Meriwether heritage book is in the works

Those of you who have ancestors who were in Meriwether County may be interested to know that historians in that county are now taking submissions for one of those wonderful heritage books published by Walsworth Publishing Company. The deadline for submissions is Oct. 15, 2003, and delivery is expected by mid-2004.

While these are not "official" history books and may contain some errors, they have proved extremely helpful in locating family information in many counties in Georgia and elsewhere. I have three of them: Carroll County, Georgia; Cleburne County, Alabama; and Hall County, Georgia. I would not part with them for the world. I even purchased one on Carroll County for my mom.

Co-chairs of the book committee are Linda Dobbs (706-672-3010 or ldobbs2@aol.com) and Sallie Mabon (706-672-4832 or scatterson@aol.com). If you are on the Internet, you may go to the Meriwether County GenWeb page and download the informational brochure. If you are not, you may write to the Meriwether County Heritage Book Committee, 135 Stovall Rd., Greenville, GA 30222, and they will send you one.

Anyone may submit a family household history of 500 words or less and one photo for free. If your ancestors were in Meriwether before 1840, you may submit a story of 1000 words and two photos for free. There is an extra charge for stories over the limit and additional photos.

I know some of you are saying, "I'm not through with my research yet. What do I do?"

My answer to this is send in as much as you have. I feel it's better to have a family represented with just a short story than no story at all. As long as your research is based on fact and properly sourced, then someone out there can certainly use the information, no matter how little you have. The story on my Fowlers in the Cleburne Heritage Book was almost just a blurb, but it led me to my 2nd great grandfather, on whom I had no information, and told me where to look to get back one more generation. Anything helps ... and adds to the book.

The finished book costs $61.50, including tax and shipping (if you have it shipped to you), or $54.50 if you pick the book up in Greenville.

I plan to submit at least two stories ... one on my Boyds and one on my recently discovered Owens family. Am I through researching them? Heck, no! But I'm sending what I have.

While we're on the subject of Meriwether County, I'd like to tell you a little bit about it and what it's like doing research there. Since it's only 35 minutes from my front door to the courthouse in Greenville, I have been there several times.

Meriwether County was actually "laid out" from a portion of Troup county in 1827, from lands ceded by the Indians in 1825. It definitely is one of our close neighbors.

If you drive west on Ga. Highway 54 from Peachtree City, through Sharpsburg, you will eventually cross into Meriwether County. The first town you come to from this direction will be Luthersville.

If you travel south from Fayetteville on Ga. Hwy. 85, you will travel briefly through Coweta and the towns of Senoia and Haralson, then cross into Meriwether. The first town you come to will be Alvaton. Many people who were in Meriwether early on moved northward into Coweta, Fayette, Campbell and Carroll counties. Some also continued westward into Troup County. and then to Chambers Co., Ala.

The county seat of Meriwether is Greenville and that is where all the county records are kept. I have only done research on early records in the probate office, but there are also deeds available in another office. The probate records are kept in a vault adjacent to the work area where all the clerks' desks are located, but there is plenty of room to work inside the vault and there is a table there where you may sit and go over the books. The probate records include wills, annual returns, minutes of the court of ordinary, estate inventories, guardianship bonds, and marriage books. And they have them all ... the original books ... from the 1820s to the present.

The neatest thing is that they have huge books with an index to all the estates, arranged alphabetically, so it is very easy to locate all the probate records available on your ancestor. The index should be the first place you look.

The actual record books are on shelves, plainly marked, and it is easy to find whatever you're looking for. You may not make copies from the books, so be prepared to write a lot. I commend this inconvenience because it assures that the books will be kept in as good condition as possible for years to come. Keep in mind that some of these records are nearly 200 years old and the paper is beginning to crumble. I have seen some people taking photos of the pages and that might be a good idea too.

The clerks are very nice and friendly, but do not have time to do your lookups for you. Once you enter the vault, you are on your own. However, you may find other researchers there who can lead you in the right direction. A couple from Texas was extremely helpful to me during my first visit.

When I went there three years ago, there was a building just off the courthouse square with a sign which said, "Meriwether County Historical Society." The sign was not there when I went a couple of months ago. Linda Dobbs told me one of her main projects was to try and get it going again. Look for a facility in the future. In the meantime, I would give the Meriwether Courthouse an A+ for user-friendly research.

Have you had an interesting genealogy adventure? Know of a good research facility? Got an interesting family history to share? Send it to The Citizen, Drawer 1719, Fayetteville, GA 30214; jkilgore@thecitizennews.com or jodiek444@aol.com.

Until next week, happy hunting!

(Judy regrets that time does not permit her to do personal research for others.)