A Probable History of the Golden Family
of Newberry, South Carolina Since 1761
Updated 2025.09.09
Interest in the Moody family began with research into the family line of William Moody Golden, born between 1795 to 1799 in South Carolina and passed away between 1831 to 1835 in Bibb or Perry County, Alabama. Parents are unknown.[1]Some unsourced genealogies indicate that his parents were Richard Golding 1759–1822 and Ann Walton 1778–1822 … they were Virginia born and never left Virginia. William Moody Golden was … Continue reading Was married to Sarah Mary Elizabeth (Elizabeth) Lagrone, b.1791 Newberry, South Carolina; d.1882 at Perry County, Alabama, after having remarried into the Arendall family.[2]Exact birth years of Sarah Mary Elizabeth (Elizabeth) Lagrone are unknown. The years are often given as between 1791-1801 or 1 Jan 1796 at Newberry, Newberry, South Carolina. Having been widowed in … Continue reading
The use of middle names was very uncommon among southern Americans before 1830, and was still rare until the Civil War years.[3]Since arrival of the Pilgrims and many other early settlers came from England, American tradition included just the two names. Only about five percent of Americans born during the Revolutionary War … Continue reading Some genealogies assign middle names from the mother’s line, although an individual actually did not have such a middle name. I assumed that Moody was a maternal line surname that some descendant of William Moody Golden gave to him. DNA matches indicate that assumption to have high probability as there is no record of him having ever had Moody as a middle name.
Key Test References:
~~~ AXG: 61 DNA matches with Moody-surnamed descendants … AXG descends from the oldest known of William and Nellie Golden’s children or a first cousin of William Golden born in 1770 in South Carolina: Samuel Golden, b1770, probably Newberry, SC. // AXG descends from Samuel Golden, b.1770 SC, married to Lydia Parrish, 1775-1859. yDNA 700 tested.
~~~ MHJ: MHJ connects with same Virginia Moody family as other Golden descendants. In addition, connects with numerous unique Moody matches with an English line that settled in Virginia in 1700s[4]Edward Moody, 1680–1767, and Terri Lynn Thompson, 1690–1798. and appears unrelated to the Moodys that settled in South Carolina, which also came from the same area of Virginia. // MHJ Descends from Nathaniel Greene Golden, b.1783 SC, and second wife Elizabeth Jane Sosebee, 1848-1930, who is a cousin to me in her own right of kinship.
~~~ SGS: Descends from Isaac Golden, b.1784-after 1860, SC, married to Ruth Sheehan, 1774-after 1860.
~~~ TXY: May descend from Samuel Golden, b.1770 SC, married to Lydia Parrish, 1775-1859. Most certainly seems to have a close relationship based upon DNA matches.
~~~ WDG: Descends from Nathaniel Greene Golden, b.1783 SC, and first wife Arzela Moore, 1825-1886. yDNA 700 tested.
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The individuals below may appear in your DNA matches.
TIMELINE
1654: Robert Moody, 1654–1704, and Ann Elizabeth Lound, 1665–1708. Robert born and/or living at Weyanoke Parish, Charles City, Charles, Virginia. Parents unknown. Ann Elizabeth born and/or living at Prince George, Virginia. Parents unknown. // DNA matches with: MHJ WDG
1660: Edward F Moody, 1660–after 1680, and Mary Gilman, 1660–1735, lived in the Old Rappahanock County area, which became in large part Essex County. Edward place of birth is unknown, whether UK or Virginia. Mary supposedly was born in Guilford, New Haven, Connecticut.[5]xxx on Ancestry: https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/173427102/person/142703893437/hints // DNA matches with: MHJ TXY WDG
1723: John Moody, 1723–1790, of Bristol Parish, Prince George, Virginia, married to Maria Lucretia Green, 1723–1779, and married to Nancy Ann Jackson, 1744–1771. John descends from Robert Moody, 1654–1704, and Ann Elizabeth Lound, 1665–1708. // DNA matches with: AXG MHJ SGS TXY
1815: Irish-born John Pace Moody, 1815–1853, and English-born Jane Mallen, 1815–after 1844, are both living in 1844 at Brooklyn, Kings, New York when son Robert Moody, 1844 NY – 1875 CT is born. There is no known or claimed association with 1654’s Virginia Moodys. // DNA matches with: MHJ
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©2025 William Golden, Norfolk1956@gmail.com // Material may be shared without requesting permission and with appropriate attribution: A Probable History of the Golden Family of Newberry, South Carolina Since 1761, by William Golden
References
| ↑1 | Some unsourced genealogies indicate that his parents were Richard Golding 1759–1822 and Ann Walton 1778–1822 … they were Virginia born and never left Virginia. William Moody Golden was South Carolina born. Richard and Ann Walton Golding married 3 May 1798 at Orange, Virginia. Their son Richard Golding was born the following year in 1799 so we know they were in Virginia and not in South Carolina. |
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| ↑2 | Exact birth years of Sarah Mary Elizabeth (Elizabeth) Lagrone are unknown. The years are often given as between 1791-1801 or 1 Jan 1796 at Newberry, Newberry, South Carolina. Having been widowed in 1835, Elizabeth remarried 27 Aug 1836 at Perry, Alabama to Thomas A Arendal. Some genealogies list her as dying in 1842 or 1855 in Mississippi. Was surnamed Arendall due to marriage by 1836 and appears in census records thereafter through 1880 at Perry County, Alabama as Elizabeth Arendal. Passed away 23 Nov 1882, Perry, Alabama. |
| ↑3 | Since arrival of the Pilgrims and many other early settlers came from England, American tradition included just the two names. Only about five percent of Americans born during the Revolutionary War era had middle names … https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/why-no-middle-names.htm |
| ↑4 | Edward Moody, 1680–1767, and Terri Lynn Thompson, 1690–1798. |
| ↑5 | xxx on Ancestry: https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/173427102/person/142703893437/hints |