Calhoun, Camden Counties Publish Histories

CALHOUN, CAMDEN COUNTIES PUBLISH HISTORIES

County histories are one of the most important research sources available for genealogists, local historians and teachers. “Against Oblivion: History of Calhoun County, Georgia” is the first-ever county history of this southwest Georgia county. The Calhoun County Historical Society worked many years to reach this point. Each chapter is written or compiled by a society member. The topics covered include towns and communities, banks, churches, clubs, music, newspapers, schools and county collectibles. By far the largest chapter, 250 or so pages, is about families. The appendices include cemeteries, citizens, Civil War lists, county officials, schools, more on towns and communities, and veterans of other wars. There is a surname-only index, which has some (unmentioned) parameters, such as the fact that each cemetery has its own index and those names are not in the master index, nor are other appendices in the index. The book is printed well and has many good illustrations and photographs. Each town is well-covered and the book includes both the black and white citizens. This is the county where the main plantation home, the Dickey House, at Stone Mountain, came from, and it is discussed. This book is a wonderful new addition to Georgia’s county histories. Published through W. H. Wolfe Associates, it is available from the Calhoun County Historical Society, P.O.Box 351, Edison, Ga. 31746.

CAMDEN COUNTY REVISION

“Camden’s Challenge: A History of Camden County, Georgia”, about Georgia’s southeasternmost county, was originally published in 1976 and has recently been revised and reprinted. It is not clear what has been updated, except that in the family section there are numerous dates postdating the original book. There is also a chapter on King’s Bay Naval Base, and information on the county’s genealogy library, the Bryan-Lang Historical Library in Woodbine, which is worth a visit. There are two limited indexes, one to subjects, and the other to family histories, actually just to the major names in each history. The history of all the citizens, both white and black, appear to be covered in this new edition. The county, which for a long time was sparsely populated, includess a lot of interesting towns as well as Cumberland Island. Published through W.H.Wolfe Associates, the book is $30 plus $4 postage (to Camden County), mailed to the Bryan-Lang Historical Library, P.O.Box 725, Woodbine, Ga. 31569.

ALABAMA RESEARCH

“Research in Alabama: Special Sources from the Heart of Dixie” with emphasis on early migration from Georgia will be the topic of Robert S. Davis, Jr.’s workshop for the Georgia Genealogical Society on Saturday, October 8, from 10-2:30 at the Peachtree Presbyterian Church, 3434 Roswell Rd., Atlanta. Cost is $12 members, $15 non-members. Davis is a well-known author of many books on Georgia records (including the Montgomery County History) but recently moved to Alabama to head the Family History Program at Wallace State College, Hanceville. Reservations by October 1st (payable to the Georgia Genealogical Society) to Linda Geiger, 4526 Bexley Dr., Stone Mt., Ga. 30083-5518 or call 987-2301.

VITAL RECORDS DEATH INDEX NOW AT ARCHIVES

The index to Georgia’s vital records death index has, at long last, been made available to the general public by the recent transfer of a copy of the index, covering deaths in Georgia from 1919-1993, to the Georgia Department of Archives and History, 330 Capitol Ave., Atlanta, 30334. 656-2350. This long-awaited move also included the index to marriages (1964-1992) and divorces (1965-1992). The birth index was not transferred, since access is limited by law to the subject of the certificate or their parent.

The Georgia Genealogical Society and the Georgia Professional Genealogists as well as other individuals and groups have long sought the transfer of the death index in order to have greater access. The national trend among vital records offices was to make the indexes available, and luckily Georgia’s Vital Records Office joined the trend. The information in on microfiche.

Researchers should be aware that the indexes are separate for each year, thus for the 70-odd years of the death index that was transferred, there are 70 separate indexes, with anywhere from 3 to 7 fiche per year. Georgia did not do so well at the beginning of the official state recording of vital records and thus many early deaths will not be found. For each death, there is the name of the deceased “as given”, in other words the long-forgotten first name of grandma may have been used, the county, date of death and the number of the certificate. One still must order a copy of the certificate from the Vital Records office to see it, and the cost is $10 each. Another copy of the three indexes was donated to the Georgia Historical Society in Savannah. The official announcement concerning the purchasing of additional copies reads as follows: “For information about purchasing copies of the Death (1919-1993), Marriage (1964-1992) or Divorce (1965-1992) Microfiche, please send your request in writing to Mr. Michael R. Lavoie, Director, Vital Records Service, 47 Trinity Ave. S.W., Rm. 217-H, Atlanta, Ga. 30334. The price for each set of microfiche is $50 each.”

Classes/Seminars

“Intermediate Genealogy”. Frances Beckemeyer, lecturer. 1PM-3:30 PM Sept. 26-Nov. 14, eight Mondays. $55. Clayton State College, Morrow, Ga., off I-75 south. 961-3550. Includes intermediate topics and field trips to the University of Georgia, Washington Memorial Library in Macon, the Georgia Archives, the National Archives in East Point, and a county courthouse.

“Tracing Your Family Tree: Beginning Genealogy”. Frances Beckemeyer. 6:30 -9:30 PM, nine Wednesdays Oct. 5-Dec. 7th (no class Nov. 23). $75. Georgia State University, North Metro Center, 1140 Hammond Dr., off Peachtree-Dunwoody Rd. 651-3456.

“Beginners in Genealogy”. Rita B. Worthy. 10 AM-12 Noon. Three Saturdays Oct. 8-22, with Oct. 15 meeting at National Archives, East Point, from 10-4. $40 members, $45 non-members. Atlanta History Center, 130 West Paces Ferry Rd., NW, Atlanta. 814-4040. Class is limited to 25.

Note: With this column, September 18, 1994, the column began to once again appear four times a month.

CIVIL WAR RELATED BOOKS

The Civil War is the subject of an ever increasing number of publications covering every possible aspect of that conflict and its aftermath. Many records and sources are coming to light which will help genealogists and historians learn more about the military record and lives of the people they are tracing.

“Southern Loyalists in the Civil War: The Southern Claims Commission” by Gary B. Mills is the second work on this subject by the author. This new edition is greatly revised and expanded and includes four earlier works, including his own “Civil War Claims in the South (1980)”. In essence, the book lists the claims made by Southerners against the Federal government beginning in 1871. These claims were for war damages against their property. The Southerners were saying, in effect, that they had been loyal to the Union and that the damage done to their property should be repaid. There are some 23,000 cases filed, including over 220,000 witnesses. If one has an ancestor who lived in a war zone, they should check this book. While Mills’ 1980 edition was arranged by state, and then alphabetically within, allowing one to look for a particular county, this new expanded volume is arranged in one long, national, alphabetical listing. Each entry gives the name, county, state, numbers, years and status as to whether the claim was honored or not. The introduction must be read to understand how to find and read the actual claim. Some are on microfiche, others have to be ordered from the National Archives, and the system is explained on a flow chart in the book. This is one book that everyone doing serious Civil War-era research must check, since the earlier volume was incomplete. It can possibly open a wonderful new source for you and tell you a lot about what an ancestor was doing in the war. The book is $45 plus $3 postage from the Genealogical Publishing Co., 1001 N. Calvert St., Baltimore, Md. 21202.

“Camp Fires of Georgia’s Troops, 1861-1865” by William S. Smedlund breaks ground on a subject never before compiled. The main body of the book is an alphabetical listing of the names of the 747 camps established during the Civil War by Georgia troops, no matter what state they were in at the time. With each camp name, he has the location of the camp, such as “Camp Hampton, Beaufort County, S.C.”, which unit of Georgia troops were stationed there, and in some cases more than one unit, at more than one time, when they were there, and the source for the information. This alphabetical listing is a breakthrough because many Civil War letter writers only use the camp name, leaving the holders of the letters at a loss as to know where the soldier and his unit were at that time. In order to understand the book and to make the best use of it, one should read the various introductory chapters-one which helps you determine the origin of your Georgia soldier ancestor, how units were organized, where the names of the camps came from, and discussions about how the camps operated and what went on in them. Many interesting letters and newspaper accounts of camp life are used. These introductory chapters alone are worth getting the book, and the alphabetical roster of camps is an important reference book for anyone interested in the Civil War. The author includes three indexes: by proper name, by units in chronological order, and by the state and county where the camp was located. The book was funded in part by the R. J. Taylor, Jr., Foundation. It is available, hardbound, for $33.50 plus $3.50 postage, from William S. Smedlund, 1666 Glen Arm Dr., Lithonia, Ga. 30058.

FLORIDA SEMINAR

Saturday, October 1, the Southern Genealogist’s Exchange Society will hold its 31st annual seminar in Jacksonville, Florida at the Comfort Inn, Emerson St. and I-95. The all-day event will feature lectures by Carole Callard on “Settlement of and Research in the Appalachian Area”, Carrie Adamson of Augusta on the “Great Valley Road”, a luncheon speech on computers, and further lectures by the same speakers on more about the Appalachian area from Virginia through southwestern Pennsylvania, Ohio and Kentucky. Pre-registration is $26 members, $28 non-members until Sept. 24th in care of the SGEX, P.O.Box 2801, Jacksonville, Fla. 32203. The society’s library is worth a visit at 1580 Blanding Blvd., Jacksonville. Open Tuesday-Thursday, 10-4, and 1-5 on Saturdays.

GENEALOGY FESTIVAL

September 24th at Gwinnett Civic Center will be the annual Genealogical Festival sponsored by the Friends of the National Archives, Southeast Region. There will be a variety of speakers and book dealers. For further information call the National Archives at 763-7477.

COOKBOOK AS SOURCE

One might not think that a current cookbook could be a source for genealogy, but the “Cherokee County Recipes and Recollections” will be a genealogy source for future generations. Compiled and published by the Cherokee County Historical Society, it contains some information on the history of certain food types, such as beaten biscuits, and then includes biographical and genealogical information on many of the people whose recipes are included. Some other clues are gleaned from those who contributed the recipes, on behalf of their ancestors, which gives you a name to locate currently as a descendant. This type of effort could be a good idea that any society could follow, to not only create a money-maker for the society, preserve its history and customs through the actual recipes and their origins, but also continue the names and genealogies of residents into the next century. There is a full-name index of “honorees”, those whose recipes and biographies are included, but no index to maiden names which would have been helpful. The book is $13 postpaid from the Cherokee County Historical Society, Box 1287, Canton, Ga. 30114.

HISPANIC RESEARCH

“A Beginner’s Guide to Hispanic Genealogy” is a small work by Norma Flores and Patsy Ludwig. The 58-page work is a brief effort to orientate one to getting started on Hispanic research. While it contains a lot of addresses, it also has chapters that explain terms and abbreviations, and an historic map of Mexico. It is $9.95 plus $1.50 postage from Patsy Ludwig, 3345 Jarvis Ave., San Jose, Calif. 95118.

CENSUS INDEXES CONTINUE

The United States Census began in 1790 and in the 200 years since has remained one of the most important records for genealogists and historians. Access to the original records is now available after 72 years, thus allowing researchers to use extant census records through 1920. The microfilm of the Georgia census is available at many public libraries as well as the Georgia Archives. Available census records for the entire United States, with many indexes, are at the National Archives-Southeast Region in East Point. Call 763-7477cq for hours. The University of Georgia has census records through 1920 for the southeastern states.

The 1850 Census was the first to include the names of all free persons in the household. For the past twenty years, Rhea Cumming Otto of Savannah has been indexing these for Georgia, county by county. With her latest volume, “1850 Census of Georgia: Richmond County” she has almost completed the entire state. The citizens are arranged by households in alphabetical order with everyone listed, with their age, place of birth and occupation, just as in the original. In an appendix is a list of households arranged in numerical order. The 120-page work contains 1556 households, covering 8,450 free citizens. This volume, like all her others, sells for $6.75 postpaid to Mrs. Walter W. Otto, 8816 Ferguson Ave., Savannah, Ga. 31406. A long, stamped, self-addressed envelope will get a list of other volumes in print.

The 1870 Georgia Census has been indexed in a three-volume set found at many libraries. The company which produced this has also issued separate index booklets for each Georgia county for 1870. These indexes list the name, age, sex, race, place of birth, county and roll and page where found. The people are not grouped by households and one must consult the original census for more information. The prices vary per county. For a list, contact Precision Indexing, c/o Historic Resources, Inc., P.O.Box 329, Bountiful, Utah 84011-0329 or (801) 298-5446cq. The indexes are also available on floppy disks.

SEMINARS

The Central Georgia Genealogical Society will host its annual seminar on Saturday, Sept. 10th in Macon at the Macon Convention Center, I-75 at Arkwright Road. Speakers will be Lloyd Bockstruck on “Pitfalls”, “New Englanders in the South”, “Colonial Land Records”, and “Finding Substitutes for Birth and Death Records”. Merle Baker on “Civil War Ancestors in Georgia” and researching in the Georgia Archives. Cost of the seminar is $20 members, $22 non-members, including lunch, to CGGS, Inc., P.O.Box 2024, Warner Robins, Ga. 31099 by Sept. 3rd.

The Genealogical Festival sponsored by the Friends of the National Archives-Southeast Region will be held Saturday, Sept. 24th at the Gwinnett Civic Center in Duluth, off I-85 just past Gwinnett Place Mall. The main speaker will be Arlene Eakle. There will be numerous other classes and vendors. For reservations or further information contact the National Archives at 763-7477cq or The Friends at Box 88100, Atlanta, Ga. 30356-8100.

The Georgia Archives is continuing its free “Lunch and Learn” lecture series. These one-hour lectures are offered from 12:15-1:15 at the Archives Building, 330 Capitol Ave., Atlanta. August 25: Staff members Joanne Smalley and Sally Mosely will discuss using the Archives’ vast microfilm collection; on Sept. 14 Dr. Steve Engerrand will discuss Guidelines for Archival Documents, and on Sept. 22 Dr. Carole Merritt will lecture on African-American Genealogy and the Herndon Home in Atlanta.

BOOKS IN PRINT

“Genealogical and Local History Books in Print” is being prepared for a fifth edition. This will be the 20th anniversary issue of this long-running product of the Schreiner family. The company is now accepting advertising and listings of genealogy books for sale for the new edition. One must write them for forms and fees. It is a good way to get word out to libraries and genealogists of the existence of your work. The remaining copies of the 1992 edition are available for $9.75 plus $2.10 postage. They expect to list 30,000 books in the new edition. They also publish the well-known SKY Index, considered one of the easiest indexing systems for books. For a brochure on the new edition and details on how to place an ad, write GBIP, P.O.Box 394, Maine, N.Y.13802.

WELSH RESEARCH

“Welsh Family History: A Guide to Research” has just been published. It was edited by John Rowlands and others and was originally published in Wales by the Family History Society of Wales, thus it must be considered the authorized edition for this type of work. The distinguished list of contributors is a who’s who of Welsh researchers. The book is divided into interesting chapters, with subjects such as placenames, parish registers, definitions of basic words, and various types of records including migration records. It includes chapter footnotes, an extensive bibliography, and an index. Anyone with a need for Welsh research advice should certainly take a look at this handsome volume. The book is available from Genealogical Publishing Co., 1001 N. Calvert St., Baltimore, Md. 21202 for $19.95 (paper) plus $3 postage or call (800) 296-6687cq for more information or other titles.

ATHENS LIBRARY

The Athens Regional Library System has created a new Heritage Room at the central library at 2025 Baxter St., Athens, 30606. The phone is (706) 613-3650 ext. 350. The room contains a great deal of Athens and Clarke County material, including courthouse materials on microfilm, many of the CD-Rom indexes found at the Mormon Family History Centers, Georgia census records through 1920, and computers to search the southeastern region for books that can be obtained on interlibrary loan. Their hours are Monday-Thursday, 9-9, Friday and Saturday, 9-6, and Sundays 2-6 PM. A long, stamped, self-addressed envelope will get you a brochure. This should be a good place to stop while in Athens–perhaps when other family members attend a football game, or after you have been to the University’s main library.

TELEPHONE SEARCHES ARE VERY USEFUL SOURCE

Telephone books for the entire United States have been placed on CD-Rom disks and can be used in many metro-area public libraries. The value of this new source is that one can search by region, by surname, surname and town combined search, search by telephone number only, or even determine who is now living in Cousin Minnie’s house to see if they know what became of the family. The Decatur Public Library has ProPhone produced by ProCD, Inc. of Marblehead, Mass. If you have never used one of these new services to find missing relatives for genealogy or any other purpose, now is the time. They are also very handy when looking for lost members of your school class for a reunion. ProPhone divides the U.S. into seven regions and as long as you are aware of which state is in which region, you just type in a name and it appears, if the person has a listed telephone.

ACCESS ATLANTA

For those readers who have a modem and are aware of the fact that this newspaper is now available on Access Atlanta, they can also find this column there. Usually the column appears, in full, on Access Atlanta several days before it appears in print.

SEMINARS

August 26-28 the Augusta Genealogical Society will hold their annual Homecoming, this time honoring their 15th anniversary. One of the most, if not the most, productive genealogical societies in Georgia, the group is having a one-day seminar on Saturday, August 27th at the Galloway Hall, Augusta College. The theme for the seminar day, during which there will be seven lectures, is “Emigrations, Immigrations, and Migrations”. The most prominent speaker will be Hank Jones who will lecture on the Palatine immigrants to America and their German roots. Nell Callahan will speak on the Famine Irish, William Nelson on the Confederate exodus to Brazil, Brent Holcomb on immigrant ancestors in South Carolina, and Dr. John Vogt on European economics and politics which forced our ancestors to leave. Hank Jones will speak again that night at the banquet at which time his topic will be “I Don’t Chase Dead Germans–They Chase Me”. Registration for non-members is $40 until August 22nd, afterwards $45. To register contact the Augusta Genealogical Society, P.O.Box 3743, Augusta, Ga. 30914 or call (706) 722-4073cq. Anyone who has not been to Augusta lately has missed the society’s new headquarters.

METHODIST MARRIAGES

“Marriage Notices from the Southern Christian Advocate, 1867-1878” has just been compiled and published by Brent H. Holcomb. This follows as a third volume his earlier abstracts of marriages and deaths from the same newspaper covering 1837-1867, and deaths for 1867-1878. After 1878 the newspaper, sponsored by the Methodist church, began publishing in Georgia as the Wesleyan Christian Advocate, as it continues today. Published in Macon, the newspaper covered primarily Georgia, South Carolina and Florida. Some marriages are for those of other faiths. In almost every case, the county or town of residence of the bride and the groom are given. It is definitely worth a look and is an important addition to any genealogical library, be it public or personal. Most post-Civil War Georgia county records have not been published and thus if you do not know where someone married, it will take a lot of research, but this book will certainly help. For South Carolinians, where civil marriage records were not required until 1911, it may be the only source. The book is available for $35 plus $2 postage from SCMAR, P.O. Box 21766, Columbia, S.C. 29221.

ROCKDALE SOCIETY

The Rockdale Genealogical Society has been formed with Martha Brown and Linda Etheridge as co-presidents. The society meets the second Sunday of each month at 3 P.M. at the Nancy Guinn Library in Conyers. The newsletter is called “Jeans and Genes”. For further information contact Linda Etheridge at 1169 Pine Knoll Lane, Conyers, Ga. 30208 or 483-6172.

COUNTY RECORDS

The R. J. Taylor Foundation has recently sponsored in part the publication of three more books of county records. “Cherokee County, Georgia, Land Records, Vol. 4, Deed Book D” covers 1838-1839. Compiled by Wyndell and Bernice Taylor, the book contains abstracts of the basic deed information and a full index. The careful work of the compilers is a model for others to follow. Anyone with missing roots in Georgia should check this in case a deed was filed or witnessed by an ancestor. It is available for $24 plus $1.20 tax and postage from Bot’s Books, P.O.Box 63, Powder Springs, Ga. 30073.

Victor R. Myrick has abstracted “Wills of Pulaski County, Georgia” covering 1810-1906 for this central Georgia county. The wills are abstracted in chronological order and there is a full index. This type of work helps researchers not only find a specific ancestor but other people he might have been associated with as well as links between families. There are 281 wills abstracted covering the first century of this county. It is available from the Central Georgia Genealogical Society, P.O.Box 2024, Warner Robins, Ga. 31099 for $16 plus $1.50 postage and 5 % sales tax (80 cents).

The same society’s prolific abstracting team of Davine Campbell and William R. Henry has produced “Land Records of Macon County, Georgia, 1857-1863 Deed Book A”. This is an important work for the county suffered a fire in 1857, producing a loss of the first 20 years of courthouse records. This publication includes many deeds which were brought back into the courthouse and re-recorded, thus they date from the 1830s, not from the years on the volume, which are the dates they were recorded. If you have ancestors in the county, or who won land the lottery that later fell in this county, you should check the book. Your ancestors could have also witnessed a deed and the deed might prove a valuable clue as to where they were at a certain time. This volume is available for $23.50 plus postage of $1.50 and $1.18 sales tax from the Central Georgia Genealogical Society, P.O.Box 2024, Warner Robins, Ga. 31099.