George was born on September 12, 1840. His parents were Mitchell Giddens and Letisha Britt. The 1840 census places the Mitchell Giddens family as living in the Buck Swamp District of Wayne County. Mitchell was a shoemaker and the son of John Giddens and his wife, Sally. Letisha was the daughter of William C. Britt and Patience Bell.
In 1850, the Giddens family was living in Duplin County and it was reported that on December 18, 1852, Mitchell Giddens, father of George, died. His burial place is currently unknown. George had siblings John William, Sarah Jane, James Thomas, Patience Elizabeth, Henry Clay, David Crockett, Mary Susan, Bryant Rustus (also seen as Rustus Westly), and Sophia Alice.
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| These two images were copied from an eight-page document written by George's daughter, Lina, sometime before her death in 1952. It is as if she copied these from family Bibles. Is there a Bible with this information? If so, who has the Bible? |
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George must have lived right in town. Also found living nearby were several merchants, teachers, a dance master, a physician, and a lawyer. |
There were many photographers in North Carolina at that time and many possibilities. Did George work in a shop or did he travel throughout the area as a photographer? Did he own the business? George had a personal estate valued at $500. Where did he get this money? In today's money, that is over $15,000.
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| For almost the next 50 years, George can be found owning dry goods or grocery stores in Sampson, Duplin, and Harnett counties. This receipt was written in 1861. Was this from a business owned by George Giddens or did he work for another merchant? |
George enlisted in the Confederate army at Clinton in 1861. He served in the 20th North Carolina Infantry Regiment along with soldiers from the counties of Brunswick, Columbus, Cabarrus, Duplin, and Sampson. On July 1, 1862, George was wounded at Malvern Hill near Richmond, Virginia.
George again served in the Confederate Army in 1864 when he was elected Captain of the 3rd Regiment North Carolina Detailed Men. This appeared to have been a type of local reserve unit.
Drusilla Rhodes sometime in the early 1860s. They had three, possibly four, children. Charles Allen, Georgiana, and Frances "Frankie" were found on the eight-page family list above and also mentioned in a family letter written by George's daughter, Dorothy Giddens. However, at the Troublefield Cemetery, only a grave for Ella Giddens, daughter of E. and G. L. Giddens is marked. It is not known if Ella could be Georgiana or if George and Luellen had a fourth child. It should be noted that both the family list and the family letter mention Georgiana as only living for one year while Ella died at age five.
George was regularly found buying and selling land and, in addition to owning stores, he farmed and was frequently an appointed postmaster. An 1864 tax record indicates George and his brother John were manufacturers in Sampson County. Land records tell a little more. In 1865, John W. Giddens sold land to J. O. Clifton for $10 described as “Land lying near the crossroads, Giddens store, and steam mill and turpentine distillery." I suspect the manufacturing occurred at the turpentine distillery. That same year, John and George purchased the steam mill from J. O. Cliften.
crossroads." It eventually became known as Giddensville in Sampson County. Many say that George and his father were born in Giddensville and that George's father, Mitchell, and grandfather, John, are buried in Troublefield Cemetery at Giddensville but that is not correct. George's Confederate service record indicates that he was born in Wayne County. Family did not live on this land prior to George and John living there in the 1860s. When George and his brother first had buildings on the land described, it was known as Hudgins Corner and later, sometimes called Giddens Corner. It was only between 1867 and 1871 that the area around the crossroads became known as Giddensville.
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| Luellen's grave at the Troublefied Cemetery in 1998. Elizabeth can still be seen across the top. Elizabeth may have been her actual first name or possibly her middle name. Her name has been written as Luellen E. in deed records. This is my aunt, George and Luellen's great-granddaughter pointing to George's name. |
Luellen Giddens died on September 2, 1890. The family was living in Faison in Duplin County. She was buried in the Troublefield Cemetery in Giddensville. According to a 1939 survey, the following information was found on the stone:
Elizabeth Giddens
Jan. 14, 1841 - Sept. 2, 1890
wife of G. L. Giddens
George may have owned two stores when Luellen died as he was the postmaster in Faison while his son, Charles, was postmaster
at a store in Giddensville.
Frankie may have been living at home as she did not marry until 1894.
The year following Luellen's death, George married Sarah Rich, a young woman living in Kenansville in Duplin County and niece to daughter Frankie's future husband, Warren Harper. Sarah's mother died on January 11, 1890, leaving her husband, Alonza Rich, with eight children and the youngest just one-month-old.
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| George's mother, Letisha M. Britt, died on February 3, 1895, and is buried in the Troublefield Cemetery in Giddensville. |
A family letter written by Dorothy and signed by both Dorothy and her sister, Elizabeth, gave a touching portrayal of the children's life prior to the death of their mother.
Dorothy wrote, We always had prayer together before breakfast and Papa came home from his store - and joined us - and after prayer - we would go to breakfast- at night before we children went to bed - she mama would take one of us at a time - youngest first - rock us - sing to us - then we would say our prayer at her knee and she would then tuck us in bed - and take the next one. It might sound corny to you - but we loved her rocking and song. Since I have grown up - everyone who knew my mother - said what a wonderful person she was - and how she always found good in everyone.
Dorothy wrote this about George, Everyone who knew my father that I ever met - said he was a fine and good man - and always helped anyone who needed or asked for it.
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| Sarah is buried in Faison Cemetery beside her father. |
On May 3, 1909, George, age 69 and living in Harnett County, applied for a pension for his service in the Confederate army. He described how he was wounded in the war stating that he was hit on his right side by a "ball" that penetrated and came out his back. George wrote that he had rheumatism, shortness of breath, and difficulty walking. A physician added that George was extremely heavy and had a persistent cough but was able to do some work in his small grocery store.
The 1910 United States Census of Dunn in Harnett County listed George as the head of household and living with him were Oscar, Lina, and Elizabeth. However, Elizabeth was also listed as living with Willis and Mattie Strickland. Mattie Bradshaw Strickland was Elizabeth's first cousin as she was the daughter of George's sister Sarah Jane "Sally" Bradshaw. Both Sally and her daughter's family lived in Dunn as well.
George was last found in North Carolina on February 2, 1911, when it was reported that he visited the town of Faison. His son, Charles, was visiting from Phillipsburg, New Jersey on August 17, 1911, and was reported to spend a day in Faison. Was he visiting to help his father? Maybe to accompany him to Texas? George went to Texas sometime between 1911 and his death in 1914 to live with his daughter, Frankie, and her family in Christine, Texas. Frankie and her family left North Carolina for Texas in 1906.
George's younger children remained in North Carolina. Oscar joined the Navy on June 9, 1911. His children, Mitchell and Dorothy, were living at the Methodist Orphanage and Sarah Elizabeth lived with Willis and Mattie Strickland. Fourteen-year-old Lina was reported to be living with George on the census in 1910, but it is unknown as to where she was living when he left for Texas.
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| Aileen Williams Trexler, daughter of Lina Letisha Giddens, placing flowers at the grave of her grandfather, George Lullen Giddens in Christine, Texas. |
George died on June 26, 1914, and is buried at Christine City Cemetery in Christine, Atascosa County, Texas.
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George Lullen Giddens was my second great-grandfather. I am a descendant of his son, Charles. My grandmother, Edith Giddens, was the daughter of Charles Allen Giddens and Mary Lucy Glynn. I have many posts about this Giddens family on my blog and am planning quite a few more. I am always interested in new information and family documents and photos. Extended family names include Bradshaw, Rich, Clifton, and Britt. Here are a few of my many Giddens family posts.
If you want to know more about the families I research, click here to like my Facebook page where you will see each post and other genealogical finds.
Diana
© 2020 Sources
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