Mack Golding was born on Thomas Mallard’s plantation as a slave, and became free when the Union Army passed through Liberty County on foraging raids in December 1864. When the Army soldiers came through, he said, he was living in his house at Arcadia Plantation owned by Robert Mallard, who had married a Jones.
Through the U.S. Southern Claims Commission, he applied for $340.50 in restitution for his property stolen by the foragers: two mares, 9 cattle, 5 hogs, 30 head of fowls, clothing and blankets. After calling Henry Stevens, Joseph Quarterman and Lyman B. Mallard as witnesses, he was allowed $320 of his claim.
See the full transcript of his claim at: https://theyhadnames.net/2020/05/14/mack-golding-southern-claims-commission/.
He testified that he worked as a cooper, and through his pay for that work he was able to purchase poultry, hogs, and a mare from which he raised two colts, all three stolen by the Union soldiers. In 1873, he said, he was living on land he had purchased from Thomas Mallard’s heirs, and still owed $40 to Mallard’s grandson for this land. He said he had a wife and one boy, his only child.
In testifying that Golding had owned horses, Joseph Quarterman said, “It was a common thing at that time for colored men to own horses & buggies. On Sunday you could hardly tell which was colored & which white for the horses & buggies.”
He described Golding as a hard working and industrious man, a “smart fellow,” and said that if anyone had tried to take Golding’s property, “his master would intercede & prosecute him.”
In the 1870 Liberty County, Georgia, census, Mack Golding was living in subdivision 181 with wife Chloe and his 15-year-old son John [1]. Their surname was spelled Golden. [In Liberty County, the Golden and Golding surnames were used interchangeably.] He was said to be 40 years old and a farmer. Chloe was listed as being 25 years old, so it is not clear if she was John’s mother, or if perhaps the age was a mistake. Mack had previously been enslaved by Thomas Mallard, whose plantation was a few miles from Midway Congregational Church, and when Mallard’s estate was divided in 1861, Mack was in Lot #7, which went to Mallard’s daughter Mary Emeline Mallard, through her husband Bartholomew Austin Busby [2]. Mack was a member of the Midway Congregational Church, and in 1859, received permission to marry [3].
In the 1861 Thomas Mallard estate inventory [2], there were listings in family order, and it appears that Mack was part of one of these. If so, his mother was Chloe, who was 50 years old at that time, and he was brother to Adam (19), William (18), Peter (16), Joshua (12), and Harry (10). Joshua (19) and Harry (15) Golden were living with Chloe Golden (60) in the 1870 census, and she was next door to William Golding.
In 1878-1879, Mack paid taxes on 40 acres of land valued at $40 in Liberty County’s 15th District. He also paid taxes on $55 worth of horses & stock, $3 of household & kitchen items, $10 in plantation tools. The total value of his property was $108 + $1 poll tax. [4]
Mack died sometime in 1878. On August 5, 1878, his wife Chloe Golding applied for and was granted letters of administration for his estate, with Harry Stevens and James Miller acting as her securities [5]. On July 8, 1879, Abram Houston applied for and was granted temporary letters of administration, with Pompey Houston acting as security [6]. Houston had married Chloe, with J.T.H. Waite performing the ceremony, on January 29, 1879 [7], and thus presumably took over responsibility for the estate as her husband. (For more about Abram Houston, who was also enslaved by Thomas Mallard, see this TheyHadNames.net research report.] On October 2, 1879, Houston, acting as administrator of Mack Golding’s estate, gave Mack’s son John $73.21 and Chloe $73.21 for their shares of Mack’s claim against the U.S. government [the Southern Claims Commission petition] [8].
Chloe lived until at least 1910, when she was listed in the 1910 Liberty County census as a 50-year-old widow, who had borne three children, one still living. She owned her own farm [9]. Researching Mack’s son John is more complicated, as there was another John Golding in Liberty County born around the same time.
[1] 1870 U.S. Census, Liberty County, Georgia, population schedule, Subdivision 181, p. 49, dwelling #472, family #471, enumerated on November 20, 1870, by W.S. Norman, Mack Golden, digital image, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com: accessed 5/14/2020).
[2] Liberty County Court of Ordinary, Old General Book “C”, 1850-1853, p. 433-437, Estate Appraisement and Division of Thomas Mallard; digital image, Ancestry.com, “Georgia Probate Records, 1743-1990,” Liberty County, within “Miscellaneous Probate Records 1850-1853 vol C and L,” image #266. Record summarized and put online at TheyHadNames.net (https://theyhadnames.net/2018/07/08/liberty-county-estate-inventory-division-thomas-mallard/)
[3] Midway Congregational Church Records, digital images, FamilySearch.org (accessed 5/14/2020); Mack belonging to Mr. T. Mallard given permission to marry, August, 1859, in the quarterly session records.
[4] Georgia, Property Tax Digests, 1793-1892, Liberty County, Georgia, 1878-1885, 15th District, Mack Golding; digital image, Georgia, Property Tax Digests, 1793-1892, Liberty County, Georgia, 1878-1885, 15th District, Image #82, (https://www.ancestry.com: accessed 5/14/2020).
[5] Liberty County Court of Ordinary, Letters of Administrations, 1875-1883, p. 23, Abram Houston granted letters of administration on estate Mack Golding; digital image, Ancestry.com, “Georgia Wills and Probate Records, 1742-1992,” Liberty County, within “Letters of Administration, 1801-1955; Temporary Letters of Administrations, 1883-1956” image #193.
[6] Liberty County Court of Ordinary, Letters of Administrations, 1875-1883, p. 16, Chloe Golding granted letters of administration on estate Mack Golding; digital image, Ancestry.com, “Georgia Wills and Probate Records, 1742-1992,” Liberty County, within “Letters of Administration, 1801-1955; Temporary Letters of Administrations, 1883-1956” image #186.
[7] Liberty County, Georgia, Court of Ordinary Marriages White & Colored, Book A, 1819-1896, Abram Houston and Mrs. Chloe Golding, Liberty County, Georgia, 29 January 1879, by J.T.H. Waite. Digital image, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com: accessed 9/17/2019): “Georgia, Marriage Records From Select Counties, 1828-1978,” “Marriages (White and Colored), Book A, 1819-1896.”
[8] Liberty County Superior Court, “Deeds & Mortgages v. S 1877-1882,” p. 400, Abram Houston to John Golding and Chloe Golding; digital image, FamilySearch.org, “Deeds & Mortgages, v. S 1877-1882” within “Deeds and mortgages, 1777-1920; general index to deeds and mortgages, 1777-1958,” image 243, (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C3QP-RSKJ-S?cat=292358, accessed 5/14/2020)
[9] 1910 U.S. Census, Liberty County, Georgia, population schedule, Militia District 1476, enumeration district 122, p. 3, line number 80, house #64, dwelling #64, digital image, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com: accessed 5/14/2020).