Golding/Golden/Goulding Family History on Facebook
Records of the first Golding Virginia Immigrants
I live just 60-90 minutes away from just about every Virginia location of importance to researching the Golding (Golden) family history in the Commonwealth. Just one problem: almost all records of importance have been destroyed … actually almost every record of any kind has been destroyed, whether important or not.
Elizabeth City County (now Hampton, VA) – created in 1634 as an original shire. Its strategic location caused records to be destroyed during the Revolutionary War, War of 1812 and then the Civil War pretty much destroyed anything that had survived prior to that. There are a few early deeds, wills, court orders and guardian account records that survive.
Gloucester County – created in 1651, ALL county records were destroyed in an 1820 fire, and all records created thereafter were destroyed again in Richmond on 3 April 1865, where they had been sent for safekeeping. A few surveyor’s books remain. Just a few. // Glouchester is important as it was home to the first Golding immigrant family.
Orange County – it would appear that many records have survived. Orange is important as it was home to William Golding (1704-1782), father of Richard Golding (1744-1788) — all of whom moved to South Carolina at the beginning of the Revolutionary War and are ancestors to today’s Golden line of Anderson and Pickering, South Carolina.