Forest G. Gaulden died of Tuberculosis and is buried in Kerrville, Texas
- Catherine Gauldin
- 5 days ago
- 9 min read
In the Spring of 2026 I was part of a group involved in cleaning all of the headstones in the Veteran’s Cemetery in Kerrville, Texas. I didn’t know that a distant cousin of mine is buried in that cemetery until I came across his name on a stone in Section 2. The information inscribed on it reads “Forest G. Gaulden, Texas, Pvt. 143 Infantry, 36 Division, World War I, February 27, 1895, January 30, 1950.”
When I got home and got on ancestry.com I found that I had already had his name in my database. Forest Grove Gaulden was the son of George Keller Gaulden (1854-1923) and Isabell "Belle" Stewart (1863-1960). He was born in Bertram in Burnet County, Texas and he died in the Veteran's Hospital of Advanced Tuberculosis. He is first listed in the 1900 census, age 5, living with his parents George and Belle and his siblings Emma, Susan, Richard, Georgia, William, Sim and Franie.
I have all the children listed and verified as :
1. Emma Mae Gaulden* 1882–1961 - She married Arthur A. Smith (b. 1883) and she died in Port Lavaca in Calhoun County, Texas. (1) Her death certificate says she died of a "coronary occlusion, probably died at night, all by herself." She was widowed. (2)
2. Richard Homer Gaulden* 1883–1973 - He married Effie Jane Johnson (1886-1978) and their children were Era Gaulden Rau 1916-2000, Richard Homer Gaulden Jr. 1918-1987 and Harlan H. Gaulden 1919-1922. He and his wife Effie are buried in the Hopewell Cemetery in Liberty Hill, Williamson, Texas. (3)
3. Susan Averrilla "Sudie" Gaulden* 1885–1975 - Sudie Gaulden died at the age of 90 in San Antonio. She married twice, the first time in 1920 to Fred George Walter Rose (1876-1949) and the second time to James R. Tucker. Her second husband died in a Japanese prison camp in 1942. (4)
4. Georgia Bell Gaulden* 1889–1962 - Georgia Bell Gaulden Holbrook, born 30 Jan 1889 in Burnet County, Texas, married Thomas E Holbrook and divorced. She worked as a janitress, lived at 7526 Hillsboro Ave, Houston, and died of heart disease on 14 Jun 1962. She was buried at Forest Park Cemetery, Houston. (5)
5. William Keller Gaulden* 1893–1977 - William Keller Gaulden was born 27 April 1893 in Williamson County, Texas. He married Nora Ida Smith, who had one son from a previous marriage, William Edward Muldrow. William and Nora had one child together, George William Gaulden. Records show William and Nora later divorced, though Nora’s death certificate lists her as a widow. William lived in Archer City, Texas, where he worked as a livestock (cattle) trader. He died at his home at 221 South Center, Archer City, on 28 May 1977 from a heart attack caused by coronary thrombosis. His son George was the informant on the death certificate. William was buried 30 May 1977 in Archer City Cemetery. (6)
6. Forest Grove Gaulden 1895–1950
7. Rudie Dorothy "Sim" Gaulden* 1896–1980 - She was born 3 December 1896. Although her death certificate lists Mississippi as her birthplace, census records and her family’s residence place her birth in Burnet County, Texas. She later married an unknown Parton. Rudy died 31 August 1980 at the Memphis Convalescence Home in Memphis, Hall County, Texas, where she also lived at 414 East Wood Ave. She had worked as a business secretary and homemaker, and was a widow at the time of her death. Her causes of death were myocardial infarction, arteriosclerosis, and diabetes. She was buried 2 September 1980 in Citizens Cemetery, Memphis, Texas, with arrangements by Robertson Funeral Home. (7)
8. Annie A. "Frannie" Gaulden* 1899–1968 - Annie A. “Frannie” Gaulden was born 15 May 1899 in Burnet, Texas. She later married an unknown Hillman. Annie died 13 October 1968 at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Fort Worth, Tarrant County, Texas, from arteriosclerotic heart disease. She was buried the next day, 14 October 1968, at Greenwood Memorial Park, with arrangements by Greenwood Funeral Home. Miss Evelyn Hillman served as the informant on her death certificate. (8)
9. Letitia Laurine Gaulden* 1901–1973 – She was born 10 May 1901 in Burnet County, Texas (likely Bertram). She married George Gandy. Letitia died 4 September 1973 at the Columbus Convalescence Home in Columbus, Colorado County, Texas, where she had lived for two years. A lifelong housewife, she died from a myocardial infarction caused by arteriosclerotic cerebrovascular disease. She was buried 7 September 1973 in Morton Cemetery, Richmond, Fort Bend County, Texas. (9)
Their father was George Keller Gaulden (1854-1923), and he was the son of Richard Holmes Gaulden* 1825–1864 and Susan Tullia Richardson* 1830–1909, of the same Richardson Family that I have written about before. Susan's grandparents were Francis "Frank" Richardson, Sr. (1763-1820) and Martha "Patsy" Gaulden (1765-1820), the daughter of John "Patriot" Gaulden (1742-1782) who may have been associated with General Francis Marion "The Swamp Fox" during the American Revolution. A study of the Richardson Family continues to yield an assortment of very interesting stories, and some are not so pleasant. Richard Holmes Gaulden (1825-1864), the son of Wade Hampton Gaulden (1795-1849) and Ann Chivers and Susan T. Richardson had four children: William Wallace Gaulden* 1849–1909, George Keller Gaulden* 1854–1923, Martha Spencer Gaulden* 1860– and Louella Placidia Gaulden* 1861–1884.
Probably the best researcher about this line of the Gaulden/Richardson family is Juliette Hyatt and she manages a tree called the LeBaron Truex Huggins Family Tree; People: 5146; Records: 7022; Media: 5149. (10) She is a direct descendant of Susan Richardson.
Susan Tulia Richardson married four times, and her second husband was Richard Holmes Gaulden, who died during the Civil War at the Battle of the Wilderness. Here is what Juliette Hyatt wrote about Susan in one of the documents listed on her family tree: “Susan remarried when Mary Jane was almost two years old. On December 18, 1849 in Wilkinson County she married Richard Holmes Gaulden. Susan, Richard, and Susan's daughter Mary Kelly are listed in the 1850 US census for Wilkinson County. A son, William Wallace Gaulden, was born in 1852 and another son, George Kelly Gaulden, was born in 1854. Susan apparently had escaped from a troubled home. The 1850 US census for Wilkinson County shows her parents, James and Martha, living with Susan's brother Robert, a wealthy planter, and his family. Susan's father has no occupation and is listed as insane.”
Forest Grove Gaulden was therefore the grandson of Susan T. Richardson whose father James B. Richardson died on 26 June 1859 at the Louisiana State Asylum in an East Feliciana, Louisiana, USA and was also the grandson of Richard Holmes Gaulden who died at the Battle of the Wilderness. He married twice, the first time to Anna Bailey (born 1900) and the second time to Vesta Avoe Ledbetter (1908-1988). (11)
So, how did his branch of the Gaulden family end up in Texas, and how did it come to pass that he died in a Veteran's Hospital in Kerrville, Texas? In about 1870 Forest's father George Keller Gaulden moved by himself to Danble Horn in Burnet County, Texas where he appears in the 1870 US Federal Census. He is the only person listed, living in the household of Emily Ford and working on the farm. (12) He married Isabell "Belle" Stewart in 1882 in Burnet County and their first daughter was born in that same year. Forest was the 6th child born to them.
Military Record and Death
According to the U.S., Headstone Applications for Military Veterans, 1861-1985, Forest died at the Veteran’s Hospital. (13)
Name: Forest G. Gaulden
Date of Death: January 30, 1950
Date of Birth: February 27, 1895
Parents: George Gaulden and Belle Stewart
Military Service: August 5, 1917 to August 12, 1918
Cause of Death: Tuberculosis, pulmonary, bilateral, far advanced with cavitation. Specific: Tuberculosis of the kidney
Age at death: 54
Length of Stay at the Hospital: 7 months, 16 days
Marital Status: Widowed
Occupation: Barber
Autopsy - Yes
Burial: VAH Cemetery
His headstone reads: “Pvt. 143 Infantry, 36 Division, World War I”. The 143rd Infantry Regiment of the 36th Infantry Division emerged during World War I as one of the division’s principal combat units. Formed on 15 October 1917, the regiment was created by reorganizing the 3rd Texas Infantry and part of the 5th Texas Infantry into a new Texas–Oklahoma National Guard regiment. Once organized, the men trained at Camp Bowie near Fort Worth, preparing for overseas service.
When the division deployed to France in mid‑1918, the 143rd continued its training at Bar‑sur‑Aube before being committed to combat. In October 1918, the regiment was attached to the French Fourth Army and entered the front lines on 10 October, relieving a regiment of the U.S. 2nd Division. Its first major engagement came near St. Étienne, where the regiment received its baptism of fire. From there, the 143rd advanced toward Machault and Caurcy, steadily pushing German forces northward. (15)
The regiment fought continuously until 28 October 1918, participating in the final phase of the Meuse–Argonne Offensive. During this period, the 143rd spent 23 straight days in combat, none of them in quiet sectors, and contributed to the liberation of Rheims.
After the Armistice, the regiment moved to Tonnerre, France, where it remained during the early months of demobilization. The men returned to the United States in April 1919, arriving at Newport News on 2 June, and the regiment was formally demobilized at Camp Travis on 3 July 1919. (15) Forest Gaulden does not seem to have been shipped overseas because he left in August 1918.
Kerrville and TB
The reason Forest Gaulden died in the Veteran’s Hospital in Kerrville is because he suffered from TB of the kidney. In the early 20th century, Kerrville, Texas became known as a refuge for people suffering from tuberculosis. Long before antibiotics existed, physicians believed that dry air, abundant sunshine, and mild winters could slow the disease’s progression. Kerrville’s location in the Guadalupe River valley, with its clean air and low humidity, made it an ideal destination, and soon the Hill Country town began attracting patients from across Texas and beyond. (17)
As word spread, investors and doctors established sanatoriums to meet the growing demand. One of the earliest was the Mountain Park Sanatorium, opened in 1915 on land that had once been a dude ranch. In 1917, Dr. Sam E. Thompson purchased the facility and operated it as the Thompson Sanatorium, which became one of Kerrville’s best‑known TB treatment centers. These institutions offered the era’s standard “rest cure”: fresh air, quiet surroundings, and long-term convalescence.
Kerrville’s role expanded further in 1937 when the State of Texas opened the Kerrville State Sanatorium for Negroes, a segregated tuberculosis hospital funded by a $200,000 legislative appropriation. (17) It provided free treatment for Black Texans at a time when medical care was limited and often inaccessible. The state sanatorium operated until 1949, when its remaining patients were transferred to the East Texas State Tuberculosis Hospital in Tyler.
As medical science advanced and TB sanatoriums declined, the Kerrville facility transitioned into what eventually became the Kerrville State Hospital, a mental health institution. Its early history as a center for tuberculosis treatment remains an important chapter in Kerrville’s development and in the broader story of health migration in Texas.
His resting place is well cared for, and a group came out before Memorial Day and placed an American flag in front of every stone and at Christmas many citizens of Kerrville go to the Veteran’s Cemetery and place a wreath on all of the graves for Wreaths Across America. Technically Forest is only my 6th cousin 1X removed, but he feels closer now that I’ve adopted him. I will make sure he gets a penny on top of his stone on the occasional days that I visit the cemetery for events and I will sponsor the wreath for his grave this year.
Works Cited
1. Emma Mae Gaulden Smith. Find a Grave. [Online] https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/53903333/emma-mae-smith.
2. Texas, U.S., Death Certificates, 1903-1982. ancestry.com. [Online] https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2272/images/40394_b062595-00091?treeid=163174124&personid=422121229024&hintid=1029566123572&usePUB=true&_phsrc=osm3953&_phstart=default&usePUBJs=true¤tPageIsStart=&useCurrentPageInfo=&showinfopanel=tr.
3. Richard Homer Gaulden Sr. Find a Grave. [Online] https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/28231695/richard_homer-gaulden.
4. Sudie Averrilla “"Susan"” Gaulden Tucker. Find a Grave. [Online] https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/123453226/sudie_averrilla-tucker.
5. Georgia Bell Gaulden Holbrook. Find a Grave. [Online] https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/123453915/georgia_bell-holbrook.
6. William Keller Gaulden. Find a Grave. [Online] https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/123454778/william_keller-gaulden.
7. Rudy Dorothy “"Sim"” Gaulden Parton. Find a Grave. [Online] https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/53721741/rudy_dorothy-parton.
8. Annie A “Frannie” Gaulden Hillman. Find a Grave. [Online] https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/123460425/annie_a-hillman.
9. Letitia Laurine Gaulden Gandy. Find a Grave. [Online] https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/123459459/letitia_laurine-gandy.
10. LeBaron Truex Huggins Family Tree. ancestry.com. [Online] https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/tree/9662173?cfpid=-764290649&dtid=100.
11. Texas, U.S., Select County Marriage Records, 1837-1965 . ancestry.com. [Online] https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/9168/records/132174542?tid=163174124&pid=422121231356&ssrc=pt.
12. 1870 United States Federal Census. ancestry.com. [Online] https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7163/images/4275547_00553?pId=7602259.
13. U.S., Headstone Applications for Military Veterans, 1861-1985 . ancestry.com. [Online] https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2375/images/40050_520307095_0394-03639?pId=53071.
14. Texas, U.S., Death Certificates, 1903-1982 . ancestry.com. [Online] https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2272/images/40394_b062359-03286?pId=23199186.
15. 143rd Infantry Regiment (United States). Wikipedia. [Online] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/143rd_Infantry_Regiment_%28United_States%29.
16. 143rd Infantry Regiment. Texas Military Forces Museum. [Online] https://texasmilitaryforcesmuseum.org/36division/archives/143/14302.htm.
17. Kerrville State Hospital. Asylum Projects. [Online] https://www.asylumprojects.org/index.php/Kerrville_State_Hospital.
18. Winkle, Irene Van. TB hospital for blacks gave hope to many who recovered. West Kerr Current. [Online] https://wkcurrent.com/tb-hospital-for-blacks-gave-hope-to-many-who-recovered-p1416-71.htm.