Dewey Wesley Gauldin and Nellie Marie Farmer

The lives of Dewey Wesley Gauldin and Nellie Marie Farmer were shaped by the textile towns that lined the Virginia–North Carolina border, communities where mill whistles set the rhythm of daily life and generations of families built their futures in the shadow of cotton and blanket mills. Their story begins separately—Dewey in Draper, North Carolina, and Nellie in Danville, Virginia—but converges early, forming a partnership that endured through hardship, work, family, and the evolving landscape of Rockingham County.

Dewey was born on 5 July 1907 in Draper, the son of Dock Whitfield Gauldin and Annie Catherine Powell. (1) He grew up in a large mill‑village family, surrounded by siblings and the constant hum of industrial life. (1) His father’s death before 1920 forced his mother to run a boarding house to support the children, and Dewey’s adolescence unfolded in a household where everyone contributed what they could. He attended school as a boy, but like many children in mill communities, he entered the workforce early, stepping into the cotton mills that dominated the region.

My uncle Ed Gauldin took this picture of his uncle Dewey Wesley Gauldin while on one of their trips in their motorhome “Old Betsy”. (2)  Dewey is seated in the front seat and the image was probably taken around 1972 in Eden where Dewey lived. Both my uncle Ed and my father James W. Gauldin spoke very highly of Dewey and said he was a fine person.  This is the only picture I have of him, other than the group picture of the family of Dock Gauldin, taken when Dewey was very young.

Nellie Marie Farmer was born on 8 January 1913 in Danville, Virginia, to Terry R. Farmer and Mary Haga. Her childhood straddled the rural and industrial worlds of Pittsylvania County, where farming communities blended into the mill economy of Danville and the surrounding towns. She grew up during a period when young women often assumed adult responsibilities early, and by her mid‑teens she was poised to begin her own household.

The marriage record for Dewey Wesley Gauldin and Nellie Farmr incorrectly gives the name of his mother as Mary.  She was Annie Catherine Powell Gauldin.  His father was dead but his mother was still living. (3)

Their lives joined on 12 December 1928, when eighteen‑year‑old Nellie married twenty‑one‑year‑old Dewey in Rockingham County. The marriage united two families deeply rooted in the textile South, and the young couple quickly began building a life shaped by the economic realities of mill work. By 1930, they were living in Tunstall, Pittsylvania County, Virginia, in a small rented house on Wood Avenue Extension. Dewey worked as a weaver in the cotton mill, earning wages that sustained their modest household. Nellie, still only seventeen, cared for their newborn son, Dewey Wesley Gauldin Jr. Their early years were marked by the tight budgets and steady labor typical of young mill families during the Depression era.

In the 1930 census, Tunstall, Pittsylvania County, Virginia Dewey and Nellie are shown living with their 3 month old son Dewey, Jr.  Dewey Sr. was working as a weaver at the Cotton Mill and Nellie was keeping house. (3) 

During the 1930s and 1940s, Dewey and Nellie returned to Draper, settling on Center Street, where they would spend much of their married life. Dewey continued working in the mills, first as a weaver and later as a loom fixer—a skilled position responsible for maintaining the machinery that kept production running. His employment with Marshall Field & Company, confirmed by his World War II draft registration (6), placed him within one of the largest textile operations in the region. He worked long hours, often fifty weeks a year, earning a stable wage that supported their growing family.

In 1940 Dewey and Nellie were living in Draper in Rockingham County, North Carolina.  They were both working at the Cotton Mill and they had a combined yearly income of $1750.  Their sons Ronald and James were living with them, although James is probably the wrong name recorded for Dewey, who would have been about ten when that census was taken. (4)

Nellie’s life during these years was defined by the responsibilities of motherhood and the rhythms of mill‑village domestic life. She and Dewey welcomed several children: Dewey Wesley “Ted” Jr., Terry Ronald, George Michael, and Donna Beth. Their home was typical of Draper’s mill community—close-knit, modest, and shaped by the shared experiences of neighbors who worked the same shifts and raised their children in the same company houses. The loss of their infant son, George Michael, in 1941 to spina bifida was a profound sorrow, one that would have weighed heavily on Nellie.

The Death Certificate of their son George Gauldin from Spina Bifida shows that the exact cause of his death was “loss of spinal fluid”.  He was only 4 months old.  He was buried in the Dan View Cemetery in Draper. (5)  It was a congenital problem and he was born with it.

 By the 1950s, Dewey had become a loom fixer in a blanket mill, working forty-hour weeks and maintaining the machinery that powered Draper’s industrial economy. Nellie continued to anchor the household, raising their children into adulthood and sustaining the family through the changes that came as the textile industry began its slow transformation. Their home on Center Street remained the center of their lives, a place where their children grew, married, and began families of their own.

Nellie died suddenly in Texas

In 1967, Nellie’s life took an unexpected turn when she traveled to Odessa, Ector County, Texas, where she died on 9 July at the age of fifty‑four. Her obituary records the following:

"Mrs. Nellie M. Gauldin, 54-year-old Draper, NC resident died Sunday morning in Medical Center Hospital after she became ill Friday while visiting a friend, Mrs. C.P. Severson, Jr....Mrs. Gauldin had been visiting her long-time friend Mrs. Severson in Odessa for two weeks.."

Her death certificate confirms her residence as Draper, North Carolina. The specific cause of her death was "gangrene of Ileum and Jejunum" due to Volvulur of Illeum & Jejunum".  Nellie died because her intestines twisted due to a hidden weakness or abnormality she had no way of knowing about.  Once the tissue lost blood flow, it became gangrenous and could not be saved.  In other words, there was nothing she did that caused the condition and there was nothing that could have been done to prevent it.  It was a sudden, catastrophic medical event.  Despite dying far from home, she was returned to Rockingham County for burial, laid to rest in Danview Cemetery in Eden, North Carolina—a final return to the community where she had lived, worked, and raised her children.

The Death Certificate of Nellie Marie Farmer Gauldin (9)

Dewey lived another eleven years after Nellie’s death, remaining in Eden until his own passing on 23 October 1978 at the age of seventy‑one. (6) He was buried near Nellie, closing the final chapter of a life spent in the mill villages that had shaped him from childhood.

Together, Dewey and Nellie built a family that carried forward their legacy:

1.        Dewey Wesley “Ted” Gauldin Jr. - Dewey Wesley “Ted” Gauldin Jr. was born on 19 January 1930 in Leaksville, Rockingham County, North Carolina, the first child of Dewey Wesley Gauldin Sr. and Nellie Marie Farmer. (9) His earliest years were spent in Tunstall, Pittsylvania County, Virginia, where his young parents lived in a rented house on Wood Avenue Extension while his father worked as a cotton‑mill weaver. Ted grew up in the mill villages of Rockingham County, eventually completing a twelfth‑grade education and entering adulthood in the textile‑centered community of Spray and Draper. On 17 June 1950, at the age of twenty, Ted married Barbara Anne Moore, who was also twenty, in Spray, North Carolina. Barbara had been born in 1930 and shared the same mill‑village upbringing that shaped Ted’s early life. Together they established their home in Eden, Rockingham County, where Ted worked as a textile machine operator in yarn, thread, and fabric mills. His occupation placed him among the skilled workers who kept the machinery running in the region’s long‑standing textile industry.  Ted and Barbara raised their children in Eden, continuing the Gauldin family’s deep roots in Rockingham County. Their sons were Bruce Wayne Gauldin (1952–1993) and Dewey Lee Gauldin (born 1954). The family remained closely tied to the community, living within the same industrial landscape that had shaped both Ted’s and Barbara’s families for generations.  Ted died on 31 July 1999 at Morehead Memorial Hospital in Eden at the age of sixty‑nine. Barbara died the following year, in 2000. Both were buried in Danview Cemetery in Eden, reflecting their lifelong connection to the area and the mill‑village world that defined their lives.

Dewey Gauldin, Jr. and Barbara (12)  Their sons were Bruce Wayne Gauldin 1952–2018 and Dewey Lee Gauldin 1954–?.

Bruce Wayne Gauldin married Marian Saunders Hopper and they had a son named Derek Wayne Gauldin who was born in 1983. Derek married Jennifer Michelle Stepherson in 2014.

2.       Terry Ronald Gauldin - Terry Ronald Gauldin was born on 18 February 1932 in Leaksville, Rockingham County, North Carolina, the son of Dewey Wesley Gauldin and Nellie Marie Farmer. He grew up in the mill‑village communities of Draper and Leaksville, where his father worked in the textile mills and his mother managed the household. By 1950, Terry was eighteen years old and still living with his parents on Center Street in Draper. The census that year lists him as single, not working, and not seeking work, residing with his parents and siblings: Dewey Jr., age twenty, and Donna Beth, age eight.  In 1952, Terry appeared in a Greensboro yearbook from the Woman’s College of the University of North Carolina, photographed as part of the college choir. Two years later, on 18 June 1954, he married Louise Farlow in Randolph County, North Carolina. Terry was twenty‑two at the time, and Louise was twenty‑one. The marriage record identifies his parents as Dewey Wesley Gauldin and Nellie Farmer, and hers as T. A. Farlow and Millie Sink. A newspaper marriage index from the same period notes that Terry was living in Kernersville and working as a part‑time music instructor and organist.  By 1956, Terry was attending Guilford College in Greensboro, where he appeared in another yearbook. His early adult years were marked by both musical involvement and higher education, suggesting a path distinct from the textile‑mill work that defined much of his family’s history.  Terry’s marriage to Louise (13) eventually ended. On 29 January 1968, the couple’s divorce was recorded in Forsyth County, North Carolina. Ten years later, on 13 July 1978, Terry remarried, this time to Stacy Carolyn Wright (14) in Pittsylvania County, Virginia.  Terry spent his later years in Eden, Rockingham County, North Carolina. He died there on 17 December 2007 at the age of seventy‑five. His Social Security record confirms his birth date, his long residence in North Carolina, and his death in Eden.

Terry Ronald Gauldin Yearbook Date 1953, School Woman's College of the University of North Carolina, School Location: Greensboro, North Carolina. Photo Description: W C Chamber Music Players

3.       George Michael Gauldin - George Michael Gauldin was born on 17 October 1940 in Leaksville, Rockingham County, North Carolina, to Dewey Wesley Gauldin and Nellie Marie Farmer. He entered the world as the third child in a mill‑village family living in Draper, where his father worked in the textile mills and his mother cared for their growing household. His birth was recorded in the North Carolina Birth Index, listing Leaksville as his birthplace and confirming his parents’ names. George’s life was tragically brief. On 10 February 1941, at just under four months old, he died in Draper, Rockingham County. His death certificate lists his cause of death as spina bifida, specifically described as “loss of spinal fluid.” This indicates that he suffered from a severe, open form of the condition in which the spinal cord and its protective coverings did not fully form and remained exposed. In such cases, cerebrospinal fluid can leak from the opening in the spine, leaving the infant vulnerable to infection, shock, and rapid decline. In the early 1940s, before modern surgical interventions and antibiotics, infants with severe spina bifida rarely survived.  George was buried in Danview Cemetery in Eden, Rockingham County, close to the community where his family lived and where many Gauldin relatives were later laid to rest. Though his life was short, the records preserve his place within the Gauldin family and the mill‑village world of Draper and Leaksville during the early twentieth century.

4.       Donna Beth Gauldin - Donna Beth Gauldin was born on 13 April 1942 in Leaksville, Rockingham County, North Carolina, the youngest child of Dewey Wesley Gauldin and Nellie Marie Farmer. She grew up in the Draper mill village on Center Street, surrounded by the textile‑mill world that shaped her family’s daily life. By 1950, eight‑year‑old Donna lived with her parents and older brothers, Dewey Jr. and Terry Ronald, in a modest household typical of the Marshall Field mill community. She attended local schools and appears in the 1960 Morehead High School yearbook under the name Donna Beth Gauldin Barber, showing that she continued her education even after marrying young.  Percy Edwin Barber was born on 14 October 1938 in Rockingham County, North Carolina, the son of Thomas Maben Barber and Bessie Florence Davis. He grew up in the rural Mayfield community north of Reidsville, where his family lived on a working farm. In the 1950 census, eleven‑year‑old Percy appears alongside his parents and siblings Olivia and Troy on Mayfield Road in Ruffin. His early life was shaped by farm work, rural schooling, and the close‑knit Barber family.  Donna and Percy’s lives came together on 7 August 1959, when seventeen‑year‑old Donna married twenty‑year‑old Percy in Draper, North Carolina. Their marriage joined two long‑established Rockingham County families—one rooted in the textile towns of Draper and Leaksville, the other in the farming communities of Mayfield and Ruffin. Shortly after their marriage, Donna continued attending Morehead High School, while Percy entered military service.  Percy served in the United States Air Force from 1956 to 1960, achieving the rank of Airman First Class. After completing his service, he returned to Rockingham County, where he began a long career with American Tobacco, eventually becoming a supervisor. He worked for the company for more than twenty‑two years, reflecting the economic shift in the region as many residents moved from textile or farm work into tobacco manufacturing.  Donna and Percy built their early married life in Eden, raising their son Scott Wayne Barber. Their marriage lasted more than two decades, but on 27 May 1981, they divorced in Rockingham County. The divorce record lists Donna’s residence at the time as Tennessee, indicating she had relocated after the marriage ended.  Donna later returned to Rockingham County, living in Eden during her final years. She died on 23 September 2001 at Moses H. Cone Memorial Hospital in Greensboro at the age of fifty‑nine. Her death record notes that she had completed a twelfth‑grade education and was divorced at the time of her passing. She was cremated in North Carolina and is recorded as buried in Danview Cemetery in Eden, where many members of the Gauldin family rest.  Percy lived until 26 April 2025, passing away at Wesley Long Hospital in Greensboro at the age of eighty‑six. His obituary describes a life rooted in Rockingham County, marked by military service, decades of work at American Tobacco, and close relationships with his family. He was survived by his son, Scott Wayne Barber; his grandson, Conner Lee Callaghan and his siblings Olivia “Lib” Ashworth and Troy Barber. Percy was buried in Dan River Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery in Mayfield, returning to the rural community where he had grown up. (16)

Donna Beth Gauldin

 According to Find a Grave, there was also a son named Gordon L. Gauldin who was born and died in 1935.  He has a small stone near his parents. (9)

The gravestone of Gordon L. Gauldin, who was born and died in 1935

Their lives reflect the endurance, resilience, and quiet strength of mill‑village families in the Piedmont South—families who weathered hardship, built community, and sustained one another through decades of change.

Works Cited

1. Dewey Gauldin. Find a Grave. [Online] https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/178386855/dewey-wesley-gauldin.

2. 1910 United States Federal Census. ancestry.com. [Online] North Carolina, Rockingham, Leaksville. https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7884/images/4450100_00205?pId=173517525.

3. Image of Uncle Dewey Gauldin. Photo taken by Ed Gauldin, property of Catherine L. Gauldin. [Online] Image taken in Eden, NC, 1972.

4. 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_342686-00953?pId=7634531.

5. 1930 United States Federal Census. ancestry.com. [Online] Tunstall, Pittsylvania, Virginia. https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/6224/images/4547853_00282?pId=98663116.

6. U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947. ancestry.com. [Online] https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2238/images/32892_620303988_0069-00224?pId=948489.

7. 1940 United States Federal Census. ancestry.com. [Online] North Carolina, Rockingham, Draper, 79-13. https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2442/images/m-t0627-02966-00501?pId=153281837.

8. North Carolina, U.S., Death Certificates, 1909-1976. ancestry.com. [Online] Death Certificate of George Gauldin who died at age 4 months. https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/1121/images/S123_1226-0488?pId=601603029.

9. Texas, U.S., Death Certificates, 1903-1982. ancestry.com. [Online] https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2272/images/33154_b062744-02933?pId=142981.

10. North Carolina, U.S., Death Indexes, 1908-2004. ancestry.com. [Online] https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/8908/records/5766142?tid=163174124&pid=422121229405&ssrc=pt.

11. U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007. ancestry.com. [Online] This confirms Dewey Jr. was the son of Dewey Sr. https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/60901/records/632357265?tid=163174124&pid=422121229405&ssrc=pt.

12. Image of Dewey Gauldin, Jr. . ancestry.com. [Online] ceeaddams originally shared this on 20 Sep 2019. https://www.ancestry.com/mediaui-viewer/collection/1030/tree/163174124/person/422121228165/media/8a4ae833-5245-4423-a834-8737decfc394?galleryindex=2&sort=-created.

13. U.S., Newspapers.com™ Marriage Index, 1800s-current. ancestry.com. [Online] https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/62116/records/385871574?tid=163174124&pid=422121228023&ssrc=pt.

14. Virginia, U.S., Marriage Records, 1936-2014. ancestry.com. [Online] https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/9279/images/43068_172028008151_0980-00369?pId=12917615.

15. North Carolina, U.S., Death Certificates, 1909-1976. ancestry.com. [Online] Rockingham, 1941, February. https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/1121/images/S123_1226-0488?pId=1603029.

16. Donna Beth Barber. Find a Grave. [Online] https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/178386387/donna-beth-barber.

17. Gordon Gauldin. Find a Grave. [Online] https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/178386926/gordon-gauldin.

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