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Finding Your Folks: Burdettes of Campbell and Fayette By JUDY FOWLER KILGORE Before I tell you about the Burdettes, I want to let you know of two historical society meetings occurring this weekend in our area. Unfortunately, both are on the same day at the same time. Both the Fayette County Historical Society (FCHS) and the Old Campbell County Historical Society (OCCHS) will meet Sunday afternoon, March 21, at 3 p.m. FCHS meets in its research facility on Lee Street in Fayetteville. OCCHS meets in the old courthouse in Fairburn, across the railroad tracks from the main business district. If you are interested in either of these areas or had ancestors who lived there, I urge you to attend and get involved. Now, for the Burdettes. I received an e-mail last week from Sarah Lingwall who is seeking information on Felix and Susan Cook Burdette, their ancestors and descendants. Sarah also had a couple of questions about genealogy in general, which I answered privately. This is a compilation of several e-mails which took place between Friday and Monday. Sarah writes: “I just discovered your column and love it. I am one of those newcomers (one who has resisted the lure of the family tree program requesting that I post my information) who knows very little about how to do this but have had some success — I think. You might find my story interesting. “This began with a search for Felix E. Zachariah Burdette (my great grandfather) who was born in South Carolina about 1862 and who died in Tennessee in 1943. The information I started with was that he had siblings named Henry, John, Georgia, Sally, and Andy, and that his parents may be William and Caroline. My mother thought that Caroline was correct for the mother of Felix. The family tree program I received for Christmas (Broderbund's Family Tree Maker) came bundled with access to the census for three months so I began my search. “After a bit of searching I found Felix (Phelix in 1880(GA) and 1900(AL) and every year back to 1870 where I ran into that brick wall. “I skipped back to 1850 and started looking for William and Caroline (but by looking at the 1880 census decided that Mother's name was probably Nancy). “After looking at hundreds of census pages I found Wm. Burdett, age 27, listed as an overseer in Abbeyville, SC. Along with him is Nancy, age 22, John L., age 4 and Mary L., age 1. I noted the name of the largest land owner in the vicinity and looked for him in the 1860 census. Near that land owner I found a William Burditt, age 33, listed as overseer. With him is Pancilla, age 28, Jno., age 13, Elizb., age 12, Andrew, age 11, Sally, age 10, Geo. (listed as male), age 9 and an infant, age 2 months. “Finally, frustration getting the better of me, I did a surname search in Georgia for the 1870 census (for about the 10th time) and decided to check every name that could possibly be a child of this family. Thus I stumbled on "Patsy", age 22 (according to the transcriber), living in Campbell County with Elisa, age 18, domestic ?, Sarah, age 16, Andrew age 17, Georgia, age 12, and Felix, age 7. And they are listed as being born in Georgia instead of South Carolina. Is this the same family? “I suppose this is a typical story but I found myself being very disappointed to find that the census takers were sloppy and that some of the handwriting is almost unreadable. "In 1880 Felix lived with (his) mother, Nancy, in Fayette Co, Blackrock Dist. 709. Andrew and John lived nearby. "Also, in 1870 (where Nancy is called Patsy--probably because the enumerator misheard the name) John lived nearby in Fayette County. “Felix married Susan Cook. According to the Fayette County Genweb, a T. Z. Burdette married S. C. Cook on 23 April 1882. They had two children — my grandfather, James Moses Burdette, who I believe was born in Cobb County, and Mattie. At some point she died (I assume) and he married Matilda Astin (this info I got from a grandson of Felix's 3rd wife). They had one child, Homer. "Also, the Fayette County GenWeb site produces the information that Sallie Burdett married M. L. Johnson on 2 Oct 1873 and Georgia Burdett married J. W. Johnson on the same date. I have corresponded with one of Georgia’s granddaughters and that information appears to be correct. "In 1900 Felix is living in Jefferson County, Alabama and he is married to Emily Baines. They had at least 12 children. The 1900 census (Jefferson, AL) shows Felix's (Phelix) wife Matilda as being born in GA, as having been married for 8 years, mother of 2 children, one living. That one, Homer, is shown as being born in GA in Oct. 1894. Thus I can conclude that both James Moses (my grandfather) and Mattie, his sister, were both born in GA and that their mother died there, too. I recognize the possibility that there might have been movement back and forth between states but since my information says Grandpa was born in Cobb County, GA, I think I can safely assume that my conclusions are correct. Right? “As you can see, I am a total novice. “Sarah Lingwall, 4930 Lake Pierce Drive, Lake Wales, FL 33898-8883. E-mail: justsarah37@yahoo.com.” I you can help Sarah track her Burdette family, please contact her at either address. I really appreciate her sharing her family information. Every time I get one of these letters, I feel as if I’ve made a new friend. That’s one of the greatest perks of this job. I welcome your letters about genealogy and info on south metro Atlanta families. Send them to The Citizen, Drawer 1719, Fayetteville, GA 30214; e-mail 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.)
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