County Records are Available
October 9th, 1994COUNTY RECORDS ARE AVAILABLE
The publication of county records helps researchers find many more important clues within the documents that cannot be found through a normal, often incomplete, index. All of the following have been published with the help of the R. J. Taylor Foundation.
Campbell County is one of two Georgia counties which were merged in 1932, the other being Milton, whose county seat was Alpharetta. To make access greater to the records of this county and to remind researchers that it existed and needs to be searched there is a new book. “Campbell County, Georgia, Superior court Deeds and Mortgages, Grantee-Grantor Index, 1829-1931” has been published by the Old Campbell County Historical Society. The information cited is the names of people selling and buying land, the deed book and page. The date must be inferred from another list. This book is the only full deed index covering all the deeds of one county. By looking through it one can learn a lot about the peculiarities of deed indexing. Such as the many “plats” indexed under “P” rather than the subject, and many institutions indexed in odd ways. The book may be ordered from the Old Campbell County Historical Society, P.O.Box 342, Fairburn, Ga. 30213. They also have eleven other volumes of records available from then. Send a stamped, self-addressed envelope for a list.
Deeds are also the topic of works on Henry and Houston Counties. Both counties have active genealogical societies which are continuing with ongoing series. “Henry County, Georgia, Land Records, 1839-1851, Deed Books J, K, L, and M” , done by the prolific Freida Turner, is available from the Genealogical Society of Henry and Clayton Counties, P.O.Box 1296, McDonough, Ga. 30253.
“Land Records of Houston County, Georgia, 1834-1836, Volume IV” has been published by the Central Georgia Genealogical Society, P.O. Box 2420, Warner Robins, Ga. 31099-2024. Each society has a long list of available publications and anyone researching in these areas should be aware of their many efforts and should send for a list of other publications or look for them at the Georgia Archives or other libraries. The indepth indexing of these records produce information on many of our Georgia ancestors who may have owned land but never lived in these counties. They also may have served as witnesses, and thus this could be a valuable reference point, or perhaps one of the few proofs of their existence.
Madison County Probate
“Madison County, GA Probate Records, 1812-ca.1870” , prepared by Amy Warren Sanders, is an alphabetical index of the names of persons who appear in a myriad of records from the Probate Court including both its predecessors, the Court of Ordinary and the Inferior Court. One still has to use the original records at the courthouse or the Georgia Archives on microfilm. It is available for $15 postpaid plus 5% sales tax from Heritage Papers, Box 7776, Athens, Ga. 30604.