G-Folks are the more than 20 different variant family names used by different branches of my family, or suspected of being related.
My own family is surnamed Golden, but was Goulden in the generations before 1810.
I track many different G-Folk lines and variations thereof because we historically often share the same time and space. For example, it appears that when northwestern South Carolina was settled that there were two or three different Golden/Golding families that settled it at almost the same exact time during the early 1770s.
Culturally, G-Folks are very closely related in heritage, religion and traditions. This cultural closeness has also caused us to use the same names over and over and over and over: John, Richard and William dominate — my local phone book has 21 William Goldens. It is easier to track many different families and sort it all out later.
You can reach me via Norfolk1956@gmail.com
View the many variations of the G-Folk family name
My own second grade report card for Hendricks Avenue Elementary School in Jacksonville, Florida had my name listed as William Gordon. For whatever reason my parents did not argue over the spelling with the school. Have discovered a number of Golden who got documented as being Gordons.
As spelling became more standardized, and folks realized that a name could phonetically take many forms, then official records were often crossreferenced to make sure that people could be found. One such example is below of Richard Golden’s Revolutionary War records. They were crossreferenced both Goolding and Golden.
