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My Golden Grandparents
My Golden grandparents -- my father's parents -- are:
- John Wesley Golden; born 3 Jan 1874, Calhoun County, AL; died 15
Sep 1933, Calhoun County, AL.
- Mary Bennie Johnson; born 22 Aug 1876, Cleburne County, AL; died 3
May 1969, Anniston, Calhoun County, AL.
- They were married 26 May 1894 in Heflin, Cleburne County, AL.
Their children
My father's parents had 13 children:
- Clarence Harleston Golden (1895 - 1963)
- Carl Webster Golden (1898-1919)
- Howard Lee Golden (1900 - ???)
- Bennie Pearl Golden (1902 - 1983)
- Paul Golden (1904 - ???)
- Harry Golden ( Feb - June 1906)
- Ernest Edgar Golden (my father; 1908 - 1966)
- Mable LeClaire Golden (1910 - 1999)
- James Huston Golden (Sep 1913 - May 1915)
- Louis Leon Golden (22 Mar - 8 Apr 1915) Twin with Nellie.
- Nellie Golden (22 Mar - 23 Mar 1915) Twin with Louis.
- Alvis Fulton Golden (1916 - 1981)
- Homer Floyed Golden (1919 - 1990)
Golden Family Photo, circa 1910
At some point in the early 1900's my Golden grandparents moved from Calhoun
County, Alabama, to near Hico, Louisiana. Here is a photo of the family at
their home in Louisiana.

Photo of Golden Family at their home near Hico,
Claiborne Parish, Louisiana. Undated. We have analyzed this photo
several times, each time trying to estimate the ages of the children in an
attempt to determine when the photo was made. The adults are John
Wesley Golden (father, b. Jan 3, 1872; d. Sep 14, 1933; far left) and Mary
Bennie Johnson Golden (mother; b. Aug 22, 1875, d. May 3, 1969; far right).
As of July 2016, this is our best estimate as to who the children are:
Based on dates of birth and apparent ages
of children, we believe the children are (L - R): Homer (born Nov 25, 1919;
leaning on father's knee); Mable (b. Sep 16, 1910); Paul (b. May 24, 1904);
Ernest (b. Aug 16, 1908); Alvis (b. Apr 15, 1916; standing next to his mother).
Assuming our estimate is correct, the photo likely was made in the early winter
of 1921-22 (possibly early winter 1922-23), when Homer, the youngest child,
would have been two (or three) years old.
1910 Census, Claiborne Parish, Louisiana; Police
Jury Ward 8, Lisbon Village; 3 & 4 May 1910. Census form states they lived on
“Lisbon – Hico Road.”
|
Age |
Place of birth |
Father POB |
Mother POB |
Ocupation |
Date of Birth |
Date of Death |
Golden, John W. |
38 |
Alabama |
Alabama |
S. Carolina |
Farmer |
1874 |
1933 |
Mary B. |
34 |
Alabama |
Alabama |
Georgia |
|
1876 |
1969 |
Clarence H. |
14 |
Alabama |
Alabama |
Alabama |
Farm laborer |
1895 |
1963 |
Carl W. |
11 |
Alabama |
Alabama |
Alabama |
Farm laborer |
1898 |
1919 |
Howard L. |
9 |
Alabama |
Alabama |
Alabama |
|
1900 |
?? |
Pearl |
7 |
Alabama |
Alabama |
Alabama |
|
1902 |
1983 |
Paul |
5 |
Alabama |
Alabama |
Alabama |
|
1904 |
?? |
Earnest E. (sic) |
2 |
Louisiana |
Alabama |
Alabama |
|
1908 |
1966 |
Here are some interesting items in this photo.
- The family is dressed in their best clothes. They may have
arranged with a traveling photographer to make the family portrait.
- The photo probably was made in the winter -- note that some of
the trees have lost their leaves, and, there's a BIG stack of firewood on
the left side of the photo running from the house to the edge of the photo.
The trees that still have foliage could be cedar trees (common, evergreen),
or, oak trees that do not drop their leaves until late winter.
Here are photos of the parents -- my grandparents -- that were cropped and
blown up from this photo.

LEFT: John Wesley Golden, my grandfather, with my
uncle, Homer Golden, leaning on his knee. RIGHT: Mary
Bennie Johnson Golden ("Granny Golden")
My Golden Grandparents in the Federal Census Records
John Wesley Golden
and Mary Bennie Johnson (Golden) family census records
1900 Census; Precinct 13, Calhoun County, Alabama; 1
June 1900
|
DOB |
Place
of birth |
Father
POB |
Mother
POB |
Ocupation |
Golden, John W. |
Jan 1872 |
Alabama |
Alabama |
S. Carolina |
- illegible - |
Mary B. |
Aug 1876 |
Alabama |
Alabama |
Georgia |
|
Clarence H. |
May 1892 |
Alabama |
Alabama |
Alabama |
|
Carl W. |
July 1898 |
Alabama |
Alabama |
Alabama |
|
Howard L. |
Jan 1900 |
Alabama |
Alabama |
Alabama |
|
1910 Census, Claiborne Parish, Louisiana; Police
Jury Ward 8, Lisbon Village; 3 & 4 May 1910
|
Age |
Place
of birth |
Father
POB |
Mother
POB |
Ocupation |
Golden, John W. |
38 |
Alabama |
Alabama |
S. Carolina |
Farmer |
Mary B. |
34 |
Alabama |
Alabama |
Georgia |
|
Clarence H. |
14 |
Alabama |
Alabama |
Alabama |
Farm laborer |
Carl W. |
11 |
Alabama |
Alabama |
Alabama |
Farm laborer |
Howard L. |
9 |
Alabama |
Alabama |
Alabama |
|
Pearl |
7 |
Alabama |
Alabama |
Alabama |
|
Paul |
5 |
Alabama |
Alabama |
Alabama |
|
Earnest E. (sic) |
2 |
Louisiana |
Alabama |
Alabama |
|
Ernest Edgar Golden, my father, born in Louisiana,
1908. Note that Paul, age 5 in May 1910 was born in Alabama 24 May 1904
while Ernest (Earnest E.) was born 16 August 1908 in Louisiana. These
dates and places suggest the family moved from Alabama to Louisiana between May
1904 and August 1908.
1920 Census, Claiborne Parish, Louisiana, 22 January
1920
|
Age |
Place
of birth |
Father
POB |
Mother
POB |
Ocupation |
Golden, John W. |
46 |
Alabama |
Alabama |
S. Carolina |
Farmer |
Mary B. |
44 |
Alabama |
Alabama |
Georgia |
|
Clarence H. |
24 |
Alabama |
Alabama |
Alabama |
Laborer |
Howard L. |
20 |
Alabama |
Alabama |
Alabama |
Laborer |
Paul |
15 |
Alabama |
Alabama |
Alabama |
|
Ernest |
11 |
Louisiana |
Alabama |
Alabama |
|
Mable |
9 |
Louisiana |
Alabama |
Alabama |
|
Alvis |
3 yr; .9 mos |
Louisiana |
Alabama |
Alabama |
|
Homer |
2 months |
Louisiana |
Alabama |
Alabama |
|
Address listed as “Lisbon – Hico Road,” house number
possibly 206.
No longer in household:
- Carl, born 1898, age 22
- Pearl, born 1902, age 18. Pearl appears in the 1920 census records
with her husband, Virgil Napper, and her age at marriage is listed as 17.
It appears, then, she was married shortly before this census was taken.
- Note, also, the ages of Clarence and Howard -- 24 and 20 respectively.
Homer is 2 months. Because the family photo above depicts a 2- or
3-year-old Homer, then, when this photo was made, Clarence and Howard would
have been 26-27 and 22-23, likely gone from the home with their own
families.
1930 Census; Precinct 15, Calhoun County, Anniston
City, Alabama; 3 April 1930
|
Age |
Place
of birth |
Father
POB |
Mother
POB |
Ocupation |
Place
of work |
Golden, John W. |
58 |
Alabama |
Alabama |
S. Carolina |
Collector |
Furniture store |
Mary B. |
54 |
Alabama |
Alabama |
Georgia |
|
|
Clarence H. |
35 |
Alabama |
Alabama |
Alabama |
Meat cutter |
?? store |
Ernest E. |
22 |
Louisiana |
Alabama |
Alabama |
Waiter |
Restaurant |
Mable |
19 |
Louisiana |
Alabama |
Alabama |
|
|
Alvis |
13 |
Louisiana |
Alabama |
Alabama |
|
|
Homer |
10 |
Louisiana |
Alabama |
Alabama |
|
|
Gatha |
35 |
Arkansas |
Kentucky |
Arkansas |
|
Daughter-in-law |
Address listed as Wilmer Avenue, house number possibly 107
No longer in household:
- Howard, born 1900, age 30
- Paul, born 1904, age 26
Added to household:
- Gatha Hulett, born August 1894, wife of Clarence; age
at marriage – 28 (1922).
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