George Lullen Giddens, a Merchant from North Carolina

According to his Confederate service record, George Lullen Giddens was tall (6'1/2"), earned his living as a merchant, and was born in Wayne County, North Carolina. 

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. 

Was Louis D. Giddens' Genealogy Research Preserved?

Charles A. Giddens
1865-1958
Charles was born in Giddensville, 
graduated from Jonesboro High School, 
worked as a postmaster in Giddensville, 
worked as a milkman in NYC, 
and owned stores in Crew VA, 
Phillipsburg NJ, and St. Louis MO. 
Before he retired to Sedalia MO, he
purchased and ran a hotel in Edinburg TX. 

The letter below is a transcription of a letter written in 1952 by my great-grandfather, Charles Allen Giddens. The letter was written to his half-sister, Lena Letisha Giddens Byrd who was looking for family information. The letter was dated June 7, 1952. Lina passed away on August 20 of that same year. 

In the letter, Charles mentions talking to Louis Giddens of Goldsboro, North Carolina several years prior to this letter.  Louis's hobby was genealogy.  

On page 243 of The Heritage of Wayne County, North Carolina, Arthur Fountain Smoot wrote about the Giddens family. His sources were L. D. Giddens Sr.'s diaries, L. D. Giddens family Bible, Goldsboro newspapers and personal interviews. 

Louis D. Giddens, Sr. died in 1909. Where can I find Louis Giddens' Bible, diaries, and other research? 

June 7- 52

Dear Lina your letter of 1 / 2 received    Glad to hear from you and to learn where your Fla residence is located.  My son Charles lives at Hollywood Fla which is not far from your place.  We were down to see him and Louise his wife in 1946. That was before we left St. Louis for Tex.  We were in Florida in 1928 and in 1939 and covered both east and west Fla, but in 46 we went by Deland , Sanford, Orlando Kissin then Okeechobie then around the lake.  Then on down to Hollywood.  We had quite a trip.  Geneology or family tree you wrote about I know a little which I learned from Louis Giddens of Goldsboro several years ago I knew nothing until he mentioned it to me that was his hobby.  The first known to come to this country were from Wales and they came over with lord Baltimore and landed in Baltimore, Md.  One of them drifted down to N.C. Wayne County and married a Miss Taylor I think her first name was Mary.  The next I know anything about was our grandfather Mitchell and his brother which was Louis Giddens' father both married sisters whos names was Britts.  Our grandmother was Laticha or something like that.  This is where you branch off and drop all except the Mitchell branch.  I was born Nov 22nd1865 at Giddensville Sampson Co NC You can get sisters history from Hugh and Pearl she was about two years younger than I.  My children are all dead but two Charles and Edith I do not know where Edith is Charles may be able to tell you if you write him his address is Hollywood Box 1042 Fla. Lucy my first wife was borned in Vermont and about three months younger than I, her last name was Glenn. Our great-grandfather was married when he was quite old and had two sons George Britt one of the boys used to visit us at Giddensville and we went to dances together around the Holliday.  He was about three or four years older than I was, he was a good sport.  Let me hear from you often and come to see us sometime.                           Love and best wishes                                Charles and Stella Giddens                                2005 E. Broadway Sedalia, MO. Charles A. Giddens wrote, "The first known to come to this country were from Wales and they came over with lord Baltimore and landed in Baltimore, Md.  One of them drifted down to N.C. Wayne County and married a Miss Taylor I think her first name was Mary.  The next I know anything about was our grandfather Mitchell and his brother which was Louis Giddens' father both married sisters whos names was Britts." My great-grandfather's story is similar to the one found in The Heritage of Wayne County, North Carolina (1982). Arthur Fountain Smoot wrote, "John Giddens was born in Maryland in 1755 and moved to Dobbs County in 1770 where he married Sarah Taylor."   My research shows that John fought in the American Revolution and received land in Wayne and Duplin Counties. At the time of his death in 1802, John lived in Wayne County. He and his wife had eight children. As described in the letter, two sons married Britt sisters. David married Sophia Britt and Mitchell married Letisha Britt. Louis D. Giddens was the son of David and Charles Giddens was the grandson of Mitchell.  Information about others mentioned in the letter can be found below.  Charles Allen Giddens was the son of Luellen Bradshaw and George L. Giddens and was born in Giddensville, Sampson County, North Carolina. His first wife was Mary Lucy Glynn and his second wife,  Estella Moyer Rosenberger. He mentioned his grandfather, Mitchell Giddens who was married to Letisha Britt (George Britt was her half-brother). Edith Giddens Davis Charles William Giddens His son, Charles William Giddens was living in Hollywood, Florida with his wife, Louise.  His daughter (and my grandmother), Edith Giddens Davis, was living in New York at the time he wrote the letter. Charles mentioned his nephew, Hugh, son of Frances "Frankie" Giddens and Warren Harper. Hugh and his wife, Pearl, lived in Texas.

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

© 2019

Sources

Family photographs and documents from the collection of Diana Bryan Quinn

“The Heritage of Wayne County, North Carolina, 1982: Wayne County Heritage Book Committee: Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming: Internet Archive.” https://archive.org/details/WayneCountyHeritageFamilyHistories/page/n249. Accessed 6 Apr. 2019.

#52ancestors Post Thirty-Six: Mitchell Giddens was a Shoemaker

August 4, 1834 - Sale of shoes, by Mitchell Giddens, as well as patching, mending,
and adding soles to shoes for Jesse Oates. This was found with other receipts
paid by the administrator of Jesse Oates' estate.

This week's writing prompt for #52ancestors is work.  I choose to write about Mitchell Giddens as one of the few documented facts about Mitchell is his occupation of shoemaker. 

December 25, 1833 - Sale of shoes, by Mitchell Giddens, as well as patching, mending,
and adding soles to shoes for John L. Clifton. 

According to a handwritten record from another family member's research, Mitchell was born on October 12, 1802, and died on December 18, 1852.  Dates for other family members have been accurate so I can only assume this is correct. I suspect these dates were copied from a Bible, but I may never know. 

Sunday's Obituary: Charles Allen Giddens

Found at Newspapers.com - Click here to view. 

Charles A. Giddens was my great-grandfather. The father of my grandmother, Edith. This obituary contains a few errors and didn't tell the whole story.  

Charles was the son of George L. Giddens and Luellen Bradshaw and was born in Giddensville, Sampson County, NC. George L. Giddens married Sarah Rich after the death of his first wife in 1890.  

In North Carolina, Charles worked in his father's store and was once postmaster in Giddensville. 

By 1891, Charles was in New York City where he delivered milk. He married Mary Lucy Glynn, my great-grandmother in Manhattan on March 31, 1891. 

By October of 1891, the Giddens family was living in Crew, Virginia where he owned or co-owned a dry goods and shoe store.

He left Crew, Virginia in 1894 and moved to Phillipsburg, New Jersey where he worked as a laborer in one of the many factories. 

From about 1898 and 1920, he owned a dry goods store in Phillipsburg . Around  1920, he divorced his first wife and in 1922, married Estella Moyer Rosenburger.  They relocated to St. Louis, Missouri where he opened a clothing store. 

Around 1946, Charles Giddens and family left Missouri to settle in Edinburg, Texas where Charles and Estella opened a hotel - The Giddens Hotel. 

By 1952, Charles was retired and living in Sedalia, Missouri where he died at the age of 92. 

Charles was preceded in death by his children Elizabeth, Warren, Florence, John, and Georgie. Edith, my grandmother, was living in New York and his son Charles lived in Florida.  Mrs. Roy Wilhite was his step-daughter - Margarette Rosenburger Wilhite. 

Diana

© 2012

Friday's Photo: Edith Giddens

This is my grandmother, Edith Giddens Davis. I assume that this is when she was still single as she looks so young.  Born in Phillipsburg, New Jersey, she was the daughter of Charles A. Giddens from Giddensville, NC and Mary Lucy Glynn from Putney, Vermont. 

Diana

© 2012

Giddensville

My grandmother’s maiden name was Giddens and her father's family was from Giddensville, North Carolina. According to Histopolis.com, Giddensville is an unincorporated populated place located in the Piney Grove Township of Sampson County, North Carolina. To see the location of Giddensville on a map, click here.

Although an unincorporated community can have a post office and be recognized as an acceptable place name for use in a mailing address, it does not have a have a governing body that can pass laws, levy taxes, and provide services. An unincorporated community is usually a group of people who live in and around a certain area and form a town.

The first mention of the town of Giddensville, in my research of deeds, business directories, and miscellaneous records, was in 1871.  However, as early as 1863, brothers, George L. Giddens and John W. Giddens owned land and businesses in the area later known as Giddensville.

August 18, 1863 - George sold 100.5 acres to James M. Lewis for $2050 (probably Confederate currency). The land is described as “a parcel of land where I now live . . . situated near the road leading from Clinton to Wayne County at the crossroads near J. W. Giddens place of distilling.” 

December 28, 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.” 

September 5, 1867 - George L. Giddens and Luellen E. Giddens sold 180 acres of land to Nancy Troublefield for $460. This sale included a portion of land at what was called "Giddens or Hugins Corner."

January 9, 1871 - A mortgage for $600 between George and Luellen Giddens and J. L. Stewart on land was described as " Near Giddensville between the home of P. B. Troublefield and the crossroads. On the road between Faison’s Depot and Giddensville.” 

1877-1878  -  According to Branson's NC Directory, farmers living in Giddensville were Charles Hines, Robert Bell, James Huggins, J. A. Oates, B. L. Scott, C. A. Oates, B. Brewer, Jesse Lane, James King, O.H. Darden, Alonzo Thompson, John Clifton, J. W. Giddens, and John K. Darden.

April 8, 1878  -  George L. and Luellen E. Giddens sold land to Henry Faison "on the road that leads from Giddensville to Faison's Depot and meets P. B. Troublefield's line."

1879 - W. L. Argue was paid $60 annually to take mail from Faison's Depot to Giddensville. He was to leave Faison's Depot at 1p.m. and arrive at Giddensville by 3p.m. each Saturday. He was to leave Giddensville each Saturday at 4 p.m. and arrive at Faison’s Depot by 6 p. m.  This was six miles each way.

March 10, 1880 - Zimri McDonald of Washington, DC accepted a contract to take mail from Faison's Depot to Giddensville and from Giddensville to Faison's Depot for $49 annually.

March 10, 1881 -  Sophia A. Pipkin, sister to George’s wife, Luellen, was the administratrix of her husband’s estate (William R. Pipkin). She was ordered to sell the property by the probate court in order “to make some assets.” George L. Giddens was the last and highest bidder.  The first tract is in Giddensville and was “the store lot” and it ends at the lot formerly called the D. C. Giddens Store.  The second tract is known as the William. R. Pipkin dwelling and was situated in Giddensville. It was on the north side of the King Branch and the east side of the road leading from Clinton to Goldboro.

1883 - George L. Giddens was on the Official Register of the United States as being the Postmaster in Giddensville.

1884 - In Branson's NC Directory, F. A. Clifton and H. J. Hines were listed as store owners in Giddensville.  J H Darden was the physician.

1889 - Charles A. Giddens received $188.95 yearly for serving as Postmaster of Giddensville.  His father, George L. Giddens, was the Postmaster at Faison where he received $464.77 yearly.

1890 - Giddensville had a population of twenty-five.  F. A. Clifton, G. L. Giddens, H. J. Hines, and Alonzo Thompson were owners of stores in Giddensville.   J. H. Darden was the town’s physician.

June 30, 1896 - Monroe Carson Giddens, of Giddensville, was listed, on a report of the commissioner of IRS as a distiller and/or owner of a distillery warehouse where spirits were kept.  

It doesn’t appear that Giddensville was named for one person and it is unknown who first dubbed this area Giddensville. More deed research might answer this question and, one other question - How did George L. and John W. Giddens obtain all that land in Giddensville?

Diana

Thank you to George Giddens for allowing me to use his Facebook profile picture of the Giddensville sign. 

© 2011, copyright Diana Quinn