8:4 Virginia Connections
Mason, Bacon and John Golding of Barbados
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Thomas Mason and Ann French of Virginia
Thomas Mason was the son of Richard Mason, a yeoman farmer of Shropshire, England. Richard Mason married Judith Johnson, Margaret Unknown and Elinora Baldwin and his half-brother was John Manning Mason, the son of Judith Johnson. I have no information about John Manning Mason, but there was yet another John Mason, born in 1619 in England and he died before March 5, 1666 in Sheepscot, Maine. He married Mary Allen and was the father of Mary Manning and James Mason. He was a land speculator and a fisherman, and again there is no evidence that he was in Barbados in 1635 or even went through there on his way to someplace else. An entry on Geni.com reports that ""John Mason, born in 1619, arrived in the Philip, which sailed from Gravesend, England June 20, 1635; married Mary, daughter of John and Elizabeth Gent. He was a Planter on Mason's Neck, which he bought from Robinhood, 1652, died 1665; widow married John Allen of Charlestown. Children James and Mary (Manning)" Source: Spencer's Pioneers on Maine Rivers
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Cavaliers in Virginia
The English Civil War divided not only England along religious and political lines, it also divided America. Men like George Denison and probably William Goulding of Gravesend, also called “Goulder” were veterans of Cromwell’s army and they went to New England. The Cavaliers in contrast went to Virginia.
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They were the royalist supporters in the Royal Colony of Virginia at various times during the era of the English Civil War and the Restoration of the monarchy afterwards. In 1624, the Virginia Company, after a severe struggle with the Crown, was deprived of its charter. When Charles I, the son of King James ascended the throne of England he was so occupied with the troubles he had at home to concern himself very much with what was happening an ocean away in Virginia, where a popular government continued to flourish without much interference from the mother country. Six thousand people had emigrated to Virginia before 1625, but of that number only one fifth now remained alive. This number was rapidly augmented by immigration. Governor Yeardley died in 1627 and he was replaced by John Harvey, a man of limited ability and character who kept Virginia in turmoil for some years. The colony was so firmly established, however, that even his evil influence did not greatly reduce its prosperity.
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The longest rule of one man in Virginia's colonial history was that of Sir William Berkeley. He became the governor in 1642 and continued to hold office until 1677. He was a hot-tempered man yet outspoken and with much common sense, the epitome of the Cavalier and during the first period of his governorship he spent much of his time in persecuting the Puritans, many of whom found refuge in Maryland. The English Civil War between the Royalists and the Parlimentarian Roundheads broke out at about the same time that Berkeley assumed office. The Parliamentarians included many Puritans and over the course of the conflict, Oliver Cromwell rose to power. A second civil war started when Charles sought to gain power through an invasion of England by the Scots. In 1649, following the defeat of the Scottish army and the royalist revolts, Charles I was tried, convicted and executed by his won subjects.
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Portrait of Sir William Berkeley, Governor of Virginia. Image ca. 1917 of a painting at Library of Virginia, after an original painting circa 1663. Public Domain
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The Puritan colonies, most notably Massachusetts were dominated by the Parliamentarians but the older colonies such as Virginia sided with the Crown. The Virginia Company had two settlements: Virginia and Bermuda. William "the Clergyman" Goulding was among the Independent Puritans in Bermuda who were relocated along with William Sayle to Eleuthera in the Bahamas, but only after much hardship and anger among their members. There were other settlements in Antiqua and Barbados, conspicuous in their loyalty to the Crown. In 1650 they were singled out by the Rump Parliament in an Act for prohibiting Trade with the Barbados, Virginia, Bermuda and Antigua that dictated that "due punishment [be] inflicted upon the said Delinquents, do Declare all and every the said persons in Barbada's, Antego, Bermuda's and Virginia, that have contrived, abetted, aided or assisted those horrid Rebellions, or have since willingly joyned with them, to be notorious Robbers and Traitors, and such as by the Law of Nations are not to be permitted any maner of Commerce or Traffique with any people whatsoever; and do forbid to all maner of persons, Foreiners, and others, all maner of Commerce, Traffique and Correspondency whatsoever, to be used or held with the said Rebels in the Barbada's, Bermuda's, Virginia and Antego, or either of them."
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The Act also authorized Parliamentary privateers to act against English vessels trading with the rebellious colonies: "All Ships that Trade with the Rebels may be surprized", it stated. "Goods and tackle of such ships not to be embezeled, till judgement in the Admiralty.; Two or three of the Officers of every ship to be examined upon oath." Governor Berkeley himself was loyal to the Monarchy and he actually invited the son of the executed King to come to Virginia and be its Sovereign, but Parliament would suffer no opposition and it sent a commission with a fleet to reduce the colony into alliance with the new order in England. Virginians who were not Cavaliers were only mildly Royalist and in yielding they lost little, for the Commonwealth granted them greater freedom in self-government than they had ever enjoyed under the auspices of the relatively popular Puritan governor, Richard Bennett.
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The brief period of the commonwealth in England affected Virginia in that it inspired a small number of Cavaliers to emigrate from England to the colony to rally around Governor Berkeley, but they were always a minority comprising only about 10% of the total population. Their exodus was to an extent inspired by a pamphlet, published in London in 1649 by an anonymous author which described Virginia as a land where "there is nothing wanting." Among those who migrated were the ancestors of George Washington, James Madison, James Monroe, John Marshall and many others who formed the First Familes of Virginia. By 1670 the number of people in the colony had increased to 38,000, 6000 of whom were indentured servants. Henry Norwood was also among their number.
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Virginia after the Restoration
The year 1660 brought the exiled son of Charles I to the throne and Berkeley again became governor in Virginia. Charles II did nothing to reward the people of Virginia for their loyalty, and in fact made life more difficult for them. He began to appoint a swarm of worthless office seekers to high places in Virginia and gave away to his court favorites, the Earl of Arlington and Lord Culpepper nearly all the soil of Virginia, a large portion of which was already under cultivation. Berkeley, who had been fairly popular during his former ten-year governorship became a Royalist despot and lost all sympathy from the people he ruled during this time. He was accused of conniving with customhouse officials in schemes of extortion and blackmail and even of profiting by their maladministration. In spite of opposition at home, Berkeley secured in 1661 the election of a House of Burgesses that was of his liking and he kept them in power fifteen years, refusing to order another election. (Source: Wikipedia, “Virginia Cavaliers” )
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The Seal of Virginia after the Restoration of Charles II of England. This image is in the public domain and was created in 1894.
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Thomas Mason and Ann French
Thomas Mason was born about 1600 and he and Ann French had three children, the most notable being George “the Cavalier” Mason whose descendants settled at Gunston Hall Plantation in Stafford, Virginia. Thomas Mason of Shropshire, England and his wife Johanna Leighton had two sons, both born in England. Rev. Thomas Mason married Helena Batchelder and their daughter Mary Jane married Richard Dummer of Newbury, Essex, Massachusetts. The other son Richard married Judith and their sons George, William and Thomas left from Pershore in Worcestershire, England for Virginia and eventually settled in Stafford County. George Mason was known as "the Cavalier". Major John Mason, the military commander of the War with the Pequots was according to most sources the son of Richard Mason and Alice Butlyn, but the two Richard Masons do not seem to be the same person. There may be a common connection in England but that connection is not known.
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John Mason of Barbados might have belonged to either family line, which means John Golding who was traveling with him might have belonged to either the Virginia or New England line of the Golding family as well.
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Rev. John Gauden wrote a letter to Lord Cornwallis
There were in essence two different lines of the Mason family, and it is difficult to determine from which line the John Mason who was traveling with John Golding and Edward Bacon belonged. To make matters even more convoluted, as if there were not enough men named John Golding in the various narratives, Dr. Charles Gaulden includes even one more in his book The Gaulden, Gauldin, Gaulding Family History.
From page 16:
"One interesting family tradition passed to me concerns the Gaulden family and England. The tradition is that the first American Gaulden was working for the government of England and fled to America due to persecution. I cannot verify this tradition though I do see numerous government leaders named "Gauden" (notice no "L") I found a letter written from a Rev. John Gauden to Lord Cornwallis. The letter involves a complaint of persecution. This may be a different family all together, though the name spelling is very close."
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John Golding of Barbados, John Goulding of Huntington, New York, John Golding of Essex, Virginia, John Golding of Burnham, Essex and Rev. John Gauden of England. Actually, it's quite possible if not probable that there was someone named John Golding who might have had privilege to write to Lord Cornwallis but as to the date of that letter, it is not given. To provide the date would have been very helpful! Alas, I also wish a reference had been given but it was not. As I hold that it was Thomas "of Poslingford" Golding of the Suffolk line of the Golding family of England who was the "Clerk" mentioned as the co-executor, along with Richard Nykke, the Bishop of Norwich in the will of Sir William Cornwallis, then (another theory, not confirmed) Rev. John Gauden is probably related to him.
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As has already been mentioned, I have found several references related to Captain Peter Goulding that state he was a "descendant of Thomas Goulding or Golding, clerk of the Bishop of Norfolk." I have reason to believe that Bishop was Richard Nykke (or Nix), and I present the information that leads me to that conclusion in the section related to Rev. Thomas Goulding and Peter Goulding, his supposed son. The family connections are intricate and convoluted, nevertheless it is known that John Jegon was also a Bishop of Norwich, born about 1550 and died 13 March 1618 in Aylsham, Norfolk, England. He was not the man who is mentioned in the will of Lord Cornwallis. He married Dorothy Vaughn. Her first husband was Sir Charles Cornwallis of Broome Hall in Oatley, Suffolk, England. He was the son of Sir Thomas Cornwallis and Ann Jemingham.
Bishop John Jegon and Dorothy Vaughn had a daughter Dorothy Jegon and she married Robert IV "of Otley" Gosnold. The Gosnold family was closed connected to the branch of the Golding family of Suffolk that I believe is the branch of the Golding family that Louis Thorn Golding referred to as related to Arthur Golding, the translator. William "the Clergyman" Goulding and his son John of Huntington Golding were therefore distant cousins of Arthur Golding.
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