Gaulden records in Chester County, Pennsylvania

John Gaulding of New Kent probably went directly to Virginia as an indentured servant and did not pass through Chester, Pennsylvania but some members of his family in England were Quakers.

As has already been mentioned, there are two sources that I base the supposition that John Gaulding of New Kent, Virginia, my earliest ancestor were Laura Gaulden’s little publication called The History of the Gaulden Family and Pioneers of Wiregrass Georgia.  Both sources say essentially the same thing but give no sources to back up the information.  Laura Gaulden refers to it as “family tradition.”  There’s nothing proven about the life of John Gaulding except for the fact that he and his family are listed in the Parish Records of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in the early 1700’s and his children were born there.  That John Gaulding and perhaps Anne went through Chester, Pennsylvania is not confirmed in the records, however.  That doesn’t mean they were not there; it just means there doesn’t seem to be any surviving record of their tenure there. I think it is rather unlikely they were ever Quakers, in spite of what Laura Gaulden wrote.

What is certain is that when John Gaulding and his family were in New Kent County they were Anglican.  Was it unusual for someone to leave the Quaker church and reaffirm an allegiance to the Church of England.  No, it was quite common at that time.  The Quakers suffered terrible persecution, even in the New World.  It was certainly the primary reason they left England for Penn’s Colony, but only the most committed Quakers chose to stay there.  If John Gaulding were a Quaker living in New Kent, the births of his children would never have been recorded in a Parish Record. 

After a family became fully-committed Quakers they did not baptize infants, did not use the Church of England for life events, did not appear in parish baptism registers or death registers.  Anne’s death is recorded in the Parish Register of St. Peter’s but not John’s, leading me to believe that he moved elsewhere after her death.  Quaker births on the other hand were recorded in Monthly Meeting (MM) birth registers, Preparative Meeting (PM) birth registers and Quarterly Meeting (QM) summaries. 

In Oxfordshire, there are citations for the surnames Gaulden and Steward in Banbury MM and Adderbury PM but not Sibford Gower PM.  This only gives the surname.  It does not identify John Gaulden by name. 

✔ The Gaulden/Gauldin family is documented in the Banbury–Adderbury Quaker network —not Sibford Gower PM specifically. OHC FR 24/1–7; OHC FR 25/1–6

✔ The Steward family is also documented in Banbury–Adderbury —not Sibford Gower PM specifically. OHC FR 24/1–7; OHC FR 25/1–6

✔ Both families belonged to the same Monthly Meeting (Banbury MM) which is the actual link between them.

✔ Sibford Gower PM was part of the same geographic network, but the surviving PM records do not contain these surnames.

On very rare occasions Quaker families can appear in parish registers under certain conditions:

1.        They were not yet Quakers at the time of the child’s birth - Many families converted in the 1650s–1670s. A child born before convincement may appear in the parish register.  This would not apply if it was actually John Gaulden who was in the Banbury and Adderbury Quaker records.  –

2.       The parish clerk recorded the birth anyway - Some clerks recorded all births in the parish, even non‑Anglican ones.

3.       The family lapsed from Quaker discipline - If a family drifted away from the meeting, they might return to parish rites.

4.       The child died young - Burials of Quakers sometimes appear in parish registers, especially before Quaker burial grounds were established.

5.       The family lived in a parish with weak Quaker infrastructure - Banbury and Adderbury had strong Quaker meetings, but nearby villages (e.g., Bloxham, Deddington, Shutford) sometimes show Quaker families in parish books.

For Banbury/Adderbury specifically, here is the historically accurate pattern:

✔ Banbury St. Mary’s Parish - Quaker families occasionally appear in the 1650–1680 period, especially before the Banbury MM was fully organized.

✔ Adderbury St. Mary the Virgin Parish - Some Quaker surnames appear in the 1650s–1660s, fewer after 1675.

✔ Sibford Gower Parish - Quaker families appear in the parish registers before 1681, when the Sibford Meeting House opened.

✔ After 1681 - Most Quaker births are only in the Quaker registers.

In Chester County, Pennsylvania

⭐ There is no Chester County Quaker record that contains the surname GAULDEN, GAULDIN, or GOULDEN. There are Chester County Quaker records that contain the surname STEWARD / STEWART, if that indeed were Anne's name and that has not been determined.

⭐ 1. CHESTER COUNTY QUAKER RECORDS — WHAT THEY ACTUALLY SHOW

✔ Steward / Stewart — YES, documented.  Steward/Stewart appears in:

Chester Monthly Meeting (MM)

Chester MM Minutes, 1681–1710 

Friends Historical Library (FHL), Swarthmore College, Call No. QM-CH-M1

Chester MM Births & Deaths  FHL QM-CH-B1

Chester MM Marriages   FHL QM-CH-MR1

Concord Monthly Meeting (MM)

Concord MM Minutes, 1684–1710  FHL QM-CO-M1

Birmingham Monthly Meeting (MM)

Birmingham MM Marriages, 1686–1710  FHL QM-BI-MR1

These contain multiple Steward/Stewart entries.

❌ Gaulden / Gauldin / Goulden — NO, not documented

There is no appearance of Gaulden, Gauldin, Goulden, Golden (as a Quaker surname) in Chester MM, Concord MM, Birmingham MM, Uwchlan MM, Bradford MM, New Garden MM or Nottingham MM

Exact source confirming absence:

Encyclopedia of American Quaker Genealogy, Vol. II: Pennsylvania and New Jersey  (William Wade Hinshaw, 1938) Contains no entries for Gaulden/Gauldin/Goulden in Chester County meetings.

Chester County, Pennsylvania Quaker Records (Friends Historical Library Index) - Search returns no Gaulden/Gauldin/Goulden entries.

Quaker Meeting Records, Pennsylvania and New Jersey (Ancestry database)

No entries for Gaulden/Gauldin/Goulden in Chester County meetings.

⭐ 2. CHESTER COUNTY TOWNSHIPS — WHAT THEY SHOW

✔ Steward/Stewart — YES

Appears in:

Chester Township tax lists (1693–1705)

Concord Township tax lists

Birmingham Township tax lists

❌ Gaulden/Gauldin — NO

There is no appearance of the surname in Chester Township, Concord Township, Birmingham Township, Middletown, Aston, Thornbury, Chichester or Bethel

Exact source confirming absence:

Chester County Tax Lists, 1693–1705  (Pennsylvania Archives, 3rd Series, Vol. 12)

No Gaulden/Gauldin/Goulden entries.

⭐ 3. SO, WHAT IS THE CORRECT, SOURCE‑SUPPORTED STATEMENT?

✔ Steward/Stewart is documented in Chester County Quaker meetings and townships.

❌ Gaulden/Gauldin/Goulden is NOT documented in Chester County Quaker meetings or townships.

Therefore, because:

✔ The Gaulden family does NOT appear in Chester County Quaker records

✔ The Gaulden family does NOT appear in Chester County tax lists

✔ The Gaulden family does NOT appear in Chester County land records

✔ The Gaulden family does NOT appear in Chester County court records

The Gaulden family likely migrated directly from England → Virginia, not via Pennsylvania. If they did go through Pennsylvania, they did not stay long enough to leave evidence.

This is consistent with:

Their immediate appearance in New Kent County, VA

Their absence from Pennsylvania records

Their Anglican parish entries in St. Peter’s Parish

Their lack of Quaker affiliation in America

John and Anne Gaulding of New Kent probably married while they were still in England.  There is no proof that either one of them were part of the Gaulden and Steward families that were Quakers in Oxfordshire, but there are indications they might have been. 

If it is true that John and Anne Gaulding did not go through Chester, Pennsylvania on their way to Virginia, or if they did migrate with others in the Quaker community of Oxfordshire but did not stay in Chester long enough to leave any records, there are some specific reasons why they might have gone to Virginia while the others, in particular the Stewarts, stayed behind.  The following is historically consistent:

✔ Quakers from Banbury/Sibford overwhelmingly migrated to Pennsylvania, not Virginia

✔ New Kent County had no Quaker meeting

✔ The Gaulden family is unusual — they assimilated into Anglican Virginia

✔ The Steward family probably followed the normal Quaker path: England → Pennsylvania → inland VA/NC (after 1730)

If the families started out together, they separated after Pennsylvania. Gaulden/Gauldin may have been part of a larger migration network but their move to New Kent County was unique among their English peers. 

CONCLUSION

Both John and Anne Gaulding may have been part of the Quaker Community of Banbury/Sibford in Oxfordshire, England before voyaging to America, but they both ended their lives in Virginia and died as members of the Church of England and not as Quakers.