Murphy-Hanson marriage validated ... by a surprise source

Sometimes, things just fall into your lap when you're least expecting them.

And I never expected to find the answer to one reader's questions when I curled up on the sofa last week with my latest goodies, three back issues of the Carroll County Genealogical Society's newsletter. More about the benefits of newsletters in a minute.

Harriet Hanson Lora wrote a few weeks ago challenging the validity of the marriage information on Jesse Hanson and Mary Murphy, saying information hinged on a pension application that had been rejected.

Well, lo and behold, what did I find in the Carroll County newsletter? Mary Murphy Hanson being sought by the pension commissioner because her pension had been granted.

For those of you out there researching Hansons, I will quote the source. This is from the fall 2001 issue of the Carroll County Genealogical Quarterly, page 100, and it is an excerpt from the Carroll County Times newspaper dated 1 June 1883. I quote:

"Mrs. Mary Hanson, widow of Jesse Hanson, who was a soldier in the War of 1812, filed a claim for pension several years ago. The pension commissioner wants to know her whereabouts, and whether she is living or dead. If living, she is entitled to a pension of $8 a month."

Well, I fired off an e-mail to Harriet immediately, since I knew she would want to know about this new information. She responded right back and thanked me for the info, adding that Mary would have been in her late 90s in 1883 and probably never received her pension. But the important thing was that we found a lead to the correct information. And it was an important link.

That brings me to the real topic of this column, the benefits to be gleaned from joining genealogical or historical societies in the area where your ancestors lived. Even if you can't attend meetings, their newsletters contain information you might not find easily at research facilities and libraries.

Carroll County is the third organization I've joined, and mainly for just that reason. Membership dues are not that expensive and usually include a subscription to the newsletter. Most are published quarterly and include such things as family pedigrees, church minutes, newspaper excerpts, tax lists, queries from other researchers, and other information pertinent to a certain area.

I am also a member of the Old Campbell County Historical Society and the Coweta County Genealogical Society. I plan to join more. The newsletters from all have yielded valuable family information since my ancestors were once in those areas. I also subscribe to Joe Baggett's Douglas County Genealogy Newsletter since part of Douglas was once Campbell County.

One excellent bit of information in the Carroll County newsletters is the 1890 tax list. Because there is no census for 1890, this provides valuable information on the whereabouts of your ancestors during that awful 20-year gap between 1880 and 1900. The tax list is running on a continual basis in several issues.

The newspaper excerpts also give additional information to those "official" documents or sources which record just the cold facts. For instance, a gravestone of a child might just read, " ... born 1882, died 1883," leaving us all to wonder what the cause of death was for this poor little child. Was it disease? Just exactly what happened?

Well, in the 10 Aug. 1883 issue of the Carroll County Times, we read: "A most heartrending accident happened last Friday at the residence of Mr. Rufus Laird in the Kansas District. Mrs. Laird had occasion to go to the spring to do some washing, leaving her little child, about 18 months old, at the house. When she returned, she found that the child had fallen into a pot of water and drowned ..." There are several more incidents recorded of children's accidental deaths. Some of them are truly horror stories.

I also found two of my ancestors, Robert Boyd and Moses McWhorter, serving on the same Traverse Jury, along with Jethro Jones, the ancestor of my dear friend Frances Hanson Arnold who lives right here in Fayetteville. Doesn't it give you a strange feeling when you find out your ancestors and your friends' ancestors knew each other? Weird.

My whole point, however, is that genealogical society newsletters can be a valuable resource, especially if you live a great distance away from your research area.

To find these little gems, go to the Georgia GenWeb site (www.rootsweb.com/~gagenweb/) and find the county of your research interest. If there is a society, it usually will be listed, along with an address, phone number and e-mail address. Carroll County even has a membership application form that you can print out, and gives a list of the publications they offer for sale.

I ordered the 1860 and 1870 censuses and will probably order more back issues of the newsletter. The address for the Carroll County Genealogical Society is: P.O. Box 576, Carrollton, GA 30117. They respond very promptly and have an excellent publication. My congratulations to their editor, Shirley Gardner.

Unfortunately, there is no genealogical society for Fayette County, but there is a historical society. They do not publish a newsletter, but they have a research facility in Fayetteville and will answer research questions through the mail. They also have publications for sale. The address is: Fayette County Historical Society, P.O. Box 421, Fayetteville, GA 30214.

The Coweta County Genealogical Society also publishes an excellent quarterly newsletter and includes several pages on Campbell County. Their research facility in Grantville is superb. The address is: P.O. Box 1014, Newnan, GA 30264.

The Old Campbell County Historical Society publishes a small newsletter, also quarterly, but with quite a bit of information in it. Their research room is open on a very limited basis. Write to them at: P.O. Box 342, Fairburn, GA 30213.

If you know of other Georgia genealogical societies that publish newsletters, please write and let us know about them.

Next week, we'll learn a little about the Cochran family of Coweta, Fayette and Campbell counties. I was thrilled to find a new cousin right up the road in Morrow. Her Cochrans tie into my Norris family ... a family that has led me to an abrupt dead end. Maybe we can help each other. As you know, searching for one family can sometimes lead you right to another.

Looking for your Georgia ancestors? Got a genealogy tip? Got a local family history to share? Write to The Citizen, Drawer 1719, Fayetteville, GA 30214; e-mail jkilgore@thecitizennews.com or jodiek444@aol.com.

Until next week, happy hunting!

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