Mary S.A. Gaulding, the daughter of William T. Gaulding and Melissa “Dicy” Burnett
- Catherine Gauldin
- Jun 17
- 6 min read
In the span of their brief, six year marriage Melissa “Dicy” Burnett and William T. Gaulding had two children, Mary “Polley” Gaulding, born about 1835 and Jabez Sidney Gaulding who was born about 1837 in Pittsylvania County, Virginia. Jabez and Polley first appear in the Census records in the 1850 Census of Pittsylvania County. Mary was three years older than her brother and they were living with their mother Malissa on the portion of land she acquired as her Dower share of the lands owned by William T. Gaulding. For more information about Melissa “Dicy” Burnett, see The Life of Malissa Burnett Gaulding, the second wife of William T. Gaulding on Gaulding Origins.
The 1850 U.S. Federal Census - Slave Schedules reports that in 1850 Dicy Gaulden owned one slave, a female aged 12. (2) After her husband's death in 1841 there was a dispute among the heirs that lasted for many years. Some of the slaves were given to various family members but most were sold at auction in 1844. It would be interesting to know who this one young girl was and how she happened to end up living in Dicy's household. One of their neighbors as recorded in this same slave census was Thomas Boaz and his son David later on became Polley's husband.
Mary Sarah Ann "Polley" Gaulding married David W. Boaz, the son of Thomas J. Boaz (1795-1852) and Barbary Inman (1794-1889). She gave testimony of that fact in her Pension Application, filed as the widow of a deceased soldier of the Confederacy. In it she stated that she was "married the 18th Dec. 1852 near Whitmell, Pittsylvania County, Va".
In 1860 Mary was 24 and she and her husband David were living in the Southern District of Pittsylvania County near Whitmell. They had three children: Thomas W. age 4, David J. age 3 and John C. age 6 months. Thomas's birth is recorded in the Virginia, U.S. Birth Registers, 1853-1911 (3) for Halifax County (?) "October 19, 1854 Thomas W. Boaz was born to David W. Boaz, a farmer, and Mary S.A. Boaz." D.W. Boaz is listed as the father. It also appears they had a daughter named Lucy because there is a Death Certificate for Lucy B. Craddock (4), born in Pittsylvania County and died on July 14, 1940 in Pittsylvania County. Her parents are given as D.W. Boaz and Mary. She married Monroe Craddock.
Below is a transcription of the application:
"I, Mary S.A. Boaz, residing at Whitmell in the County of Pittsylvania in the State of Virginia, do hereby apply for aid under an act of the General Assembly entitled "An act to give aid to soldiers, sailors, or marines of Virginia, maimed or disabled in the war between the States, and to the widows of Virginia soldiers, sailors and marines who lost their lives in said war in the military service". And I do swear that I am the widow of D.W. Boaz who was a member of Capt. Alex J. Fedtina (?) Company of Infantry, 53rd Regiment and who, while in the discharge of his duty in military service during the late war between the States, lost his life. And I do further swear that I am not receiving aid from or a pension from any State or from the United States, and that I do not hold any national, State or county office which pays me in fees or salary over three hundred dollars, that my income from no source amounts to three hundred dollars and that I do not own in my own right property of the assessed value of one thousand dollars, and that I am now entitled to receive annually the sum of thirty dollars under the terms of the aforesaid act of the General Assembly.
And I do further swear that the following answers are true:
1st. What is the name of the applicant's deceased husband. Ans. D.W. Boaz
2nd. When and where, as nearly as can be ascertained, did the applicant's husband die, and from what cause? Ans. He died at Petersburg Va with measles on 17 May 1862
3d. When and where were the applicant and her deceased husband married? Ans. Married the 18th Dec. 1852 near Whitmell, Pittsylvania County, Va.
4th. Has the applicant ever married again. Ans. I have not.
Mary S.A. Boaz
I, J.D. Coles, Judge of the County Court for the County of Pittsylvania do certify that M.S.A. Boaz, whose name is signed to the foregoing application, personally appeared before me in open court and having the said application fully read and explained to her, as well as the statements and answers therein made, she the said M.S.A. Boaz made oath before me that the said statements and answers are true.
Given under my hand this 21 day of May 1888.
J.D. Coles”
Mary was 53 years old when she filled out this pension application and her husband had been gone for 26 years. She stated that David Boaz died of measles, and that is not surprising because measles was a major killer during the Civil War, (4) responsible for thousands of deaths, and it was especially deadly in 1861–1862, including in Confederate camps around Petersburg. It was one of the most common causes of death among new recruits. (5)
This is the last census for Mary S.A. Boaz. She was living next to her son John S. Boaz and his wife Nannie.
The records are confusing. In her pension application dated 1888 Polley Gaulding Boaz stated that she had not been married since 1862, yet the 1900 census gives the following information: Mary S A Boaz [Mary S A Booz] Age: 64 Birth Date: Jun 1835 Birthplace: Virginia Home in 1900: Tunstall, Pittsylvania, Virginia Race: White Gender: Female Relation to Head of House: Head Marital Status: Widowed Father's Birthplace: Virginia Mother's Birthplace: Virginia Mother: number of living children: 5 Mother: How many children: 9 Occupation: Farmer Mary S A Boaz 64 Josephene Boaz 31 Lucy E Boaz 27 Nannie B Boaz 21 David W. Boaz died in 1862 at the Battle of Petersburg, but Josephine and her sisters Lucy and Nannie are all listed as the daughters of Mary S.A. Boaz in the 1900 Census. They are listed as 'day laborers'. They were all born between 1869 and 1879, but who was their father? The 1900 Census also states that by that time she has had 9 children but only 5 are still alive.
Her daughter Josephine married George Washington Gauldin in 1911. It was her first marriage but he was married several times. George was the son of John Gauldin and Mildred "Milly" Gauldin (1833-?). The genealogy gets very convoluted at this point, but it is enough to state that Josephine was his third wife, after Harriett E. Gauldin and Mary Jane "Nelly" Bray. Josephine appears to have been a very pretty woman, judging from the picture of her below.
The life of Mary S. A. Gaulding Boaz reflects the quiet resilience and steadfast continuity that defined so many women of nineteenth‑century Pittsylvania County. Though the records of her later life are modest, Mary’s story endures as part of the larger Gaulding legacy—a life rooted in family, shaped by the land her parents held, and marked by the enduring ties of kinship that carried her through every stage of her journey.
Works Cited
1. 1850 United States Federal Census . ancestry.com. [Online] https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/8054/images/4206390_00179?pId=15427917.
2. 1850 U.S. Federal Census - Slave Schedules . ancestry.com. [Online] Virginia, Pittsylvania, Southern District. https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/8055/images/VAM432_992-0086?pId=92938122.
3. Virginia, U.S., Birth Registers, 1853-1911 . ancestry.com. [Online] Halifax. https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/62153/images/62153_i1023879-00181?pId=30797624.
4. Virginia, U.S., Death Records, 1912-2014. ancestry.com. [Online] https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/9278/images/43006_172028008151_0150-00265?pId=752166803.
5. 1860 United States Federal Census. ancestry.com. [Online] https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7667/images/4298865_00392?pId=34102286.
6. Alabama, Texas and Virginia, U.S., Confederate Pensions, 1884-1958. ancestry.com. [Online] Virginia, Act of 1888 Pension Applications. https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/1677/images/31867_B034254-00292?pId=1064165.
7. Shanks, G. Dennis. Black Measles during the Civil War. Journal of Military and Veterans’ Health 34, no. 1. [Online] This article states that measles epidemics “killed many military recruits” and that the case‑fatality rate was about 2%. https://jmvh.org/article/black-measles-during-the-civil-war/?utm_source=copilot.com.
8. 1861–65 — Apr–June, Measles, Civil War, Union and Confederate forces – 11,000. Deadliest American Disasters and Large‑Loss‑of‑Life Events. [Online] This source reports that measles killed around 11,000 soldiers during the Civil War. https://www.usdeadlyevents.com/1861-65-apr-june-measles-civil-war-union-and-confederate-forces-11000/?utm_source=copilot.com.
9. 1900 United States Federal Census . ancestry.com. [Online] https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7602/images/4117883_00416?pId=72208399.
10. Picture of Josephine Boaz. ancestry.com. [Online] https://www.ancestry.com/mediaui-viewer/collection/1030/tree/163174124/person/422121229576/media/4e5b9144-5e13-4670-9bfa-0aa9d7fac97c?galleryindex=1&sort=-created.
11. Marriage License of Josephine Boaz and George W. Gauldin. ancestry.com. [Online] https://www.ancestry.com/mediaui-viewer/collection/1030/tree/163174124/person/422121229576/media/c1f2e799-b796-4ed3-94f1-e989dcc94b33?galleryindex=2&sort=-created.
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