Collection Details:

Collection Name and Number: John Reid Golding, II, Letter (Z/1855).
Creator/Collector: John Reid Golding, II.
Date(s): February 15, 1869.
Size: 0.10 cubic feet.
Language(s): English.
Processed by: Michael Hennen, 1989.
Provenance: Gift of Lillian E. Golding Lucius, of Jackson, MS, on February 23, 1989; Z/U/1989.009.
Repository: Archives & Records Services Division, Mississippi Department of Archives & History.

 

Rights and Access:

Access restrictions: Collection is open for research.

Publication rights: Copyright assigned to the MDAH. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to Reference Services. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the MDAH as the owner of the physical items and as the owner of the copyright in items created by the donor. Although the copyright was transferred by the donor, the respective creator may still hold copyright in some items in the collection. For further information, contact Reference Services.

Copyright notice: This material may be protected by copyright law (Title 17, U.S. Code).

Preferred citation: John Reid Golding, II, Letter (Z/1855), Mississippi Department of Archives & History.

 

Biography:

John Reid Golding, II

John Reid Golding, II, was born to John Reid Golding, I (1790-1824), and Clementina Brown Golding (1792-1819) on December 20, 1811, in Athens, Clarke County, Georgia. In Laurens, South Carolina, he married Elizabeth Ann Ligon (1810-1884) on January 4, 1829, and they had thirteen children: Clementina Brown Golding (1830-1862), Virginia Ann Golding (1832-1833), John Reid Golding, III (1833-1834), Viola Bryan Golding (1835-1847), Elvira Jane Golding (1837-1847), Joseph Ligon Golding (1839-1864), Robert Foster Golding (1841-1865), John Reid Golding, III (1844-1919), Susan Woodson Golding (1846-1915), Mary Isabella Golding (1849-1869), Henry Laurens Golding (1851-1896), Thomas Hill Golding (1853-1891), and Sarah "Sallie" Miller Golding (1855-1939). 

Golding settled in Choctaw County, Mississippi, in 1839 at the age of 28, in an area that is now part of Webster County. He became an itinerant Baptist minister in 1844, and he later pastored the Bethany Church near Slate Springs, Calhoun County, Mississippi.  He also pastored at the churches Harmony, Bethel, Fellowship, Concord, and Mulberry for a number of years. Golding enlisted as a private in the Thirty-third Mississippi Infantry, Company G, of the Confederate Army on April 27, 1863. He was captured at Vicksburg, on July 4, 1863, and later paroled. After the Civil War, Golding returned to his home in Choctaw County. It has been suggested that Golding may have run for the United States Presidency in 1868, but no evidence has been found to substantiate this claim. Golding died on August 28, 1869, and he was buried in the Roberts Cemetery in Webster County.

Caroline Matilda Brown Golding

Caroline Matilda Brown married Anthony Foster Golding on September 4, 1816, in Laurens District, South Carolina. Caroline is the daughter of Christina Morgan Neeley (1753-1814) and James Roberts Brown (1751-1805), and Anthony is the brother of John Reid Golding, I (the father of the letter author). Anthony and John are the sons of Isabella Reid (1759-1822) and Anthony Foster Golding (1746-1801).
 

Scope and Content Note:

After the Civil War the imposition of federal military rule enabled the Republican Party to quickly dominate Mississippi politics, and by January 1868 a convention of mainly Republican delegates had assembled in Jackson to draft a new state constitution. Although there were a number outspoken Union League radicals at the convention, the majority of the delegates initially favored a moderate state constitution that would be acceptable to most white citizens. Unfortunately, as the convention progressed the vehement attacks of conservative newspaper editors caused many of the moderate or uncommitted delegates to join with the more radical elements at the convention. The result was a new state constitution that contained a number of provisions that were considered objectionable by moderate and conservative members of the electorate. By a narrow margin, the new state constitution was rejected in a referendum held in June 1868. It was not ratified until 1869 when citizens were permitted to vote separately on the objectionable provisions. Mississippi re-entered the Union in 1870.

The letter dated February 15, 1869, written by John Reid Golding, II, of Choctaw County, to his aunt Caroline Matilda Brown Golding (1793-1883), and his cousins Clementina Golding Philips (1818-1881), Caroline "Carrie" Golding (1837-1900) and Pamela "P." Golding (1839-1914) of Crosshill, Laurens District, South Carolina. The letter provides important documentation for the economic and political history of Mississippi during Reconstruction. In the letter Golding mentioned traveling to Jackson, to publicly denounce the ratification of the 1868 state constitution. He also described the unlawful destruction of property and the expropriation of provisions by various Choctaw County members of the Union League whom he called "Feegees," "Rogues," and "Tories." Golding even threatened to kill some of them if they attempted to take any of his provisions. There are also a number of references in the letter documenting the many economic hardships that Golding and his family faced as they struggled to rebuild their lives in the aftermath of war. Additional references in the letter describe the failing health of Golding.

A literal interpretation of the following passage from the Golding letter would seem to indicate that he actually ran for the United States Presidency in 1868: "But I was so badly beaten in the Presidential election that I have give up saying anything of any consequence." However, it seems far more likely that Golding was speaking metonymically regarding the defeat of his candidate, Democrat Horatio Seymour, by Republican Ulysses S. Grant.

 

Series Identification:

Series 1: Letter, John Reid Golding, II, to Caroline Matilda Golding, February 15, 1869 (original), and envelope.

The letter is six pages long, written on both sides of three sheets of paper. The paper is fragile and at some point someone attempted to mend the creases and tears with tape, which left a dark stain in these areas.  The accompanying envelope has a postmark, "Cadaretta, Miss., June 16" and is addressed to "Mrs. C. M. Golding, Crosshill, Laurens Dist., S. Carolina."  There is some writing in pencil on the envelope, however it is difficult to read.

Series 2: Letter, John Reid Golding, II, to Caroline Matilda Golding, February 15, 1869 (transcript).

The transcript of the letter is three pages long. Included on the third page of the transcript is a "Note from R.E.D.: He died August 28, 1869."  The transcript also includes a drawing, possibly from stationary, of a butterfly, two bees, and a sunflower.  It is unknown who produced the transcription of the letter, nor when it was created. 

 

Box List:

Box 1, Folder 1: Letter, John Reid Golding, II, to Caroline Matilda Golding, February 15, 1869 (original), and envelope.
Box 1, Folder 2: Letter, John Reid Golding, II, to Caroline Matilda Golding, February 15, 1869 (transcript).