Elizabeth Turner, the wife of Samuel Gaulding was from Goochland, Va.

Samuel Gaulding and Elizabeth Turner were married on 28 December 1764 in St. James Northam Parish, Goochland, Virginia. She may have been a daughter of Richard Turner of the same area.

There is a notation in the Douglas Register p 105 that reads "Galden, Samuel & Elizabeth Turner married 28 December 1764 but it does not give the place where they were married. (1)  On page 198 of the Douglas Register are recorded two births for them.  The text reads "Samuel Galden & Elizabeth Turner a daughter called Elizabeth born December 28, 1764, baptized April 7, 1765 p. 70" and "Samuel Galden & Elizabeth Turner a Daughter named Kesiah born December 13, 1766, baptized February 8, 1767, p. 76".  Give the known migration path that Samuel Gaulding took from New Kent, Virginia to Prince Edward, who is Elizabeth Turner whom he married in 1764?

Elizabeth Turner cannot yet be identified with certainty, because no surviving record directly names her parents, but it is possible to reconstruct her most probable identity based on geography, parish boundaries, and the Gaulding migration path.  Below is a structured, evidence‑based explanation using the Douglas Register entries and the known Gaulding migration corridor.

Rev. William Douglas was born in Scotland in 1708 and educated for the Anglican ministry. He immigrated to Virginia and became rector of St. James Northam Parish (Dover Church), Goochland County and King William Parish (Manakin Town) — the French Huguenot settlement.  He served these parishes for 27 years, beginning in 1750, and continued recording vital events even after retirement until shortly before his death in 1798. He kept the famous Douglas Register from 1750–1797.  He is one of the most important clerical record‑keepers in colonial Virginia.  Rev. Douglas recorded events he personally performed, not events from distant counties therefore Samuel and Elizabeth were almost certainly married in St. James Northam Parish, Goochland County, even though the page does not explicitly name the parish.  This aligns with Samuel’s presence in Goochland as an apprentice in 1742. 

This is a reasonable timeline for Samuel’s life, based on his documented migration path:

1732 – He is born probably on the Eltham Plantation in New Kent County, Virginia.  He was baptized in the St. Peter’s Episcopal Church because his name appears in the Registry. 

1735 – His mother Anne Steward died in 1735 and her death is recorded in the St. Peter’s Parish Registry. 

1742 – His father John Gaulding died in St. James Northam Parish and left an orphan son Samuel as a ward of the parish.  The parish would not have aprenticed Samuel if John had been living in a different county. 

1742 - Samuel apprenticed as an orphan in 1742 to Thomas Edwards, in St. James Northam Parish.  He was about ten years old, too young to take care of himself yet old enough to learn a trade. 

1750’s – His older brothers Alexander and John “Matthew” appear in Amelia County by the early 1740’s.  Samuel may have spent time with them before his marriage to Elizabeth Turner.  There is no record of this however.

1764 - Marriage to Elizabeth Turner in 1764.

1765 – Daughter Elizabeth baptized in St. James Northam Parish.

1766 – Daughter Kesiah baptized in St. James Northam Parish.

1760’s-1785 – Samuel Gaulding appears in Prince Edward tax lists and land records. 

1785 – His will was probated in Campbell County, which was formed from Bedford and part of Prince Edward County.  This matches the Tidewater → Piedmont migration wave described in the source.

Who was Elizabeth Turner? (Most probable identity)

Because the Douglas Register (2) does not name her parents, we rely on geographic probability and Turner family distribution.  The Douglas Register does not list Turner households directly, it confirms the parish boundaries and ministerial coverage for the period when Samuel Gaulding married Elizabeth Turner.  She was NOT related to the Brashears, as is so commonly and mistakenly recorded on some family trees.  Here’s what I conclude from an analysis of the records:

1.        She was almost certainly from Goochland County because Douglas only recorded marriages he performed.  Samuel was living in Goochland in 1764 and the Turner surname is well-documented in the Goochland vestry and tithable lists.  Goochland County Deed Books (3) is another source. 

2.       She was most likely a daughter of one of the Turner families in St. James Northam Parish.  Turners appear in the Goochland County tithables (2) (1740s–1760s), St. James Northam Parish vestry lists (3), Goochland County Tax lists (4) and Adjacent Hanover and Henrico records.  Common Turner heads of household in the parish during this period include Richard Turner, John Turner, Thomas Turner and William Turner.  These families lived along Tuckahoe Creek, Beaver Creek, and Lickinghole Creek—the same region where Samuel was apprenticed. 

Here is a brief bio of each man listed:

Richard Turner (active 1750s–1770s) - He appears in the Goochland County tithables and land tax lists.  He lived near Beaver Creek and Lickinghole Creek, close to the Edwards, Woodson, Payne, and Curd families and was likely a small to middling planter with 1-3 tithables.  His household size and location make him a strong candidate to be the father of Elizabeth Turner.  Richard Turner appears closest to the Gaulding–Edwards–Woodson cluster, the same social network that produced Samuel’s apprenticeship.

Goochland Tithables 1746–1780 — appears consistently 1750s–1760s

St. James Northam Vestry Book — processioning records near Beaver Creek

Goochland Land Tax Lists — small acreage holdings

Goochland Deed Book 8 (1755–1760) — appears as adjoining landowner

John Turner - There were at least two John Turners in Goochland in the 1760's.  One lived near Tuckahoe Creek, close to the Randolph and Fleming estates and another appears in tithables near Beaver Creek, overlapping with the Gaulding sphere.  Their occupations are unknown, but both appear as small planters.  Because of the duplication of the name, John Turner is harder to assign as Elizabeth's father, but the connection is still plausible.

Goochland Tithables 1746–1780 — two men of this name appear

St. James Northam Vestry Book — one John Turner in Tuckahoe Creek district

Goochland Deed Book 9 (1760–1765) — witness to several deeds

Land Tax Lists — small holdings in two separate districts

Thomas Turner - He appears in the Goochland tithables in the 1750's-1760's.  He lived near the Dover Church area and was possibly related to the naming patterns and proximity.  He held modest acreage and was most likely a yeoman farmer.  His proximity to the parish center makes him a moderate candidate to be Elizabeth's father.

Goochland Tithables 1746–1780 — appears mid‑1750s through 1760s

St. James Northam Vestry Book — listed in Dover Church area

Goochland Deed Book 7 (1750–1755) — minor land transactions

Land Tax Lists — modest acreage

William Turner - He appears less frequently than Richard or John and was likely a younger man or a collateral branch.  He lived near Lickinghold Creek and may have been a tenant farmer or a small landholder.  He is the least likely candidate for Elizabeth's father simply because his household appears smaller and less stable in the records. 

Based on geographic proximity to Samuel Gaulding's apprenticeship location, parish activity, household size, social class aligment and Turner distribution in 1760's Goochland, the most probable father for Elizabeth Turner was Richard Turner. 

	Name	Notes
Most likely	Richard Turner	Right location, stable household, appears in parish records consistently
Likely	John Turner (Beaver Creek)	Geographic overlap with Gaulding/Edwards
Possible	Thomas Turner	Parish‑centered, moderate household
Least likely	William Turner	Smaller footprint in records

This is a probability ranking, not a proof.

Elizabeth could not be from Prince Edward or Amelia Counties because Douglas did not travel to those counties to perform marriages.  There are also no Turner families in Amelia/Prince Edward that match the timeline as well as the Goochland Turners do.  The most probable conclusion is that Elizabeth Turner was a Goochland County woman from one of the Turner families living in St. James Northam Parish, most likely the daughter of Richard and possibly the daughter of John, or Thomas Turner.

Works Cited

1. The Douglas Register. ancestry.com. [Online] Marriages not recorded by Rev. Wm Douglas but indicated by the birth registry. Male index. https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/25436/images/dvm_LocHist010582-00058-1?pId=106.

2. W. Macfarlane Jones, ed. The Douglas Register. [book auth.] Digitized at HathiTrust. Richrmond : J.W. Fergusson & Sons, 1928.

3. Goochland County Deed Books 6–10 (1750–1770). [book auth.] Library of Virginia microfilm.

4. Lurvey, A. Jean. Goochland County, Virginia Tithables 1746–1780. s.l. : Iberian Publishing Company, 1994. Available through major genealogical libraries and online catalogs..

5. Chamberlayne, Transcribed by C. G. The Vestry Book of St. James Northam Parish, Goochland County, Virginia, 1744–1850. [trans.] Digitized at HathiTrust. s.l. : Richmond: The Library Board.

6. Goochland County, Virginia Land Tax Lists. Digital images available through LVA’s “Tax Records” portal : s.n., Library of Virginia, Richmond.