Rev. Harry Paul Gauldin and Janie Hope Mason
Rev. Harry Paul Gauldin and Janie Hope Mason were born just two years apart, each shaped by the rural and mill‑village world of the Virginia–North Carolina Piedmont. Their lives would intertwine for more than four decades, forming a family rooted in hard work, faith, and the close‑knit communities of the textile South.
Harry entered the world on 3 February 1902 in Leaksville, North Carolina, the son of Doc William Gauldin and Annie Catherine Powell Gauldin. (1) He grew up in a large household filled with siblings—Robert, Bertha, Posie, Arthur, Clarence, Dewey, Bessie, and others—typical of early 20th‑century mill families. Childhood in Leaksville meant long days, limited schooling, and early responsibilities. By 1910 (1), eight‑year‑old Harry had not yet learned to read or write and attended school irregularly, reflecting the realities of mill‑village life where children often worked informally and learned through experience rather than formal education. (2)
Janie was born on 19 September 1904 in Franklin County, Virginia, to Thomas Wilson Mason and Laura Eggleston Mason. (4) Her early years were spent in rural Virginia, where families relied on farming, kinship networks, and shared labor. Her childhood was marked by early loss—her father died in 1912, leaving her mother to raise the children alone. As a teenager, Janie moved with her family into the Piedmont textile region, where mill work offered new opportunities and stability.
Harry and Janie married young—both just eighteen—on 10 October 1920 in Rockingham County, North Carolina. Their marriage united two families already deeply rooted in the border region’s mill communities. They began their life together in Leaksville, where textile mills dominated the local economy and shaped daily life.
Their first daughter, Pauline Hope, was born in 1921, followed by Mabel Lee in 1925. By 1930 (3), the young family lived in a rented home on House No. 141 in Leaksville. Harry worked as a weaver, a skilled and steady position in the cotton mill, while Janie managed the household. She had completed a sixth‑grade education—typical for young women of her generation—and devoted herself to raising her daughters during the difficult years of the Depression.
In the 1930s, the Gauldins moved into Alamance County, part of the Burlington–Graham textile corridor. Morton Township in Allamance County still exists as a geographic and census designation but it is not an incorporated town. It is located northeast of Burlington and west of the Haw River area and it functions as a rural district within the county. By 1940 (4), they lived in Morton Township, where Harry continued mill work and Janie kept the home running. Their daughters were growing into adulthood: Pauline had completed high school and was working full‑time, while Mabel was still in school. The family lived on a rented farm, reflecting the blend of mill labor and rural life common in the Piedmont.
By the early 1940s, Harry had embraced a calling to preach. When he registered for the World War II draft in February 1942, he listed his occupation as Minister at Brightwood Baptist Church in Greensboro, North Carolina. This marks the earliest documented moment of his formal ministry, but it is clear that he had already begun preaching and serving the community before that date. Brightwood Baptist Church was a small, local congregation serving families in the Brightwood area northeast of Greensboro. Churches like Brightwood were deeply woven into the fabric of Piedmont life—places where mill workers, farmers, and families gathered for worship, fellowship, and support. Harry stepped into this world as a pastor who understood the people he served, having lived the same working‑class life they did.
Preaching on the Radio
One of the most memorable aspects of Harry’s ministry—preserved through family recollection—is his preaching on the radio. In the early 1940s, radio was the most powerful communication tool available to churches. Greensboro’s stations, especially WBIG and WGBG, regularly broadcast sermons, devotionals, hymn programs, and revival messages from local pastors. (1) The most likely station was WBIG which was Greensboro's first radio station, founded in 1926. It became a CBS affiliate in the 1930's and was known for religious programming, community announcements and local pastor broadcasts during the 1930's and 1940's. The station began as WNRC but in 1930 the call letters were changed to WBIG for “We Believe in Greensboro.” (1)
This was not unexpected because it was common for small Baptist churches to have weekly or monthly radio slots, and pastors were often invited to deliver short messages or participate in community religious programming. Harry’s tenure at Brightwood Baptist Church coincided exactly with the height of this era. Families across the Piedmont tuned in to hear familiar voices, and Harry’s sermons reached far beyond the walls of his church. My father James W. Gauldin reported that he had memories of hearing his uncle preach over the radio, and this fits perfectly with the historical pattern. Harry’s voice would have carried into mill homes, farmhouses, and boarding houses—bringing scripture, encouragement, and comfort during the uncertain years of World War II.
His Work at Brightwood Baptist Church
At Brightwood, Harry served as a traditional Southern Baptist pastor. His work likely included Sunday preaching, Mid-week services, revival meetings, home and hospital visits, baptisms and funerals, community outreach and participation in the local Baptist associations. Harry Gauldin was part of a network of small churches that formed the backbone of Piedmont religious life. His ministry was personal, relational, and grounded in the needs of working families.
Brightwood Baptist Church (1) did exist during Harry’s ministry, but it does not exist today under that name. Like many small mid‑century congregations, it likely merged with a larger church or dissolved as neighborhoods changed. Its records survive only in Baptist archival collections, indicating that it was once an active part of Greensboro’s religious landscape but did not continue into the modern era.
By 1950, Harry and Janie were living in Monroe Township, Guilford County, where Harry worked 50 hours per week as a Baptist minister. His residence was Monroe Township, not Monroe in Union County. This means the evidence suggests he ministered only in the Greensboro/Guilford County area. His work was classified as private employment, indicating he served a local congregation rather than a large denominational institution. Janie remained the steady center of the household, supporting her husband’s ministry and maintaining the home as their daughters married and built families of their own.
The daughters of Harry Paul Gauldin and Janie Hope Mason
1. Pauline Hope Gauldin was born on 17 October 1921 in Rockingham County, North Carolina, the first child of Rev. Harry Paul Gauldin and Janie Hope Mason Gauldin. She entered the world in the Piedmont textile‑mill region, where families lived modestly, worked long hours, and relied on close‑knit kinship networks. Her childhood unfolded in the mill villages of Leaksville and Spray, places defined by cotton mills, church life, and the steady routines of working‑class families. By 1930, Pauline—then eight years old—was living with her parents and younger sister Mabel at House No. 141 in Leaksville. She was already attending school, and census records show a stable household: her father working as a weaver in the cotton mill, her mother managing the home, and Pauline beginning her education in the local school system. Her early years were shaped by the rhythms of mill‑village life and the strong religious influence of her father, who would later become a Baptist minister. In 1933, the family briefly lived in Charlotte, but by 1940 they had settled in Morton Township, Alamance County, part of the Burlington–Graham textile corridor. Pauline, now eighteen, had completed four years of high school, a notable achievement for a mill‑village girl of her era. She was also working full‑time, earning $700 per year, contributing significantly to the family’s income during the Depression. Her sister Mabel was still in school, and her parents continued their work and ministry in the community. By 1943, Pauline had moved to Greensboro, where she worked as a waitress and lived at 215 W. Fisher Avenue. This period marked her transition from mill‑village adolescence to independent adulthood in one of North Carolina’s growing urban centers. Her Social Security records show her name as Pauline Hope Gauldin in 1938, indicating she was establishing her own identity and work life. Sometime before 1950, Pauline married Howard S. Henion (1921-?), becoming Pauline Hope Henion. She had at least one daughter from this marriage—Marsha Lynn Henion—and later records show another daughter, Claudia. These early marriages reflect the mobility and complexity of mid‑century family life, especially for young women seeking opportunity beyond the mill villages where they were raised. A major turning point came in June 1959, when Pauline married Gordon Garwood in Asbury Park, Monmouth County, New Jersey. At the time, she was living in Hialeah, Florida, and was known as Mrs. Garwood. Her marriage to Gordon marked the beginning of a new chapter—one defined by entrepreneurship, travel, and involvement in the growing fashion and modeling industry of South Florida. By the early 1960s, Pauline had fully reinvented herself. She founded and operated Polly Garwood’s Fashion and Modeling Academy, with locations in Hialeah and Pembroke Pines. Her obituary describes her as a member of the Miami Chamber of Commerce, the Modeling Association of America, and Who’s Who in Modeling, New York. Her work placed her in the center of South Florida’s vibrant cultural scene, far removed from the textile‑mill world of her childhood. Pauline lived in Atlantic City, New Jersey, before relocating permanently to Largo, Pinellas County, Florida, around 1961. Her father, Rev. Harry Gauldin, and her sister Mabel Pendrey remained part of her life, as noted in her obituary. She continued her modeling‑school work for nearly two decades, becoming a recognized figure in the regional fashion industry. On 9 December 1979, Pauline died in Pinellas County, Florida, at the age of 58. Her obituary, published in the Miami Herald, described her as a woman who had built a successful career, raised two daughters, and remained active in her church and professional organizations. She left behind her husband Gordon Garwood, daughters Marsha Anglin and Claudia.. , a granddaughter, her father, and her sister.
2. Mabel Lee Gauldin was born on 13 November 1925 in Rockingham County, North Carolina, the daughter of Harry Paul Gauldin and Jannie Hope Mason Gauldin. She grew up in the Piedmont textile‑mill region, where families moved fluidly between Leaksville, Spray, and Draper in search of steady work. Her childhood unfolded in a modest household shaped by mill labor, close‑knit neighborhoods, and the shared routines of working‑class life. By 1930, four‑year‑old Mabel—listed as Mabel E. Gauldin—was living with her parents on House No. 141 in Leaksville, Rockingham County. Her father, Harry P. Gauldin, age twenty‑eight, and her mother, Janie H. Gauldin, age twenty‑five, were raising two daughters: Pauline, age eight, and Mabel, age four. Mabel was not yet in school, and her early years were spent in the familiar world of mill‑village homes, shared porches, and extended family nearby. Little is recorded about Mabel’s adolescence, but by the early 1950s she had entered adulthood and begun building a life of her own. Sometime between 1942 and 1955, she married Leonard Elray Simpson, born in 1923. Their marriage appears in the 1955 Greensboro City Directory, where Mabel is listed as Mabel L. Simpson, living at 723 Dublin Drive with Leonard, who worked as a machinist. This period marked her first transition from her childhood home in Rockingham County to the larger, more urban environment of Greensboro, North Carolina. Mabel’s marriage to Leonard lasted until the early 1960s. On 8 May 1961, the couple divorced in Guilford County, ending a union that had lasted at least a decade. Just weeks later, on 27 May 1961, Mabel married David Clinton Myers Jr., also born in 1923. Their marriage was brief, lasting only four years. On 26 July 1965, Mabel and David divorced in Guilford County. David later died in 1984. After her second divorce, Mabel’s life entered a quieter, less documented phase. At some point after 1965—and before her death in 2008—she married a third husband, identified in records only as Mr. Shea. Her Social Security Death Index entry lists her as Mabel Lee Shea, indicating that this final marriage lasted through her later years. The absence of a marriage record suggests it may have occurred outside North Carolina or was not captured in surviving databases. In her later life, Mabel relocated far from her North Carolina roots. Her final residence was in Fort Lauderdale, Broward County, Florida, where she lived under the name Mabel Lee Shea. This move reflects a significant shift from her earlier life in the Piedmont textile region—perhaps motivated by retirement, family connections, or her final marriage. Mabel died on 3 May 2008 at the age of 82, with her last residence recorded in Fort Lauderdale. Despite her relocation to Florida, she was buried at Graham Memorial Park in Graham, Alamance County, North Carolina, returning to the region where she had spent most of her life and where many members of the Gauldin family were laid to rest. (10)
Harry Gauldin outlived his wife Janie
Janie’s life was marked by resilience, devotion, and quiet strength. She had endured early loss, married young, raised two daughters through the Depression, and supported her husband’s transition from mill worker to minister. On 27 July 1961, at the age of 56, she died suddenly of a heart attack in Greensboro, ending a marriage that had lasted more than forty years. She was buried at Lakeview Memorial Park, the same cemetery where Harry would later be laid to rest.
After Janie’s death, Harry continued his ministry and eventually relocated to Peachtree City, Georgia, where he spent his final years.
He died on 11 January 1988 at the age of 85, with his death recorded in Coweta County, Georgia. (8) Despite his relocation, he was buried in Greensboro, returning to the region where he had lived, worked, preached, and raised his family.
Together, Harry and Janie’s lives trace the story of two people shaped by the mill‑village world of the Piedmont South—early marriage, shared labor, economic hardship, and deep family ties. Their partnership endured across decades of change, from the rural world of early‑20th‑century Virginia and North Carolina to the rise and decline of the textile industry and the growth of Southern Baptist evangelical culture. Their legacy lives on through their daughters, Pauline and Mabel, and the generations that followed.
Works Cited
1. Harry P. Gauldin. ancestry.com. [Online] https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/138094619/harry-p-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=173517523.
3. 1920 United States Federal Census. ancestry.com. [Online] North Carolina, Rockingham, Leaksville. https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/6061/images/4383740_00338?pId=32970966.
4. Janie Hope Mason Gauldin. Find a Grave. [Online] https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/148330948/janie-hope-gauldin.
5. North Carolina, U.S., Marriage Records, 1741-2011. ancestry.com. [Online] Rockingham, Marriage Register. https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/60548/images/42091_342707-00190?pId=286032.
6. 1930 United States Federal Census. ancestry.com. [Online] North Carolina, Rockingham, Leaksville. https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/6224/images/4608312_00681?pId=75647173.
7. 1940 United States Federal Census. ancestry.com. [Online] North Carolina, Allamance, Morton. https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2442/images/m-t0627-02868-00254?pId=151111980.
8. WBIG Archives. Greensboro History Museum. [Online] https://archives.greensborohistory.org/manuscripts/wbig-radio?utm_source=copilot.com.
9. Special Collections and Archives. wakespace.lib. [Online] Brightwood, Greensboro, Guilford County. https://wakespace.lib.wfu.edu/items/28933df4-1a27-47d2-8352-316c5f093a55.
10. 1950 United States Federal Census. ancestry.com. [Online] North Carolina, Guilford, Monroe. https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/62308/images/43290879-North_Carolina-033809-0050?pId=147338402.
11. Pauline H. Gauldin Henion Garwood obit, 12 December 1979, Miami Herald . ancestry.com. [Online] https://www.ancestry.com/mediaui-viewer/collection/1030/tree/163174124/person/422121229967/media/3796eaa2-dae8-4d10-b2a7-328c7d109c35?galleryindex=1&sort=-created.
12. U.S., Newspapers.com™ Obituary Index, 1800s-current. ancestry.com. [Online] https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/61843/records/1768545710?tid=163174124&pid=422121229241&ssrc=pt.
13. Image H.P. Gauldin at Grace Baptist Church. ancestry.com. [Online] https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/50273/images/NEWS-VA-TH_BE.1969_09_20-0008?ssrc=&backlabel=Return&queryId=b2773fff589051bacb196ab95266026b&pId=508350472&rcstate=NEWS-VA-TH_BE.1969_09_20-0008%3A4783%2C3854%2C4966%2C3892.
14. Georgia, U.S., Death Index, 1919-1998. ancestry.com. [Online] https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/5426/records/2547858?tid=163174124&pid=422121229241&ssrc=pt.
15. North Carolina, U.S., Death Certificates, 1909-1976. ancestry.com. [Online] Guilford, 1961, July. https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/1121/images/S123_485-0288?pId=451051762.
16. Gravestone of Harry P. Gauldin and Jannie Hope Gauldin. Find a Grave. [Online] Added by: Pamela F Hanzaker on 20 Feb 2016. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/138094619/harry_p-gauldin/photo#view-photo=135824000.
© 2026 Catherine L. Gauldin, Gaulding Origins. All original content protected. Use of this site implies agreement with the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Comments