The Elusive Wife of Bartholomew Hadden (1756-1828)

As of the writing of this article, the wife of Bartholomew has not been located in any records. She is unknown. Some individuals, anxious to have solved the riddle of exactly who his wife was, have published the name of Catherine Gholston with a marriage date to Bartholomew of 1801 in Virginia. Unfortunately, the likelihood of this being accurate is extremely low. As we take a more detailed look at the evidence for this assumed union, it becomes clear why this information is incorrect.

Bartholomew’s children were all born before 1801, although this fact alone does not remove Gholston as a candidate, it just makes it much less probable. Furthermore, in Families and Descendants in America of Golsa, Golson, Gholson, Gholston, Also Goldston, Golston, etc. / with pedigrees of families in Great Britain and genealogies of allied families in America by James Mallery Black, it is “Bartholomew Hayden” who was born in Virginia in 1776 who married a Catherine Gholston in 1801. This particular Bartholomew Hayden died in Kentucky in 1845. The Bartholomew Hadden of our line died in Green Township, Indiana County, Pennsylvania before May of 1828 and there is no mention of Catherine in his will, nor is there a wife listed as an heir to his property in deeds written after his death. Because of this evidence, it is concluded Catherine Gholston/Gholson is not the wife of our Bartholomew Hadden.

With no written record of Bartholomew’s marriage to the mother of his children and no mention of a wife in his probate record, it is assumed his wife had either left the family or was deceased prior to his death in 1828. Using historical references for this time period and deductive reasoning, it can be said she was born between 1749 and 1765 as her first child was born about 1780 making her between 15 and 31 at the time of the birth. The information collected from the 1790 census is (Bartholomew’s answers listed in parenthesis): Name of the head of the family (Barkley Haddon), Free white males of 16 yrs and upward including heads of family (1), Free white males under 16 years (3), Free white females including heads of family (4). From this data it is clear Bartholomew had a full house by 1790 with six children and a wife. The six children would have been; Catherine, Agnes, Jane, William, Archibald and Alexander. William was born in 1788 (based on his obituary) and Archibald was born Oct 30, 1790 (based on his headstone). Alexander’s birth date is unconfirmed however, he could have been born in January/February of 1790 and still account for his brother, Archibald, being born in October of 1790.

Bartholomew is not accounted for in the 1800 Census but is accounted for by tax records in 1798. Unfortunately, these tax records make no mention of members of his household. In both of the 1810 and 1820 U. S. Federal Census for Bartholomew Hadden, there is one white female aged 45+ years. This is most likely an accounting of his wife, but since the 1810 and 1820 census records did not list any more information other than numbers tied to each age group, we cannot be certain it is her. Unknown wife: Abt. 1760 – Bef. 1828.

For now, the hunt continues. Perhaps the elusive piece of evidence is out there somewhere. A church record? A family bible? If you are in possession of any records that relate to Bartholomew’s wife, please reach out to me through the “contact me” link on this site.

Family History. The Art of the Hunt!