Finding Your Folks: The treasures in "Book A"

I can't praise strongly enough the benefits of researching directly in the old books in the courthouse. The first time I touched a book whose writings were done in the very early 1800s I was awestruck. I thought about the clerk who had sat for hours carefully penning what would later become history books for the counties and the courts. I ran my fingers gently over the now-faded-to-brown words, almost afraid they would fade more and disappear before my very eyes. Even the phrasing and grammar tended to make you feel you were in another place and time.

The next time you find yourself heading for the courthouse, try to plan a little extra time for just browsing and looking, especially in any of the books marked "A." These are the first books recorded for a county. The surprises and hidden treasures found in these books can amaze you. For, while the index to the deeds, probate records and marriages mentions names of the main players, they do not tell you the supporting actors and actresses or the extras who played parts in the events. Those are the real treasures. And you may find an ancestor or two ... or three ... among them. Someone may have witnessed a will or a deed. Someone may have posted a security bond for a guardianship. The name of a grandparent may show up in an annual return. All kinds of surprises are ahead when you start browsing the books.

In any county, "Deed Book A" holds land records for the very first settlers there. In these early deeds you may find a seller or purchaser's county of origin or where he lived before he bought this land ... and sometimes whether the land was won in a lottery. Many of the early deeds for counties in our area - Fayette, Henry, Coweta, Campbell, Carroll, Meriwether, and Pike - contain the names of settlers who came from Jones, Jasper, Putnam, Elbert, Wilkes and other older Georgia counties that were settled prior to the 1820s. The first deed in book A would be the first land transaction recorded in a county. When I have occasion to look up a deed in Book A (any county) I usually take a few minutes to browse through several pages before and after the one I need (they are in chronological order). If I have more time, sometimes I start at the beginning of the book and see who all was there. I have found my ancestors as witnesses to early deeds which places them in that county in a certain time - hidden treasures you won't find in any index.

By the same token, "Marriage Book A" will contain the first marriages recorded for a county. But marriage books contain much more than just the names of those who were married. Although Georgia was (and still is) stingy about releasing information on marriage licenses, most marriage books do contain the date and name of the official who issued the license, and the date and name of the official who performed the marriage, along with the names of the couple getting married. Here, again, you may find surprises in that middle names and initials sometimes are given ... names that are not in the index. This is where I found the middle name of Nancy Byram Tidwell, daughter of James and Hannah. Although the index lists her just as "Nancy Birom," the actual record gives her middle name as "Camilly" and "Camilla" - not once, but twice. A real treasure for sure, since Nancy married and died between the 1830 and 1840 censuses and the only record of her is through her son, James A. Tidwell named in Nancy's father's will.

In the county probate records, "Will Book A" contains the first will recorded in the county. Wills and estates contain an untold amount of information. The Index to Probate Records kept by every county since its creation lists not only those who left wills but also the names of those whose estates were administered there. If a person died in that county and owned any kind of property the record will be there.

Wills are handled by executors named in the will, while estates of persons who left no will are handled by administrators appointed by the court, usually a close friend or family member. If you've never bothered to look up all the records surrounding an estate settlement, it would behoove you to do so. You could probably examine records from just one estate for an entire week and still not figure it all out. I am still going over James Byram's estate and finding surprises. Anything involving the transfer of money to or from the estate is recorded ... even simple purchases of food from a store. If land had to be sold to pay off debts - even land outside the county - it was recorded here, often with a description and location of the land. I found out that one of my ancestors, Martin Owen, while living in the 588th District of Upson County won land in the 1832 Cherokee Land Lottery. One lot was in Lumpkin County and was sold, as part of his estate, to pay off debts.

There are so many facets about this topic I could go on and on. You can approach courthouse research hurriedly or at your leisure, but if you take a little extra time, you may be surprised at what you find. Besides, it's a lot of fun. Try it. I guarantee you'll learn some things you never knew.

Stories and family histories about your ancestors who lived on Atlanta's south side are always welcome. Send them to jkilgore@thecitizen.com or JodieK444@aol.com. Mail to The Citizen, P.O. Drawer 1719, Fayetteville, GA 30214. All letters and e-mails I receive are subject to being used in the column.