Chambliss of GA and VA

Joel Edgar Chambliss was born on 20 Nov 1850 in Bolingbroke, Monroe Co., Georgia. He descends from the Chambliss family of Prince George County, Virginia who came from England ca 1630. Joel was buried in May 1918 in Smith Cemetery, Brent, Monroe Co., Georgia. He died on 21 May 1918 in Atlanta, Fulton Co., Georgia. Joel Edgar Chambliss resided at Bolingbroke, a small community in Bibb Co. At the turn of the century he removed his family to Atlanta. In the summertime, he and his wife would take the children to his wife's parents plantation in Monroe Co., located at Brent, near Forsyth. They are both buried at the old Smith Family Cemetery at Brent. The plantation house on this site was torn down about 1930 and is now being used as farmland. The old Davis Smith house was a typical two story structure with square columns supporting the front porch. A lane of cedar trees led a path to the house.

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Lost Georgia Ancestors: Find Lost Daughters

Ancestor detectives search for every minute detail and comparing those details with the records. Start with the 1800 census because it provides age ranges for the children. Write down the age ranges. Nex, go to the 1810 census, repeating the process through the 1850 census. Now, let us determine who left the family for the various decades. See who is still there in 1810, 1820, 1830 and 1840. Next, go to the county records and examine the female marriages. If a daughter age 10 to 15 in 1800 was gone in 1810, look for a female who married before 1810. Let us say that one, Matilda Martin married John Franklin in Lunenburg Co., VA in 1809. Locate the county in which John Franklin resided in the 1850 Virginia Census Index; then look up the family in that county and follow this family through for subsequent decades to learn if any of her brothers and sisters later resided with her. Compare the names to the earlier established family group sheets from these census records. Next, locate the family on the 1880 census to learn where Matilda's parents were born. Does this match? Next, search the deed records to see if one, John Franklin and his wife, Matilda, were deeded any land from the Martin family. Wives did not inherit directly and gift deeds for land, slaves, etc. were given directly to the husband.

Jeannette Holland Austin, Georgia Author
Georgia Pioneers
www.georgiapioneers.com

Finding Lost Georgia Ancestors: Field Work

Locating old homesites and nearby cemeteries lies in the legends of local county maps. But first, one must find the ancestor's deed transactions in that county. Then write down the legal description of the property. The old land grants did not provide detail because the land was considered wild. However, as time went on legal descriptions in deeds took shape and told whose lands were adjacent, identified creeks, rivers, roads and ferries. This detail is highly important to the researcher. It is always preferred to obtain all deed transactions of the ancestor and his family members. Then, a comparison of the descriptions between those persons. This helps zero in on original land grants, the year granted, how tracts were divided and bequeathed to family members, etc. Deeds of Gift was the common method of parents passing land to children. Since each deed must have a consideration, the sum of money was usually quite small. A title search in the deed office is now indicated. That is a tracing of the property forward. You observe the name your ancestor sold the property to, then see who that person sold the property to, and so on forward to the present day. Unless these transactions went unrecorded, when you get to the present-day owner, the title search should provide the exact address as modern deed descriptions contain more detail as well as street addresses. Even if you do not have the exact street address, after acquiring all of the deed descriptions, it is time to visit the local county court house and view in the tax commissioner's office the land district map. After zeroing in on this land district, you can use the legend of the local county map to locate the general vicinity old homeplace. Now the field trip. Visit local cemeteries, churches and old farmsteads in the general area. Be sure and write down all of your surnames from these cemeteries as you will be able to link these later on.

Jeannette Holland Austin, Georgia Author
www.georgiapioneers.com
Georgia Pioneers

Finding Lost Ancestors: Get to Know Them

Understanding a person's life can be done by observing the details of court house records. The clues are all there. The answers to why he is not found during a specific period of time comes from clues given in old records such as deeds, marriages, tax digests, estates, etc. The tax digests denote how many acres, where located (streams, rivers, creeks), wooded lands which are in essence telling you about the acreage which can be cultivated. Tobacco was a main stay crop grown by Virginians, but the tobacco grown in the fields along the Virginia-North Carolina borders was known to be not as fine as tidewater tobacco. This fact was observed by William Byrd when he surveyed the state lines in the 18th century. It was this unhappy crop which caused these Virginians to migrate into North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia. Worn-out land caused families to move on into newly opened territories in the thirteen colonies. They moved southward until Indians lands were opened, and then went west into Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas. It was all about land.

Jeannette Holland Austin, Georgia Author
Georgia Pioneers

Finding Lost Georgia Ancestors

Finding Disappearing Ancestors: As county lines changed and were sub-divided, records of persons fell into other counties. Also, as some families resided near county lines, they were occasionally missed by census-takers. This is why we search the records in the adjoining counties. The parent county may have been sub-divided several times. This is why it is important to discover the parent county and pay attention to the date of formation. I have ancestors from the Atlanta area and thus search Henry, Rockdale, DeKalb, Fulton, Newton and Cobb Counties. One ancestor drew in the 1821 land lottery, a resident of Greene County at the date of drawing(but resided in Clarke County several years later). The land which he drew was listed in Henry County in the 14th district. Upon checking the land district map at the Georgia State Archives, it was discovered that this land actually fell into old downtown Atlanta. Yes! All of present-day Underground Atlanta. Thus, in 1821, Atlanta was in Henry County, and later became DeKalb County, and finally Fulton County. Such tiny details are revealing !

Jeannette Holland Austin, Georgia Author
Georgia Pioneers

Finding Lost Georgia Ancestors

When census and other records are lost, so are people. No census is available in Georgia until 1820. So what happened to 1790, 1800 and 1810? They were supposedly destroyed by the British during the War of 1812. Thus, one whole generation is lost. This is the first in a series of articles on How to Find Lost Relatives ! No matter what the records gap is, the tips and advice given applies to every State. a series

Diggin Deeper

Every researcher experiences some hurdles. If you have an ancestor who had disappeared off the planet, here are some thoughts. They can avoid the census-taker, not own land or record their deeds, not leave an estate or last will and testament of any description worthy of probate, not serve on any jury, etc. But there is one place that they cannot escape and that is the tax digest in the county where he resided. Even if other county records (or census records) do not exist, look for the tax digests, then methodically search through each district. Names are not alphabetical. Don't forget to search the back of the book for the delinquents, that is, those who failed to file for one reason or the other. They may have moved, died, etc. Absence on the county records is a clue for searching elsewhere. This is where I look. I want to verify that the family was in that county for certain time periods. The next step is to go to the county tax commissioner office and find the named district. This will help you zero in on what part of the county to search further. Purchase a county map which provides the legend and symbols for churches and cemeteries. Now all that remains is to search the graveyards in that neighborhood, writing down all entries of the surnames you are searching. Trust me, you will be able to put these names together later as cousins, great-grandparents, etc.

Finding Lost Georgia Ancestors:

Create your own proving sources to help establish facts for elusive ancestors when there are none. One answer is to research around the facts and thus eliminate persons in that generation. We need to know who is who and put them down on a family group sheet irregardless of whether or not they are directly related. This process documents a family and eliminates them. First, locate your ancestor's surname in nearby counties and states. Then search court house records -- deeds, wills, tax records, estates, etc. -- and establish the facts for each person. Next, complete a family group sheet on that family, noting the sources you used. Proceed accordingly on all questionable families, thus identifying each person of the era and location. Third, examine each family group sheet. Look for nicknames. For example, Betsy, b. ca 1757 could be your Elizabeth, b. 1759. Fourth, once everyone is identified you probably have a number of loose persons for whom you need to discover more information. Try to trace that person so that he may be either identified or elimated; use marriage records, estates, etc. In the earliest pioneering days the eldest son inherited the farm while others went into other acceptable occupations such as physicians, ministers, etc. This took them away from the homeplace. In other words, erase confusion by identifying and eliminating all families in prescribed areas having your same.

Jeannette Holland Austin, Georgia Author
www.georgiapioneers.com