Golding / Golden / Goulding et al Family History on Facebook
April 24, 1635 — John Golding sails aboard the Ann & Elizabeth to the Barbadoes and St. Christophers island. Departure was from London, ‘neere ye Tower of London’.
The Ann & Elizabeth is famous for having brought a great many families to New England, specifically to the Massachusetts colony after her stops in the Somers Isles.
John Golding is described along with other passengers as ‘no Subsedy Men’ (people on the subsidy list). The meaning of ‘subsidy men’ is unclear and I have not found any document that defines it per se. However, the English had created ‘Subsidy Lists‘ since the late 1200s which were a list of taxes and tax payers derived from the value of personal property. Those that could not pay became debtors and debtors were not tolerated. It may be that John Golding was unable to pay his taxes, or it may be that there was some other meaning.
I am unable to find any other record of John Golding in Barbados afterwards.
Originally settled by the English in 1627, Barbados had become a thriving community with plantation life dominating by the early 1630s. Slavery was not yet common and so indentured Englishmen were brought in for four and seven year contracts to work on the plantations. The Dutch began shipping slaves to Barbados around 1644.
Source: Result of some Researches among the British Archives for information relative to The Founders of New England, 1858, 1859, and 1860, by Samuel G. Drake, late president of the New England Historic-Genealogical Society, Boston, Massachusetts.
You are welcome to add to or to correct this story by contacting: Bill Golden, Norfolk1956@gmail.com
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