10/22/2002

Goldston Family
I copied the following document from the Siler City Library.

KATHRYN B. REES COLLECTION
WREN MEMORIAL LIBRARY
SILER CITY, NC.
Ola T. Neal
P. O. Box 245
Upper Fairmount, Md. 21867

Transcribed 6/4/2002 4:01 PM
Allan Goldston,
Winston-Salem, NC
Email: allan@farmalarm.com

My comments and added notes appear in red.

WILLIAM GOLDSTON, CAPTAIN OF THE CHATHAM COUNTY MILITIA

By O. Neal

WILLIAM GOLDSTON (? – 1808), founder of the prominent Chatham County family whose descendants established the town of Goldston and owned much of the land where Siler City now stands, was a Militiaman, outstanding citizen and one of the biggest landowners in Chatham County, NC, during the American Revolution. His River Plantation, as he himself called it, was located on the south side of Rocky River just across the stream from Ramsey Mill. A small portion of it is now known as Beaumont Farm. Somewhere on the north side of the river, with almost unlimited boundaries, lay the land which would soon become the vast plantation of Joseph John Alston, another of Chatham’s biggest landowners. And, as might be expected, William Goldston and Joseph John Alston became very close friends. So close, in fact, that we find William Goldston naming one of his sons Joseph John with perhaps the same sentiment he had felt earlier when naming an older son George Washington Goldston. Later, William Goldston would appoint “my esteemed friend Joseph John Alston” to be first among the executors of his will.

As early as May of 1777, William Goldston was serving as a field officer for Chatham County and official records list him with the rank of Lt. Col., a title still associated with his name. However, subsequent records show him serving in the militia, and in August of 1778, when the Revolution was in its third year, he was appointed Captain of the Chatham County Militia.

It is generally believed that William Goldston was born sometime prior to 1753 in Scotland. However, there is much uncertainty concerning the details of his early life as available information tends to be legendary. One legend has it that he came from Scotland to Canada and migrated south, stopping for a while in Mecklenburg County, Virginia, with a family named Rives; that he wanted this family for neighbors and consequently promised to buy land for them wherever he settled; and that upon reaching North Carolina he took up all the land between Rocky River and Bear Creek to Tick Creek west. Still another has it that he came from Scotland sometime before the Revolution with his brothers, Charles and John, that their name was then Gholson and that they settled on a tract of land around what is now known as Chatham County which had been granted to Charles by the King of England for prior service in the British Navy.

Be the legends as they may, a journey through official records and family histories reveals a margin of truth in both. William Goldston did have a brother named Charles and either a brother or a nephew named John, and both fought in the Revolution. Furthermore, the State of North Carolina, in eight separate grants, conveyed to William Goldston well over two thousand acres of Chatham County land, much of which was located on the south side of Rocky River with the bounds of the river, Bear Creek and Tick Creek. In addition, the grantee purchased additional tracts in the same area from various individuals.

Come with me to the office of the Secretary of State in the delightful city of Raleigh and look at the land records and the wealth of information they hold. We find that William Goldston paid the required sum and entered his claim for his first three tracts in October of 1778, the parcels were not surveyed until July, 1779, and it was March, 1780 before the grants were finally signed. Richard Caswell, fist governor of North Carolina, did the honors – meaning, simply, that the documents bear his signature. The first paragraph of the grants: “KNOW YE, That We, for and in Consideration of the Sum of Fifty Shillings for every Hundred Acres hereby granted, paid into our treasury by William Gouldston…” The spelling “Gouldston” catches our eye and we quickly note that the corresponding surveyor’s plats use this spelling, too. However, this in no way indicates the manner in which William himself spelled his name as none of the documents bear his signature. A more plausible explanation would be that he spoke with an accent, possibly Scottish, and the surveyor spelled the name accordingly. The subsequent grants naturally followed the surveyor’s spelling and description.

William Goldston’s Last Will and Testament, dated March 21, 1808, spells the name “Goldston” and was signed with an “X”, dated about three months before the Will was proved in May Sessions, 1808.

Leaving the first paragraph, our eye quickly lights upon the fascinating final sentence: “WITNESS RICHARD CASWELL, Esquire, our Governor, Captain-General and Commander in chief, at Kingston, (Kinston) the thirty-first Day of March in the fourth Year of our Independence, and in the Year of our Lord One Thousand Seven Hundred and Eighty.”

We then turn quickly to the final grant to William Golston and see that a warrant for it was entered in July of 1806. The survey was made in August of the same year. But the grant itself was not signed until January of 1810, almost two years after the grantee had died! After our initial hurried glance, a more relaxed perusal of both the surveyor’s plats and corresponding grants reveals the following:

Grant #235 to William Gouldston

400 acres March 31, 1780, “On the Watery Branch waters of Rocky River.” Surveyed by virtue of Warrant No. 451, for William Gouldston on the 20th day of July, 1779, by Thomas Chapman, D. S. The chain carriers were Jo. Hays and Wm. Hays. The land is described as beginning on the north side of Watery Branch. Looking at the descriptive plat, the branch appears to run diagonally through the tract.

Grant #236 to William Gouldston

640 Acres March 30, 1780, “On the south side of Tick Creek. Beginning at a heap of stones in Isaac Brook’s corner in Elisha Hunter’s line.” Surveyed for William Gouldston by virtue of Warrant No. 450, on the 27th day of July, 1779, by Tho. Chapman, D. S. The chain carriers were Isaac Brooks and William Moody.

Grant #371 to William Gouldston

400 acres March 31, 1780, “on the south side of Rocky river.” Surveyed by virtue of Warrant No. 458, for William Gouldston on the 20th day of July, 1779, by Tho. Chapman, D. S. The chain carriers were Joseph Roper and Joseph Hays. The land joined a tract owned by Aaron Evans.

Grant #610 to William Goldston (Note change of spelling here.)

200 acres October 9, 1783, “on Fall Creek beginning on the east side of said Creek.” Surveyed for William Goldston on the 21st of April, 1780, by Jno. Rutherford, D. S. The chain carriers were Robert Hancock and Bradley Possias.

Grant #615 to William Goldston

100 acres October 9, 1783, “on Fall Creek. Beginning on the west side f Fall Creek.” Surveyed for William Goldston on April 21, 1780, by Jno. Rutherford, D. S. The chain carriers were Joseph Stephens and Robert Hancock.

Grant #1162 to William Goldston

400 acres July 7, 1794, “on the waters of Rocky River beginning at a white oak, his own corner on Coxe’s line.” Surveyed for William Goldston by virtue of Warrant No. 254 on the 8th day of July, 1791, by W. Finley. The chain carriers were Masson Gilliam and William Roper. The metes and bounds description lists Cox, Boyd, Smith, James Williams, and William Hays as owners of adjoining tracts. It further states that the boundary runs “to the line of said Goldston’s tact he bought of Harrel then east… to the corner of the Land he bought of Roper… to a red oak corner to the land he lives on.”

Grant #1575 to William Goldston

50 acres, Nov. 19, 1800, “On the waters of Rocky River. Beginning at a stake on his own line.” Surveyed for William Goldston on the 23rd day of March, 1797, by Nath. Stedman, D. S. The chain carriers were William Meroney and John Evans. The claim was entered on the 21st day of January, 1794. Adjoining property owners listed are: James Gaines and Rives.

Grant# 1504 to William Goldson (sic)

87 acres, January 31, 1810, “on the waters of Bear Creek.” Surveyed for William Goldston on August 10, 1806, by Jno. McIntosh, D. S. and Thos. Snipes, C. S. The survey was made by virtue of Warrant No 14, entered July 11, 1806. Adjoining property owners are listed as Beal, Spire and Dotson.

Still looking at land grants, we note that Abel Green, through a 1787 grant, acquired Rocky River land joining that of Hugh Peoples and, through a grant in 1890, he acquired a parcel joining that of William Goldston. I made a mental note that perhaps the latter transaction, coupled with the subsequent marriage of a lineal descendant of William Goldston to a lineal descendant of Abel Green, explained, in some way, the fact that both the Goldston cemetery and the Green Cemetery are found today on Beaumont Farm. At any rate, it was fascinating to see in these old records information concerning my great (3) grandfathers William Goldston, Abel Green, Hugh Peoples and Edwards Rives, not to mention my great (5) grandfather Joseph John Alston. But I digress. (Andrew Jackson Goldston named a son Hugh Peoples Goldston)

Let us go now to the North Carolina Department of Archives and History. Here, among the Revolutionary Pay Vouchers and Certificates, we see four for William Golston and, looking in the Revolutionary Account Volumes, we see two entries pertaining to him. As we learn more of these records, we realize that what we have found provides a classic example of the use to which these vouchers and certificates were put and shows something of their relationship to the information found in the Revolutionary Account Volumes: As stated in an Archives information circular, “With little or no gold or silver in their treasuries, North Carolina and the other states, in order to provide for necessary expenditures, resorted to a complicated system of credit notes… very simply stated, the following procedure was used: In place of hard cash for Military Service, soldiers were issued vouchers or certificates as written promises that they would be paid a specified amount in hard cash at some time in the future. The same system was adopted to pay for goods or other services which were bought or impressed as the war progressed… Revolutionary Army Accounts are books which were kept in the fashion of ledgers between about 1780 and about 1795 for the purpose of recording various Revolutionary War Military Payments.

Looking at the vouchers for William Goldston, we see that on June 20, 1782, John Ramsey, Commissioner for Chatham County, issued voucher No. 65 to William Goldston in payment for sixty pounds of bacon an four and a half bushels of corn. The price was five pounds and seven shillings. Voucher No. 294, issued by the Hillsborough District Auditor’s Office on April 26th, 1781, allows William Goldston the sum of 697 pounds and 10 shillings. It is signed by M. Hunt and one of the Ramseys. The latter signature was executed with a grand flourish of curlicues. At the bottom of the voucher a figure showing the interest computation is listed. Turning to the Revolutionary Army Accounts, (Vol. XII, p. 10), it is evident that at least the interest portion, if not indeed the whole sum, was redeemed not in gold or silver but in Chatham County land. Voucher 4970, October 1783, totaling principal and interest combined (Vol. XII, p. 82). Possibly No. 5013 bearing the same date and showing a sum identical o the latter, may have been redeemed in the same manner. Although the last three vouchers do not specify the purpose for which they were issued, it is presumed that they were tendered to William Goldston as payment for active duty as a Militiaman.

Few, if any, partisan families within Chatham and its surrounding counties escaped the evil eye of David Fanning, hated and destructive leader of the local Loyalist militia. The Goldstons were no exception. He burned their house and wanted desperately to kill Capt. Goldston. Listen to Fanning tell it himself: “On my return to Little River, I heard of a Capt. Golson who had been distressing the Loyalists, and went in search of him, myself; but unfortunately I did not meet him; but fell in, with one of his men, who had been very assiduous, in assisting the rebels. I killed him. I mounted a man of my own on his horse, and returned back. I then took Capt. Currie and the man of my own before mentioned, and went with a design of burning Capt. Golson’s house; which I did; and also two others.” The preceding incident occurred in January of 1782. And in April of 1782 Col Golson killed Col. Walker (Fanning’s right-hand man) during a skirmish which took place while Fanning’s men were crossing Deep River upstream from a spot later known as Howard’s Mill.

On April 10, 1782, during a suspension of hostilities to negotiate terms of peach with Fanning, we find William Golston in the camp at McCan with Joseph Rosur. They direct what appears to be a joint letter to Fanning: “I received orders from Maj. Griffith concerning some terms between you and him and shall withdraw my men and Capt. Golston’s as we are both together, and will not proceed any further after apprehending your or yours, unless you come into our county doing mischief, until further orders. From your humble sev’t, JOSEPH ROSUR.

Hoping you nor yours will not interrupt any of the inhabitants of Chatham until matters are further settled. WILLIAM GOLDSTON”

Inasmuch as we are unaware of the rank held by either Charles or John Goldston, we presume that all of the preceding incidents with Fanning have reference to William Goldston. Though in all fairness, we must point out the possibility that one or both of the others could have been involved. Both are found in the vouchers and land records, and at the time of the 1790 census Charles was living in Chatham County and John in Moore County; William in Chatham. At any rate, descendants of Charles and John moved to Tennessee and other localities shortly after 1790, leaving Chatham to William and his offspring.

It is not known precisely when or where William Goldston and his wife, Sarah, were married. But she joined him in signing a 1796 deed, which definitely places the marriage prior to that time. On March 21, 1808, William Goldston signed his will in the presence of Wm. B. Meroney and Edwards Rives. In it he names his four youngest children: William (Jr. ?), George Washington, Joseph John and Elizabeth Goldston. In addition he refers to his loved son Thomas. The major terms of his will are concerned with his wife and his four youngest children. However, at one place he does stipulate that the household and kitchen furniture is, at his wife’s decease, to be divided equally among all his children. He does not name his wife, but she is listed as Sarah Golston in the 1810 census. He appoints Joseph John Alston, John Mebane, “my loved son Thomas Goldston,” and sons-in-law George Williamson and Mial Ramsey as executors to his will. Whereupon he signs the will with his mark, presumably because he is too weak to do otherwise, and soon thereafter dies. The will was proved in May and June of 1808 by Wm. B. Meroney.

The Last Will and Testament of William Goldston mentions  William, George Washington, Joseph John, and Elizabeth Goldston to be equally divided between herself and the four mentioned children when the eldest shall come of age.  How did he have two sons-in-law?

Col. William Golston, as descendants call him, is buried in the Goldston Cemetery on Beaumont Farm. His gravestone bears the following inscription, “W. G. 1808.”

Since there is roughly twenty four years between the birth date of his oldest son, Thomas, and that of the youngest, it is possible that William Goldston may have been married more than once. However, there is no available record to substantiate this belief. It is generally believed that Sarah Goldston was the mother of his four youngest children and possibly the older one. Although incomplete, we list his children as follows:

Thomas Goldston, b 1776 d 1840, married Lydia Waddle

William Goldston was living on farm adjoining his mother’s when she died around the year of 1870. No record of marriage or his family.

Elizabeth Goldston, born 1827, died 1879, married 1/19/1846 to Atlas Rush.

Amy Goldston, married George Williamson

_______ married Mial Ramsey

George Washington Goldston, 1796-1863, married Margaret L. Palmer (1st), Elizabeth Ramsey (2nd), widow of Joseph Ramsey

Joseph John Goldston, 1800-1874, married Martha K. Rives, daughter of Edwards Rives and Mary Ann Alston.

Elizabeth





References:



Photocopies of 8 grants to William Goldston

Photocopies of 8 surveyor’s plats made or William Goldston

Photocopies of 4 vouchers issued to William Goldston

Photocopies of pages 10 and 82 from Vol. XII Revolutionary Army Accounts

Photocopies of 2 grants to Abel Green

Photocopies of 2 surveyor’s plats made for Abel Green

Photocopies of William Goldston’s will

The Goldston Family of Chatham County, North Carolina, by H. J. Goldston

Letter of February 14, 1969, from Ellen Goldston Cook, DAR member.

The Narrative of Colonel David Fanning (A Tory of the Revolutionary War with Great Britain) Adventures in North Carolina from 1775 to 1783 Written by Himself, New York reprinted from Joseph Sabin, 1865. Found in Peabody Library, Baltimore, Md.




The shaded area above (about 1,000 acres) is thought to be the land bounded on the south by Bear Creek, west by Tick Creek and north by Rocky River. The only property still in Goldston Family name is Parcel 8900 (92 acres, which was the original Goldston Home Place) and Parcel 9455 (22 acres on north side of Hwy. 421), both owned by James David “Jim” Goldston, III, Raleigh, NC, 6th great grandson of William Goldston, Sr.