navey and Clara Lee Hundley and Billy was her son because he was only two years old in the 1850 census, the only census in which she appears. 


The 1950 Census of Draper, Rockingham, North Carolina shows Howard Webb and his wife Faye both working full time as Weavers in the Sheeting Mill.  Their son Billy was 2 years old. (13)  They were living in close proximity to Howard’s maternal uncle Dewey Gauldin who was also working as a Weaver in the same Sheeting Mill.
The 1950 Census of Draper, Rockingham, North Carolina shows Howard Webb and his wife Faye both working full time as Weavers in the Sheeting Mill.  Their son Billy was 2 years old. (13)  They were living in close proximity to Howard’s maternal uncle Dewey Gauldin who was also working as a Weaver in the same Sheeting Mill.

After Howard’s marriage to Faye ended he later married Christine Hall (15), who appears in his obituary as Christine Hall Webb. Christine became his final spouse and remained with him through his later years. Their marriage placed Howard within the extended Hall family network, which had deep roots in Rockingham County and long‑standing ties to the Gauldin family through earlier generations.

 

Howard spent his entire working life in the textile industry, following the same occupational path as his father. Draper, Spray, and Leaksville—later consolidated into the city of Eden—were dominated by mills, and Howard’s career as a weaver placed him among the thousands of men whose labor sustained the region’s industrial economy from the Depression through the postwar boom.

 

Howard died on 2 July 1989 in Eden, one day before his sixty‑eighth birthday. His obituary, published in the Greensboro News & Record, lists his wife Christine Hall Webb and his son Bill Webb, confirming his later family connections. He was buried at Danview Cemetery, the same resting place as his parents and many members of the Gauldin and Webb families.

 

Works Cited

1. Bertha Ulena Gauldin Webb. Find a Grave. [Online] https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/178990886/bertha-ulena-webb.

2. 1900 United States Federal Census. ancestry.com. [Online] North Carolina, Rockingham, Ruffin. https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7602/images/4117843_00552?pId=57597385.

3. 1910 United States Federal Census. ancestry.com. [Online] North Carolina, Rockingham, Leaksville. https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7884/images/4450100_00205?pId=173517520.

4. 1920 United States Federal Census. ancestry.com. [Online] North Carolina, Rockingham, Leaksville. https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/6061/images/4383740_00338?pId=32970963.

5. North Carolina, U.S., Marriage Records, 1741-2011. ancestry.com. [Online] Rockingham, Marriage Licenses (1867 - 1961). https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/60548/images/42091_342695-00577?pId=15566204.

6. 1930 United States Federal Census. ancestry.com. [Online] North Carolina, Rockingham, Ruffin. https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/6224/images/4608313_00016?pId=75613693.

7. 1940 United States Federal Census. ancestry.com. [Online] North Carolina, Rockingham, West Leaksville-Spray-North Spray, 79-7. https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2442/images/m-t0627-02966-00251?pId=153254773.

8. 1950 United States Federal Census. ancestry.com. [Online] North Carolina, Rockingham, Draper, 79-5. https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/62308/images/43290879-North_Carolina-039252-0040?pId=146633839.

10. North Carolina, U.S., Death Certificates, 1909-1976. ancestry.com. [Online] Rockingham, 1950, December. https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/1121/images/S123_363-1596?pId=673335.

11. North Carolina, U.S., Marriage Records, 1741-2011. ancestry.com. [Online] Rockingham, Marriage Licenses (1867 - 1961). https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/60548/images/42091_342695-01657?pId=15567280.

13. North Carolina, U.S., Birth Indexes, 1800-2000. ancestry.com. [Online] Rockingham, 1913-1948, NCVR_B_C084_66001. https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/8783/images/NCVR_B_C084_66001-0725?pId=110512627.

14. North Carolina, U.S., Marriage Records, 1741-2011. ancestry.com. [Online] Rockingham, Marriage Licenses (1867 - 1961). https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/60548/images/42091_342695-01199?pId=15566825.

15. U.S., Department of Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death File, 1850-2020. ancestry.com. [Online] https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/2441/records/1793992?tid=163174124&pid=422796984453&ssrc=pt.

16. Faye Navey Webb. Find a Grave. [Online] https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/25778384/faye-webb.

18. 1950 United States Federal Census. ancestry. [Online] North Carolina, Rockingham, Draper. https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/62308/images/43290879-North_Carolina-039252-0044?pId=146633944.

19. North Carolina, U.S., Marriage Index, 1741-2004. ancestry.com. [Online] Rockingham. https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/8909/images/NCVR_M_C084_63005-0131?pId=1189981.

 

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