William Gwaltney

William Gwaltney

• Born about 1655 in Surry, Virginia
• Died before 2 Mar 1732 in Surry, Virginia
• Son of Thomas Gwaltney and Martha (Unknown) Pittman
• Spouse of 1) unknown 2) Alice

Family

From https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Gwaltney-7

William apparently married his first wife and had two daughters and his oldest son, Thomas. Upon his first wife's death, he married a young lady, Alice Flake, daughter of Robert Flake and Margaret Marriott. [Disputed]

His wife apparently died before 1728, as she is not mentioned in William's Will.

William had the following children:

1. Ann (c. 167? to 1728). Married a Boykin.
2. Thomas (c. 1678 to before 1728)
3. John (c. 1680? to 1752)
4. Katherine (born 1683)
5. Ruth (born 1685) married a Petway
6. William (1689-1752)
7. Mary (born 1695)
8. Martha (born 1697)

(http://gwaltney.faithweb.com/2ndgeneration.html)

William Gwaltney made his Will in Surry, Virginia, on March 28, 1728, and it was probated on March 2, 1732, in Surry. In it, the legatees were: daughter Ruth, wife of Robert Petway; son William; grandson Thomas; grandson Edward Boykin; daughters Martha and Mary.

Extracted from John Bennett Boddie. Historical Southern Families. Vol. II. Baltimore: Clearfield Company, reprinted by Genealogical Publishing Co., 1994. [ Ancestry.com] link

Biography

From http://gwaltney.faithweb.com/beginnings.html

But by July, 1666, Thomas was dead at only about 53 years of age. He left behind a wife, a young son William who was only around 11 or so years old, and the Atkinson step-son. Thomas' will was probated in September of 1666, and his widow, Martha [SIC: Mary] wasted no time--for in 1667 she found another Thomas to marry (she must have liked Thomases)--this time a Captain Thomas Pittman, who already had two sons about the age of young William Gwaltney. Of course, Martha herself died within several years, for by 1672, Thomas Pittman had remarried another widow, Lidia Judkins.

And young William Gwaltney was apparently the sole Gwaltney in the colonies with his 200 acre inheritance.

William Gwaltney (c. 1655-1732)

Like his father, William also was primarily a farmer. He did receive some education because it was stipulated in the marriage agreement between Martha and her third husband Captain Thomas Pittman that William Gwaltney "may have to years scoling (two years of schooling)".

William apparently married his first wife and had two daughters and his oldest son, Thomas. Upon his first wife's death, he married a young lady, Alice Flake, the daugher of Robert and Elizabeth Marriott Flake. In 1678 he was named on the Surry Co. Tithables list, which meant he was old enough and had sufficient wealth to be taxed by the colony for its support and possibly the support of the Anglican church. In those days, whether you were Anglican or not, many still paid "tithes" to support the church. Apparently, William was not crazy about being on the Tithables List for on July 13, 1679, the sheriff was authorized to collect William's tithables or else seize his property. He was fined for refusing to take the constable's oath.

Other records show that William was appointed by the court in 1686 to survey highways, he was named a horseman in the militia in 1687, and in 1696 he watched his boys be named in his father-in-law Robert Flake's will. He had three sons, Thomas, William, and John Gwaltney. Two of them, William and John were deeded 450 acres by Robert Flake, their grandfather. Since young Thomas was not the offspring of William and Alice, he was not named in the Flake will; however, as oldest son, he would inherit his share of his father's assets.

And William did have some assets. In 1704, it is noted that he had a farm of 400 acres (he was able to acquire 200 more acres than he had received from his own father). I am assuming all this ground was still in the area of the east side of the Main Blackwater Swamp in Surry County.

By 1732, William had passed away, for on March 2, 1732 his will was probated. His oldest son, Thomas, apparently proceeded him in death as he is not mentioned in the will that was actually made in 1728. He divided his goods between sons John and William, a married daughter Ruth Gwaltney Petway, and his grandson, Thomas Gwaltney (son of William's oldest son, Thomas, who had preceeded Father William in death) and to his two daughters who were unmarried at the time, he gave charge of his 400 acre plantation so long as they remained single.

• Thomas Gwaltney, Sr. ( b. 1590)
• Thomas Gwaltney, Jr. (b.1613-)
• William Gwaltney (1675–1728
• John Gwaltney (1703–1752).

William Gwaltney (1675–1728), son of Thomas Gwaltney (b.1613), had a son: John Gwaltney (1703–1752).

John Gwaltney (b.1703) had 10 children — but only 9 are named Gwaltney (whose descendants are named Gwaltney, Gaultney, or Galtney).

The children of John Gwaltney: Benjamin, Elender Eli, Elizabeth, James, John, Joseph, Martha, Robert, Steven, and William.

For whatever reason Elender Eli is given or later chooses the name Golden.

Elender Eli Golden goes on to marry an unknown bride of supposed Cherokee birth (Possibly went by the name of "Ann" and has two sons: Mark Golden 1762-1844 and John Golden 1775-?. All of his siblings remained Gwaltney, and their children are Gwaltney. So that is how some Goldens came to have Welsh bloodlines and how it came to be that their ancestors are named Gualmay and Gwaltney, and not Golden.

Some G2a Goldens from Wales? -- Bill Golden, Norfolk1956@gmail.com

Some Golden family histories with Elender Eli Golden as their ancestor, indicate that these Goldens may be descended from the Gualmay/Gwaltney family of Pembrokeshire, Wales.

The name Gualmay is Welsh in origin and means “Field Hawk” or “Hawk of May”. Gualmayis a derivative of the Welsh Gwalchmai, which is a place name (in Anglesey, Wales) and is traced back to the Knight Gawain (King Arthur Legend).

Today the Gualmay name has largely passed into history and the descendants of the Gualmay family often go by Gwaltney, Gaultney, Galtney … and a few may go by Golden.

A Brief History Thomas Gualmay (Gwaltney), Sr., (b.1590) had a son, Thomas Jr., born at Llanycefn, Dungleddy, Pembrokeshire, Wales in 1613. (Some family histories claim that Thomas was born in Ireland. I have never seen any documentation of the Irish connection and the Gualmay family appears to be found only in the Pembrokeshire, Wales area.)

1630/1631 – Some family histories claim that Thomas married Martha Mary Liburne (also known as Leyborn, a Swedish name) at Surrey, Virginia. No sources are provided for this marriage — AND Thomas had not even left Wales yet so …

1635 – Thomas Gualmay (b.1613) emigrated to Barbados at age 22 and was the first of the Gwaltney, Gaultney, and Galtney families in America.

c.1645 – Thomas of b.1613 marries Mary Atkinson; the marriage record indicates that Gualmay is now Gwaltney. His children were

1. Ann,
2. James,
3. John,
4. Katherine,
5. Mary,
6. Susannah,
7. Ruth,
8. Thomas, and
9. William Gwaltney

1659/1662 – In Thomas’ 1659 Will, filed in Isle of Wight County, Virginia he is again listed as Gwaltney. When the Will is proven in 1662 his name remains Gwaltney. // Note: Reference is made within his Will to a land patent called “White Marsh”. This land would later pass into my mother’s family, the Norfleets and Riddicks, almost 100 years later.

William Gwaltney (1675–1728), son of Thomas Gwaltney (b.1613), had a son: John Gwaltney (1703–1752). William’s wife was Alice Flake (1680-1733).

John Gwaltney (b.1703) is married to a Mary (surname unknown) and they have 10 children.

The children of John Gwaltney and Mary are::

1. Benjamin,
2. Elender Eli (Golden),
3. Elizabeth,
4. James,
5. John,
6. Joseph,
7. Martha,
8. Robert,
9. Steven, and
10. William Gwaltney.

Their descendants are named Gwaltney, Gaultney, or Galtney but for whatever reason Elender Eli is given or later chooses the name Golden.

Some Gwaltney genealogies, but not all, do not include Elender Eli as a Gwaltney son. Yet some do!

Six Gwaltney family genealogies include Elender Eli (b1729) as a son, although none list his name as Golden.

It may be that Elender Eli is dropped from some genealogies for the same reason that some Golden family histories change William Gwaltney’s name to Golden: an inability to accept that there is a surname change.

Elender Eli Golden goes on to marry an unknown bride of supposed Cherokee birth and has two sons: Mark Golden 1762-1844 and John Golden 1775-?. All of his siblings remained Gwaltney, and their children are Gwaltney.

Was Elender Eli Golden an Orphan?

Was Elender Eli born a Golden, orphaned and taken in by the Gwaltney family?

Historical documents exist for this time period but have not found any confirming references that explain this unique relationship.
(2018.04.18 – Added note speculating that Elender Eli could have been an orphan, taken in by the Gwaltney family. Social norms would indicate that he was considered a Gwaltney and NOT an adopted orphan.)

That said, the traditional practice is that an orphan would not be considered a child of the family. Elender Eli has somehow managed to come down through multiple Gwaltney family histories as being a son, with no connotation as ‘not a Gwaltney’.

Relationship Confirmation

In an age of Y-DNA testing that can confirm relationships, it would be nice to know of any Y-DNA testing by male members of the Gwaltney family.

The descendants of Mark Golden test as haplogroup ‘G2a’.

If you have any information I would appreciate getting it. Send to Norfolk1956@gmail.com

Descendents of Mark and Richard Golden have taken Y-DNA tests with the result of being DNA haplogroup G-M201 / G2a. Golden males from both lines match one another (2018).

Testing Kits:

FamilyTreeDNA testing kits showing kinship among these Golden males: 80596, 80674, 112874, 132521, 137336, 249807, 284940, 312329 and N20439. CHANGES

2018.04.18 – Added note speculating that Elender Eli could have been an orphan, taken in by the Gwaltney family. Social norms would indicate that he was considered a Gwaltney and NOT an adopted orphan.

2013.07.25 – Added a note asking for Y-DNA information from any Gwaltney.

BTW – I look forward to sharing your stories, photos, and in-search-of quests. Contact me at the email address above.

You are welcome to add to or to correct this story by contacting: Bill Golden, Norfolk1956@gmail.com

• Reference: MyHeritage Family Trees - SmartCopy: Apr 9 2024, 10:36:13 UTC