The Family of Susan Gauldin, a seamstress

Catherine Gauldin
3 days ago
5 min read

Susan Gauldin was born around 1823 in Pittsylvania County, Virginia, into the large and deeply interconnected Gauldin–Walker family whose members populated the Callands and Swansonville areas throughout the early nineteenth century. She was one of the elder daughters of Thomas Gauldin (1799–1870) and Peggy Walker (1800–1870), a couple whose children appear consistently in Pittsylvania County census records. In 1850 (1), Susan—listed as age 30—was living in her parents’ household alongside several sisters, confirming her place within this extended rural family. Like many women of her era, Susan was recorded as unable to read or write, a reflection of the limited educational opportunities available to rural girls in antebellum Pittsylvania. Her life, like that of many Gauldin women, appears to have been shaped by domestic labor, kinship networks, and the economic realities of small farming communities.

The 1850 of Pittsylvania County shows Thomas Gauldin, Sr. age 51 living next to Thomas Jr. and wife Mahala (Woodall) (1) Thomas and Peggy’s daughters were all grown and still living at home.

A Misrecorded Identity in 1860

By 1860 (2), Susan does not appear under her own name. Instead, the census lists a woman called “Gauldin Gauldin,” age 37, living near Swansonville. This woman headed a small household of children:

Joanna, 17

James M., 7

Uriah W., 4

Sallie A., 1

She worked as a seamstress, with a modest personal estate valued at $10, and lived next door to Margaret Gauldin, also a seamstress. Every detail—age, location, occupation, and the absence of Susan elsewhere in the census—indicates that “Gauldin Gauldin” was simply Susan, misrecorded by the census taker. She is the only Gauldin daughter missing from the 1860 enumeration, and the children in the household match the ages and patterns of the Gauldin family cluster.

This is the family cluster in 1860. Thomas Gauldin age 65 was “Gauldin Gauldin (Susan’s) father. Mary Pruitt was a Spinner & Weaver and Susan and her sister Margaret were both Seamstresses. (2) Does this mean there was a small family community of women working together?

Her Children

The 1860 census reveals that Susan was raising four children, all born between about 1843 and 1859:

Joanna Gauldin (born ca. 1843)

James Monroe Gauldin (born 1850–1853)

Uriah W. Gauldin (born ca. 1856)

Sallie A. Gauldin (born ca. 1859)

No marriage record has been found for Susan, but the Marriage Register for James Monroe Gaulding gives his father’s name as Julius Golding.

Joanna: The Eldest Daughter

Joanna first appears in 1850 (1), age 7, living in a multigenerational Gauldin household headed by her grandmother, Peggy Gaulden, age 62. Susan, then age 24, was also present, strongly suggesting she was Joanna’s mother. By 1860 (2), Joanna—now 17—was living with Susan in Swansonville. After 1860, Joanna disappears from Pittsylvania records, likely due to marriage or relocation.

James Monroe: The Son Who Built a Legacy

James Monroe Gauldin is the same person as the James Gauldin listed in the census records. He grew up in Susan’s seamstress‑headed household. His father was Julius Golding, but nothing more is known about Julius. (1) In 1879, he married Elizabeth “Betty” Stevens Lovelace in Rockingham County, North Carolina, and together they raised a large family. James became a farmer in Ruffin, NC, and lived there for decades. Their children were Albert M Gauldin, James W. Gauldin, Andrew J. Gauldin, George L. Gauldin and John C. Gauldin.

1. Andrew J. Gaulden was born 16 November 1885 and he died 22 July 1903 at the age of 17. He is buried at Happy Home Cemetery in Ruffin, Rockingham County, Virginia. (Src: Find a Grave)

2. George Lee Gaulden was born on 16 March 1892 in Rockingham County, NC and he died on 24 December 1983 at the age of 91 in Greensboro, Guilford, North Carolina. He married Rosa Alma Cox (1896-1980) and their daughter was Lois Gaulden Rierson (1920-2012).

George Lee Gaulden, the son of James Monroe Gauldin and Bettie Lovelace (4) He married Rosa Cox and their daughter was Lois Gaulden Rierson.

James Monroe Gauldin may have served the Confederacy

He may be the same J.M. Gauldin who was in the 1 Regt., North Carolina Cavalry, Company G. (4)

There was a J.M. Gauldin who was in Co. G, 1 North Carolina Cavalry, 9th State Troops. It is undetermined whether this record relates to James Monroe Gauldin, however. (5) — There was a J.M. Gauldin who was in Co. G, 1 North Carolina Cavalry, 9^th State Troops. It is undetermined whether this record relates to James Monroe Gauldin, however. (5)

The person who originally posted this picture noted “I am pretty sure this is James, Bettie, George, and Johnnie Gaulden. It seems to fit in the context of the photo album I had. I am guessing it was taken some time around 1904.” Photo credit to MelindaJohnsonPerrett who originally shared it on 14 Mar 2014 (4)

He died in 1910 in Greensboro and was buried at Happy Home Church Cemetery. His life represents the branch of Susan’s family that moved into North Carolina and flourished.

This is from a February 1, 1910 newspaper clipping:

"The remains of the late James Gauldin who died at High Point with pneumonia were brought to the Happy Home church graveyard in the Mayfield section last week and buried. Mr. Gauldin was a former citizen."

This Marriage Register for 1878 is the only record that gives the name of the father of James Gaulding who married Bettie Lovelace. His parents were Julius Golding and Susan Galding (1)

Uriah and Sallie: The Younger Children

Uriah (born ca. 1856) and Sallie (born ca. 1859) appear only in the 1860 census (2). Their absence from later records suggests they may have died young, been taken into other households, or moved with relatives. Their brief appearance reflects the fragility of childhood in rural Virginia during the years leading up to the Civil War.

A Family Held Together by Women

The Gauldin households of the 1850s and 1860s were dominated by women—Susan, her sisters, her mother, and neighboring female relatives—many of whom worked as seamstresses. These women formed a tight kinship network that supported one another economically and socially. Susan’s household, with its four children and modest resources, fits squarely within this pattern.

Later Life

The 1860 census (2) is the last known record of Susan. She does not appear in 1870 under her maiden name or any married surname. Her death likely occurred sometime after 1860, probably in Pittsylvania County, though no burial or probate record has yet been found.

Although Susan left only fragmentary documentation, the surviving records reveal a woman who raised four children within a strong network of Gauldin women, relying on skilled labor and family support. Her children’s lives—Joanna’s disappearance, James Monroe’s migration into North Carolina, and the uncertain fates of Uriah and Sallie—reflect the mobility, hardship, and resilience characteristic of rural families in the years before and after the Civil War.

Susan’s story, though partially hidden by time and a misrecorded census entry, remains a vivid example of the lives of nineteenth‑century Virginia women whose families were held together by determination, kinship, and quiet endurance.