The Sons of John and Ann Gaulding: The Founders of the American Gaulding Line

The three surviving sons of John “of New Kent” Gaulding and his wife Ann—John “Matthew,” Samuel, and Alexander—formed the foundation of the Gaulding family in America. While their sisters died young and left only faint traces in the parish register, the sons lived to adulthood, married, and carried the family westward across Virginia. Their lives reflect the broader story of colonial mobility, economic struggle, and the gradual rise of small freeholding families in the 18th century Tidewater and Piedmont.

The Sons of John & Ann Gaulding of New Kent, Virginia

The children of John and Ann Gaulding of New Kent, Virginia were:

St. Peter’s Parish, New Kent County, Virginia (ca. 1700–1730) 

Child	Birth/Baptism (St. Peter’s Parish)	Death/Burial (St. Peter’s Parish)	Evidence of Adulthood?	Notes
John “Matthew” Gaulding	Abt. 1700-1705 (Register damaged, inferred from siblings)	No burial record	Yes	Appears in Amelia and Prince Edward County records, adult landowner, part of the Gaulding migration west.
SAMUEL GAULDING	Born about 1705-1710 (Register damaged, inferred from siblings)	No burial record	Yes	Appears in Amelia and Prince Edward County tithables and deeds, survived to adulthood.
Alexander Gaulding	Born about 1710-1715 (Register damaged, inferred)	Died 1752, Prince Edward region	Yes	Adult, married.  Father of minor children placed under guardianship in 1757.
Anne Gaulding	Recorded in St. Peter’s Parish	No burial record	Uncertain	No later records.  Likely died young.
Sarah Gaulding	Recorded in St. Peter’s Parish	No burial record	Uncertain	No later records; likely died young.
Martha Gaulding	Born about 1711	Buried September 1721	No	Died at about the age of 10.  Only birth and burial entries survive.
Honour Gaulding	Baptized 4 June 1714	No burial record	Uncertain.  Likely died young.	No later records in any Virginia county.  Absence suggests childhood death.
				St. Peter’s Parish Register is incomplete; some entries are fragmentary

 John “Matthew” Gaulding

John “Matthew” Gaulding, the eldest son, appears in the St. Peter’s Parish Register as one of the earliest children of John and Ann. Born in New Kent County during the family’s years near Eltham Plantation, he came of age in a world shaped by tobacco agriculture and the tenant‑farming system. As an adult, he moved westward with the expanding frontier, eventually settling in the Piedmont counties where land was more accessible. His descendants appear in Amelia and Prince Edward Counties, forming one of the earliest branches of the Gaulding family outside the Tidewater.

Samuel Gaulding

Samuel, another son recorded in the parish register, became the direct ancestor of many modern Gaulding researchers. Like his brothers, he was born in St. Peter’s Parish and spent his early years in the plantation‑dominated landscape of New Kent. Samuel later migrated into the interior counties, where he established himself as a small landholder. His name appears in the developing communities of Amelia and Prince Edward, where he raised a family and contributed to the westward expansion of the Gaulding line. Through Samuel, the Gauldings became part of the fabric of Virginia’s emerging Piedmont society.

Alexander Gaulding

Alexander, also baptized in St. Peter’s Parish, followed a similar trajectory. Born into the modest circumstances of a tenant‑farming household, he moved west as opportunities opened beyond the Tidewater. Alexander appears in the records of Goochland and Amelia Counties, participating in the settlement of the region during a period of rapid population growth. His descendants continued the family’s movement into the interior, helping to establish the Gaulding presence in central and southern Virginia.

A Shared Path and a Lasting Legacy

Together, the three sons of John and Ann Gaulding represent the survival and continuation of the family line. While their sisters—Martha, Sarah, Honour, and Elizabeth—died young and left only brief entries in the parish register, the sons carried the Gaulding name into new counties and new generations. Their movement from New Kent → Hanover → Goochland → Amelia → Prince Edward mirrors the broader westward migration of Virginia families seeking land, stability, and opportunity.

From these three men descended the many branches of the Gaulding, Gaulden, and Gouldin families who would spread across Virginia and eventually into the American South and beyond. Their lives, though only partially documented, form the enduring legacy of John and Ann Gaulding—the immigrant couple whose story begins in the Tidewater and whose descendants helped shape the history of the Virginia frontier.

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