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Lost Census Records
By Jeannette Holland Austin
Unfortunately, the 1790, 1800 and 1810 census of Georgia did not survive the British troops destruction of Washington, D. C. during the War of 1812. That leaves 1820, 1830 and 1840 of scant information (before 1850) for purposes of trying to locate where relatives resided. Everyone with the ancestral surname needs to be noted. What I do is make a list of everyone in each county for 1820. Then, I do the same for 1830 and 1840. This provides a comparison. It is interesting to see whether or not a person was still in the county, or had moved elsewhere. The movements provide other counties to search. Now, when you begin the 1850 census, you will better understand who these people were and how the families connect. Be sure and note the age ranges of the children and determine if that person is still with the family, or has married or died. Then, you need to search for old wills and estates and examine all of those records, looking for receipts from heirs. The husband would have been the receiver of the estate of his spouse. Hence, the receipts and vouchers are important.
The Expanding Universe of Genealogy
As more data is unfolded from expanding resources, such as DNA and solor technology which fingerprints the location of ancient villages and burials on the map, it opens up a new vestitude of thought for genealogists. We are beginning to see evidence of large cities of Native Americans and their migrations.
I, for one, assumed that the large mounds were burial grounds. Yet, excavations reveal that the site of buildings are similar to those in Egypt and South America. Over 200 mounds were found in the Mississippi River area alone. Cahokia, a sophisticated village near East St. Louis in Missouri reveals the remnants of more than a thousand prehistoric houses and the base of an earthen pyramid, which is but one of dozens towering above the original settlement. There are 120 massive pyramids of earth, more than twice the number of any other site. The various Indian cultures appear to be migrations from Europe and the Middle East. The Cherokees, for example, in North Georgia and North Carolina appear to descend from Sephardi Jews who resided in the Iberian Peninsula during the late 15th century before the Alhambra Decree of 1492 (banishment) by the Catholic monarchs in Spain. Their origin was discovered after DNA samples were taken from various cultures around the world. The Separdi Jews (later Cherokees), it seems, migrated to America about 1600. History did not quite get it right. Discounting the fact that during ancient times, many ships were upon the seas, with scattered unrecorded settlements in Nova Scotia and upon the North America and South American continent, an apparent loss of ship manifests is also a factor in the loss of data concerning so many settlements and cultures. We have the History Books' version of one big discovery in 1492, and that ended the discussion for a long while. But genealogists know that an untold number of migrations occcurred and that the records only scan the surface. Trace your families in Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia on 8 genealogy sites
"Ten to twelve years ago, when I was on a detective force of Cincinnati, two or three rascals hung up the town for three to four weeks in a way that annoyed us not a little. There were chaps known as porch climbers and the way the way they did business was simply slick. Porch climbing was then in its infancy. A sneak thief might be ready to take advantage of an open door or window on the upper floor up shimmering up a column to reach a balcony or using a light ladder to enter a chamber. The very first job done by a gang resulted in $600 worth of jewelry, and they hastened off to a pawnshop." Source: The Washington Gazette. July 17, 1887.
Berrien County Wills, Estates, Marriages
Berrien County was created in 1856 from Coffee, Irwin, and Lowndes counties. The county was named for US Senator, John McPherson Berrien, who also served as Andrew Jackson's Attorney General. The old Coffee Road was one of the State's earliest post roads and was used as early as 1823 to transport crops into Florida. Earliest Settlers: Amos Bullard, Wilie Clements, Henry Hutchinson, James Goodman, Dr. William Harrell, John Lee, Thomas Mobley, John McDermits, and Thomas Ray.
Online Probate Records Available to Members of Georgia Pioneers
Images of Will Book A (1855-1909)
Testators: Boyt, William;Brinn, J. W.;Brown, John;Carroll, Jessie;Clyatt, Martin;Connell, James;Connell, John;Connell, John E.; Cudney, George;Everet, Phoebe;Garrett, Frances;Giddens, William;Griner, Daniel;Hall, John;Harrell, William;Henderson, Susan;Hester, Jane;Hutchinson, Henry;Kenny, Mary;Lamb, William;Lovitt, Joshua;Lovitt, W. B.;McDermit, John;McMillan, John;Mobley, Thomas;Myers, Susanna;Nicholson, J. L.;Peeples, Lewis;Powell, Mary;Powel, T. W.;Ray, John;Ray, Thomas;Shaw, Jeremiah;Sinach, William;Sirmons, Charlotte;Sutton, John;Tucker, Richard;Tygart, William;Watson, Moses; Williams, E. J.;Williams, James;Williams, Sampson.
Images of Will Book B (1909-1956)
Testators: Berrien County Will Book B, 1910 to 1856:
Albritton, M. E.;
Alexander, Jean and Marian;
Buie, W. D.;
Darsey, J. D.;
Guthrie, Hariet Ann;
Hand, J. M.;
Harrell (Joint Will);
Hendley, J. A.;
Major, D. S.;
Parrish, A. J;.
Rabun, C. G.;
Ray, J. S.;
Shockley, E. T.;
Sirmans, T. H.;
Smith, Mary Jane;
Watson, W. H.
Indexes to Probate Records
- Will Book A (1855-1909)
- Estates, Inventories, Appraisements (1862-1896)
- Will Book B (1910-1956)
- Estates, Inventories, Appraisements (1862-1896)
- Widows and Divisions of Estates (1862-1912)
- Bills of Sale (1863-1896)
- Annual Returns and Vouchers (1882-1901)
- Homestead Records (1873-1897)