In honor of Independence Day I thought it would be fitting to remember ancestors who served in the Revolutionary War. The first person who comes to mind is still a bit of a mystery. Not much is known about this individual other than he lived in Virginia, served in the war, got married to a lady called Peggy (maiden name unknown), had 5 children, and died in what is now the state of Kentucky. He is important to me because I bare his namesake " Golden". His name written was "Golding" and some way within the next generation the name evolved into "Golden". Perhaps the change was based on pronunciation or illiteracy, maybe they just thought it sounded better without the "ing", just a thought. Where William Golding, born in Scotland in April 1760, has no solid proof, only the date can be considered documentation even though nobody has found any birth or christening record at all it is stated by William in his pension application. The application mentions nothing about place of birth or the name of his parents. His place of birth was based on a finding that told of a diary belonging to William's great grandson that said that William was born in Scotland, I have yet to see this diary. He died in Boone, Kentucky on September 6, 1835...end of story, for now.
Next is another ancestor by the name of William Burke. Burke was born in Stafford, Virginia in 1752. He enlisted in the sixth regiment of the Continental Army in the spring of 1778 and served until Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown. He died on May 10, 1803 in Farquier, Virginia.
Here is a link to Findagrave.com for his memorial: William Burke's Memorial . There is a picture there of when William was honored in 1991 for being a member of The Culpeper Minute Men.
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| Document For Susannah's Widow Pension |
Susannah collected a widow's pension until her death in 1843. She is buried in the Burke/Shaw Cemetery at Palmer's Crossroads, Farquier County, Virginia.
