John Goolsby, who claimed descent from an African king, was coachman and servant to Peter Wilson Hairston who owned Sauratown Plantation in Stokes County, North Carolina, and Cooleemee Plantation in Davie County, North Carolina. Goolsby's dignified manner, sharp mind, and unfailing loyalty won him the Hairstons' admiration and respect. As Peter Hairston's companion, Goolsby rubbed shoulders with some of the most famous of the Confederate elite. Hairston, whose first wife was sister of Confederate General J.E.B. Stuart, served early in the war under Stuart, and later under General Jubal Early. Goolsby was with Hairston each time, mingling comfortably with the brass.
John L. Hairston of Pine Hall, Goolsby's great grandson and a retired Stokes County educator, was born at Sauratown in 1918 in the house where Goolsby lived after the war. The Hairstons had a reputation for treating slaves well and keeping families together. A large number of their former slaves remained on the plantations after the Civil War. Among those was Goolsby. He apparently came from Mississippi where Peter Hairston obtained him during the 1850s. As the war wound down and Yankee raiding parties roamed the South, the Hairstons entrusted Goolsby with the family silver to hide for safe keeping. Goolsby took the silver to Sauratown and buried it in the vegetable garden. On the way back to Cooleemee, he was stopped by Yankee troops looking for the silver. The troops, who didn't know Goolsby, wanted information on him and the goods. They said they were going to hang him and take the silver. "He told them he didn't know a John Goolsby, had never heard of him and hadn't seen anyone who would fit that description," John L. Hairston said. Goolsby later retrieved the silver, which is still in use at Cooleemee.
After the war, property taxes soared and many people lost their land. To earn enough money to keep his plantations, Peter Hairston moved the family to Baltimore and became a commodities broker. He asked Goolsby to go with the family, but Goolsby declined. "So he moved to Sauratown, and that's where he stayed,' Judge Hairston said. Judge Hairston, who remembers Goolsby, was six years old when the former slave died in 1918. He may have been 100 years old. Goolsby knew how to run a plantation and looked after Sauratown in the Hairstons' absence.
Excerpts taken from https://greensboro.com/saura-town-once-a-busy-hub/article_44d65f79-4d67-58a8-8046-44f996f20a80.html
John L. Hairston of Pine Hall, Goolsby's great grandson and a retired Stokes County educator, was born at Sauratown in 1918 in the house where Goolsby lived after the war. The Hairstons had a reputation for treating slaves well and keeping families together. A large number of their former slaves remained on the plantations after the Civil War. Among those was Goolsby. He apparently came from Mississippi where Peter Hairston obtained him during the 1850s. As the war wound down and Yankee raiding parties roamed the South, the Hairstons entrusted Goolsby with the family silver to hide for safe keeping. Goolsby took the silver to Sauratown and buried it in the vegetable garden. On the way back to Cooleemee, he was stopped by Yankee troops looking for the silver. The troops, who didn't know Goolsby, wanted information on him and the goods. They said they were going to hang him and take the silver. "He told them he didn't know a John Goolsby, had never heard of him and hadn't seen anyone who would fit that description," John L. Hairston said. Goolsby later retrieved the silver, which is still in use at Cooleemee.
After the war, property taxes soared and many people lost their land. To earn enough money to keep his plantations, Peter Hairston moved the family to Baltimore and became a commodities broker. He asked Goolsby to go with the family, but Goolsby declined. "So he moved to Sauratown, and that's where he stayed,' Judge Hairston said. Judge Hairston, who remembers Goolsby, was six years old when the former slave died in 1918. He may have been 100 years old. Goolsby knew how to run a plantation and looked after Sauratown in the Hairstons' absence.
Excerpts taken from https://greensboro.com/saura-town-once-a-busy-hub/article_44d65f79-4d67-58a8-8046-44f996f20a80.html
John Goolsby, who claimed descent from an African king, was coachman and servant to Peter Wilson Hairston who owned Sauratown Plantation in Stokes County, North Carolina, and Cooleemee Plantation in Davie County, North Carolina. Goolsby's dignified manner, sharp mind, and unfailing loyalty won him the Hairstons' admiration and respect. As Peter Hairston's companion, Goolsby rubbed shoulders with some of the most famous of the Confederate elite. Hairston, whose first wife was sister of Confederate General J.E.B. Stuart, served early in the war under Stuart, and later under General Jubal Early. Goolsby was with Hairston each time, mingling comfortably with the brass.
John L. Hairston of Pine Hall, Goolsby's great grandson and a retired Stokes County educator, was born at Sauratown in 1918 in the house where Goolsby lived after the war. The Hairstons had a reputation for treating slaves well and keeping families together. A large number of their former slaves remained on the plantations after the Civil War. Among those was Goolsby. He apparently came from Mississippi where Peter Hairston obtained him during the 1850s. As the war wound down and Yankee raiding parties roamed the South, the Hairstons entrusted Goolsby with the family silver to hide for safe keeping. Goolsby took the silver to Sauratown and buried it in the vegetable garden. On the way back to Cooleemee, he was stopped by Yankee troops looking for the silver. The troops, who didn't know Goolsby, wanted information on him and the goods. They said they were going to hang him and take the silver. "He told them he didn't know a John Goolsby, had never heard of him and hadn't seen anyone who would fit that description," John L. Hairston said. Goolsby later retrieved the silver, which is still in use at Cooleemee.
After the war, property taxes soared and many people lost their land. To earn enough money to keep his plantations, Peter Hairston moved the family to Baltimore and became a commodities broker. He asked Goolsby to go with the family, but Goolsby declined. "So he moved to Sauratown, and that's where he stayed,' Judge Hairston said. Judge Hairston, who remembers Goolsby, was six years old when the former slave died in 1918. He may have been 100 years old. Goolsby knew how to run a plantation and looked after Sauratown in the Hairstons' absence.
Excerpts taken from https://greensboro.com/saura-town-once-a-busy-hub/article_44d65f79-4d67-58a8-8046-44f996f20a80.html
John L. Hairston of Pine Hall, Goolsby's great grandson and a retired Stokes County educator, was born at Sauratown in 1918 in the house where Goolsby lived after the war. The Hairstons had a reputation for treating slaves well and keeping families together. A large number of their former slaves remained on the plantations after the Civil War. Among those was Goolsby. He apparently came from Mississippi where Peter Hairston obtained him during the 1850s. As the war wound down and Yankee raiding parties roamed the South, the Hairstons entrusted Goolsby with the family silver to hide for safe keeping. Goolsby took the silver to Sauratown and buried it in the vegetable garden. On the way back to Cooleemee, he was stopped by Yankee troops looking for the silver. The troops, who didn't know Goolsby, wanted information on him and the goods. They said they were going to hang him and take the silver. "He told them he didn't know a John Goolsby, had never heard of him and hadn't seen anyone who would fit that description," John L. Hairston said. Goolsby later retrieved the silver, which is still in use at Cooleemee.
After the war, property taxes soared and many people lost their land. To earn enough money to keep his plantations, Peter Hairston moved the family to Baltimore and became a commodities broker. He asked Goolsby to go with the family, but Goolsby declined. "So he moved to Sauratown, and that's where he stayed,' Judge Hairston said. Judge Hairston, who remembers Goolsby, was six years old when the former slave died in 1918. He may have been 100 years old. Goolsby knew how to run a plantation and looked after Sauratown in the Hairstons' absence.
Excerpts taken from https://greensboro.com/saura-town-once-a-busy-hub/article_44d65f79-4d67-58a8-8046-44f996f20a80.html
Family Members
Spouse
Children
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
Advertisement
