Vardel Virgil Golden, c1814-c1860

Table of Contents

A Probable History of the Golden Family
of Newberry, South Carolina Since 1761
Updated 2026.03.28

Vardel Virgil Golden is not a yDNA-confirmed William and Nelly Golden descendant. There are significant DNA matches with his descendants. Vardel/Virgil’s wife Barbara Cane (Cain) and her family are of South Carolina origin from the Laurens area (1810/20/30 census).

DNA Matches: In addition to Goldens, look for matches with Ashworth and Dobbins family. These are descendant from Vardel Virgil Golden and are well DNA-tested. Very important is that Vardel Virgil Golden descendants have strong association via DNA matches with key probable grandparent lines of our Goldens: Gore, Maupin, Sutherlin / Southerland.

~~~~~~

PROFILE

• Parents:  Unknown, but as of 2026: atDNA matches lean towards Vardel Virgil Golden being a son of Abraham Golden, c1790-1870, and Elizabeth Fletcher, 1797–1846.^[1]A male Golden from the Vardel Virgil Golden line has shared his Ancestry DNA. Matches are noted as TRG. TRG has matches with descendants of all three of claimed wives or partners of Abraham Golden. … Continue reading
• Ancestry.com: VIEW PROFILE
• DNA Tested?
  ~~~ No. No known descendants are yDNA tested.
  ~~~ Yes. One or more descendants are DNA (atDNA) tested.^[2]X4 DNA matches with descendants of Vardel Virgil Golden: WDG2111112001 WDG2205061955 WDG2308192017  WDG2602081707
• Birth: about 1814, possibly Alabama or South Carolina.
• Death: No record of death. No record in the U.S. census after 1850. Various genealogies list death as 1861 OR 1864 at Memphis, Shelby, Tennessee. The implication of 1864 may have been that he served in the Civil War. Certainly he would have been of viable age, as men through 55 owed three years of mandatory service in the South, CSA. There is however no record of either a Vardel or Virgil Golden serving as a CSA military member.^[3]There is no military service during the Civil War recorded for a Vardel or Virgil Golden. The U.S. Park Service maintains a database of all known that served either the CSA or as Union.
  ~~~ 1860, Kansas: Was alive as of 15 Jun 1860 as Vardel Golden is listed on a Miami County, Kansas land grant record. The land grant lists Vardel Golden as a member of Captain Rives Company, Alabama Militia, or the land was due to service therein. ^[4]US GOV Bureau of Land Management Records Online https://glorecords.blm.gov/details/patent/default.aspx?accession=0410-141&docClass=MW&sid=szoovx0c.lla
  ~~~ Vardel Golden does not appear in the 1860 census, although his family does and the family living at Prattville, Autauga, Alabama. Wife Rachel Barbara Cain Golden is listed as head-of-household in the census as ‘R. B. Cain‘ along with these children: Jonathon Golden; Sarah Golden; Robert Golden; Anderson Golden; and Edward Golden. Missing from the 1860 census are two children: Mary Frances Golden (Ashworth), who married in 1859, and Asa Daniel Golden (Brown), 1851–1924, who would have been age 9 in 1860.^[5]1860 Census of Golden family: Year: 1860; Census Place: Prattville, Autauga, Alabama; Roll: M653_1; Page: 100; Family History Library Film: 803001
• Spouse: Rachel Barbara Cain / Cane, 1818 SC-after 1870 Autauga, Alabama. ^[6]The entire family disappears n the 1870 census. There are four Golden households in the 1870 Autauga census, with head of house being: John Golden (land owner), Andrew Golden (land owner), Richard … Continue reading
• Children:
  ~~~ Yes, will be added.
• Military: Captain Rives Company, Alabama Militia (1855). Service with Captain Rives may be one of the best clues as to why Vardel Virgil Golden was not in the 1860 Alabama census. He was in Kansas staking claim to land due to prior military service with Captain Rives.^[7]The land grant lists Vardel Golden as a member of Captain Rives Company, Alabama Militia, and the land was due to service therewith. US GOV Bureau of Land Management Records Online … Continue reading Quite a bit is known about Captain Rives and his military service.
• A Last Will and Testament and/or Probate documentation exists: No
• Relationship WDGolden: Unknown. 

TIMELINE 

~~~ 1814: Vardel Golden born about 1814. Place unknown. No claim of parentage or siblings..

~~~ 1839 Mar 9th: Marriage at Tallapoosa County, Alabama, USA. A full record of the marriage is available with Vardel Golden and Johnathan Cain (father of bride) pledging bond for the marriage by Vardel to Rachel Barbara Cane (Cain). ^[8]1834 – 1855 Alabama Marriages. County courthouses, Alabama. This collection consists of county marriage records from various counties in Alabama. This collection available online at Ancestry.

~~~ 1860 Jun 15th: Alive as of 15 Jun 1860 as Vardel Golden listed on a Miami County, Kansas land grant record, although this was a transfer of a land grant in Kansas to John H. Griswold. The land grant given to Vardel Golden as a member of Captain Rives Company, Alabama Militia, for service during the 1836/37 Creek Indian War. ^[9]US GOV Bureau of Land Management Records Online https://glorecords.blm.gov/details/patent/default.aspx?accession=0410-141&docClass=MW&sid=szoovx0c.lla

++++++++++

©2026 William Golden, [email protected] // Material may be shared without requesting permission and with appropriate attribution: A Probable History of the Golden Family of Newberry, South Carolina Since 1761, compiled by William Golden