Gilbert Vaughn and the Families of New Town

Gilbert Vaughn, his wife Charlotte, and their three children, Rosa, Henry, and Olivia, originally came to Montgomery County as slaves of Mary Wade.

The Vaughn family remained in New Town until at least the 1940s and maintained an active presence in the area. Gilbert worked as a plasterer in town and his son, Henry, worked as a farm laborer. Henry married in 1878 and had two sons, James and John, both of whom worked as manual laborers. 

Henry, John, and John’s wife Ethel were members of the Odd Fellows and the Household of Ruth, respectively, organizations that formed the social center of the New Town Community.

Click here to see items from the Blacksburg [Virginia] Odd Fellows Records, 1902-1969