Samuel Gaulding: His Life as an Apprentice

The Vestry Book of St. Peter’s Parish in New Kent County (1) records the early Gaulding family headed by John and Ann Gaulding, whose children included Alexander, Elizabeth, Honor, Martha, Matthew (John II), and Sarah Elizabeth, the latter recorded as marrying Matthew in 1735. Ann Gaulding died in 1735, leaving John a widower with several minor children. Another entry lists Jacob, who may have been the son of Alexander and his wife Elizabeth, as no record shows John and Ann having a son by that name.

By the early 1740s, the Gaulding family had moved westward into the expanding Piedmont counties. A Goochland County court order dated October 1742 records that Samuel Gauling, described as an orphan boy, was bound apprentice to Thomas Edwards, a carpenter, under the authority of the churchwardens of St. James Parish, Goochland County. This record establishes that Samuel’s father, John Gaulding, had died before October 1742, leaving Samuel—likely born around 1732—without parental support at about ten years of age. Ann’s earlier death in 1735 confirms that Samuel was orphaned upon John’s death.

The Goochland jurisdiction at that time encompassed a large region carved from Henrico County, including areas that later became Albemarle, Cumberland, and Powhatan. St. James Parish served this frontier population, (2) though its surviving records begin only in 1744, too late to document Samuel or his father. There was a Court Record from Goochland County that recorded Samuel Gaulding was apprenticed to THOMAS EDWARDS, Carpenter.

"Goochland Oct. 1742 Court Case: 'Ordered that Churchwardens of St. James Parish do bind Saml. Gauling, and Orphan boy, to Thos. Edwards, a carpenter.” (2)

Learning the Trade: Samuel Gaulding’s Apprenticeship in Colonial Virginia

Who was Thomas Edwards?

The identity of Thomas Edwards, the carpenter to whom Samuel was bound, is not fully established. Several men named Thomas Edwards lived in Goochland and neighboring counties during this period, including one whose 1767 will in St. James Northam Parish names children Charles, Thomas, and Elizabeth Crenshaw. (3) No surviving will or probate record mentions Samuel Gaulding, leaving the apprenticeship record as the sole direct link between Samuel and Edwards.

Virginia, U.S. Wills and Probate Records, 1652-1900 (4)

Another branch of the Gaulding family appears in Prince Edward County, where Alexander Gaulding, son of John and Ann, died in 1752. His children—John, Susannah, and an unnamed daughter—were declared orphans and bound out to Thomas Scott and James Sheart, suggesting that Alexander’s wife was likely a member of the Sheart family. These guardianship records mark the family’s continued movement from New Kent into the Piedmont counties of Goochland, Amelia, and Prince Edward.

The surviving documents establish the Gauldings’ early presence in New Kent, the death of Ann Gaulding in 1735, and the death of John Gaulding before 1742, which left their son Samuel an orphan. In October 1742, Samuel was apprenticed in Goochland County to Thomas Edwards, a carpenter, indicating the family’s relocation into the interior counties. Alexander’s death a decade later and the binding out of his children in Prince Edward County further illustrate this westward progression.

Thomas Edwards of Goochland left a will dated 28 November 1767, probated the same day, naming three children: Charles Edwards, Thomas Edwards, and Elizabeth Crenshaw. He appears to have been married to Sarah Moseley of Henrico County. Edwards lived in St. James Northam Parish, the same parish that arranged Samuel Gaulding’s apprenticeship in 1742.

Although no later record connects Edwards directly to Samuel, the apprenticeship order remains the key link between them. Samuel’s father had died before October 1742, leaving Samuel about ten years old and requiring the parish to place him with a tradesman. Edwards’s role as Samuel’s master reflects both his standing in the community and the Gaulding family’s movement from the Tidewater into Virginia’s interior.

Taken together, the records portray Thomas Edwards as a mid‑eighteenth‑century Goochland carpenter and property holder, and the man responsible for training Samuel Gaulding after the death of Samuel’s father. His 1767 will and the 1742 apprenticeship order form the core of what is known about him today, while the guardianship records for Alexander’s children complete the picture of the Gaulding family’s gradual westward migration.

Apprenticeship in Colonial Virginia

When the Goochland County Court ordered the churchwardens of St. James Parish in October 1742 to bind Samuel Gauling, an orphan boy, to Thomas Edwards, a carpenter, it placed Samuel into the standard apprenticeship system used throughout colonial Virginia. As an orphan, Samuel would not have negotiated his own contract; instead, the parish applied the customary rule that bound boys to a master until they reached the age of twenty‑one. This practice ensured that orphaned children received training in a trade while also providing labor to the community’s craftsmen.

Samuel was likely born around 1732, based on the ages of his siblings and the timing of his father’s death. If this estimate is correct, he would have been about ten years old when he entered Edwards’s household. Under Virginia’s apprenticeship laws, this meant he would remain under Edwards’s authority for approximately eleven years, learning the skills of carpentry while performing the daily work expected of an apprentice. Based on the fact that Samuel's first son William was born in 1754 in King William County, it would appear that Samuel's apprenticeship lasted until approximately 1752-3.

Carpentry was a respected and demanding trade in eighteenth‑century Virginia. Apprentices learned to hew timbers, frame houses, fashion doors and windows, and maintain the wooden structures that formed the backbone of frontier communities like Goochland. By the time Samuel reached adulthood—around 1753—he would have completed the full term of service required of orphan apprentices and emerged as a trained carpenter capable of supporting himself.

The length of Samuel’s apprenticeship, the identity of his master, and the timing of his release all align with the period when he begins appearing independently in Amelia and Prince Edward County records. His apprenticeship under Thomas Edwards thus marks the transition from childhood dependency to adult self‑sufficiency, shaped by the legal and social structures of colonial Virginia.

The Daily Life of Samuel Gaulding as an Apprentice Carpenter

When Samuel entered the household of Thomas Edwards in 1742, he stepped into a world governed by routine, discipline, and the expectations of a skilled trade. As an apprentice, he lived in Edwards’s home, slept under his roof, ate at his table, and was subject to his authority. Edwards was responsible not only for teaching Samuel carpentry but also for providing clothing, food, and basic instruction in reading, writing, and moral conduct—requirements set by Virginia’s apprenticeship laws.  We don’t know what kind of man Thomas Edwards was, or if he was a good master, but the narrative below may describe what his life was like. 

Samuel’s days began at sunrise. Apprentices were expected to assist with household chores before beginning the work of the trade. In a carpenter’s household, this meant tending livestock, fetching water, cutting firewood, and maintaining tools. Once the morning tasks were complete, Samuel would join Edwards in the workshop or accompany him to job sites throughout St. James Northam Parish.

Carpentry in eighteenth‑century Virginia was physically demanding. Samuel learned to use axes, adzes, saws, augers, chisels, and planes. He practiced squaring timbers, framing houses, shaping shingles, and constructing doors, windows, and flooring. He would have spent long hours learning to measure accurately, cut cleanly, and fit joints tightly—skills essential for building the homes, barns, and outbuildings that dotted the Goochland frontier.

As he grew older, Samuel’s responsibilities increased. By his mid‑teens, he would have been trusted to work independently on simpler tasks, such as preparing boards, repairing fences, or assisting with framing. He also learned to maintain tools, select proper timber, and understand the layout of structures. Apprentices were expected to observe closely, imitate their master’s techniques, and gradually take on more complex work.

Life was not solely labor. Apprentices were part of the household and attended church with the family. They learned community expectations, social behavior, and the rhythms of rural parish life. Discipline could be strict—masters were legally permitted to correct apprentices—but they were also obligated to protect and instruct them. For an orphan like Samuel, the master’s household served as both workplace and surrogate family.

By the time Samuel approached adulthood, he would have mastered the essential skills of the trade. Around age twenty‑one, he would have completed his term and become a free man, able to hire himself out, purchase land, or establish his own workshop. The years spent under Thomas Edwards’s instruction provided him with a marketable skill and a path to independence—an outcome intended by the parish when they bound him out as an orphan.

Samuel’s apprenticeship was long, demanding, and transformative. It gave him structure after the loss of his parents, taught him a respected trade, and prepared him for life as a self‑supporting adult in the expanding frontier communities of colonial Virginia.

Works Cited

1. The Vestry Book of St. Peter’s Parish, New Kent County, Virginia, 1684–1786. Transcribed by George Carrington Mason. Richmond: Virginia State Library, 1940. 

2. History of Goochland County. genealogyresources.org. [Online] https://genealogyresources.org/Goochland.html?utm_source=copilot.com.

3. Goochland County, Virginia, Court Order Book 5 (1741–1745). October Court 1742 entry. [Online] “Ordered that the Churchwardens of St. James Parish do bind Saml. Gauling, an orphan boy, to Thos. Edwards, a carpenter.”.

4. Goochland County, Virginia, Deed Books with Wills & Inventories, Vol. 9–11 (1765–1777). Library of Virginia, Goochland County microfilm.

5. Ancestry.com. Virginia, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1652–1900. Goochland County, Will Book 9–11; Chesterfield County Will Book 3. 

© 2026 Catherine L. Gauldin, Gaulding Origins. All original content protected. Use of this site implies agreement with the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.