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COASTAL GEORGIA GENEALOGY
SOCIETY NEWS & REVIEWS
JUNE 22ND MEETING will be
held at the College Place United Methodist Church on Altama Ave. in
Brunswick at 2 p.m. Let‘s hear your ideas on a program. What would you
like to learn about, or discuss? Would you like to have a “rap" session
and just talk about various topics or would you like to have a program and
speaker? Send your feedback to us at <cggsnews@hotmail.com>.
MARCH 16TH MEETING was
headed by Jerry Martin, who snuck in a birthday on us. Happy belated
birthday Jerry! Mr. Martin spoke of “What are you leaving behind?”
Meaning what is your life story, what are you leaving behind for future
generations? He showed us some excellent examples of cards that he made.
One with his boyhood home on it, and inside he placed a little “story” on
what happened in this house while living there. Marriages, deaths,
sibling rivalry. We also viewed a short program about using the “Family
History Catalog” from the LDS church. Very informative presentation
Jerry!
CENSUS FACTS
While surfing the web, I found this great book called “Measuring America:
The Decennial Censuses from 1790-2000”, and the best part, this is a free
downloadable book!
Did you know that official
forms for census taking did not exist until 1830? Most states
provided a form for their enumerators that may have differed from other
states.
In 1790 the enumerator just
wrote down the information in whatever fashion was easiest for him to
follow. A standard form for the census was provided by the US government
in 1830 for use by all states.
The US had a population of
about 3,929,214 people in 1790 and the cost for taking the census was
$44,377, that‘s a little over a penny per person. In the year 2000, there
were about 281,421,906 people at a cost of $4,500,000,000, that’s almost
$16 per person to count all of us!
Most censuses were to be
taken on a certain date, for example June 1830. Now, with almost 13
million people living here, it is obvious that you couldn’t count these
people in one month. No matter, if you showed up in September, you asked
the family who was living in this house on June 30th, regardless if they
have since passed away or were just born in July, the dead were counted
and the newborns were not.
Information on what the
marshals were required to ask, and small photo copies of the forms used
are included in this 149 page book.
Looking forward to the 1940 census, we may find out that under race, the
1940 census was the same as in 1930 except that in 1940 people of Mexican
descent were declared white.
Questions 35-50 were asked
of only 5 percent of the population, which included important information
like where the person’s parents were from, their mother tongue, whether on
not they are a veteran, their usual occupation; if female, has the woman
been married more than once, age at first marriage, number of children
ever born (not including stillborn). Only persons enumerated on lines 14
and 29 were asked these questions.
The usual information like
name, age, sex, marital status, education, and address are listed, but an
added bonus is a column asking where the person lived on 1 April 1935. If
they lived at the same address it will say “same house”, if they lived in
the same town but a different house it will say “same place”, and if they
had moved from another location the city, county, and state should be
provided. There are thirteen question involving the person’s occupation
alone!
You can download this free
book from this site at:
http://www.census.gov/prod/2002pubs/pol02-ma.pdf
This is 15MB document and may take awhile to download and save to your
computer or to a disc, but it shows up instantly on the website. It takes
a minute for some pages with images on them to show up, so be patient.
You must have Adobe Acrobat Reader to view this book.
THE BRICK WALL
Thomas W. LAMB: b. 7 Sept. 1847 Cumberland Island, d. 30 June 1923 Modoc,
South Carolina. Married three times: Laura KENRICK, Sarah C. PYLES, and
Martha KENRICK. T.W. and most of his family are buried in Palmetto
Cemetery and Oak Grove Cemetery in Brunswick, Georgia. Question is: what
happened to the wives? Especially Sarah C. PYLES? T.W. was very
prominent in this town, he was a sheriff in 1875, mayor in 1892 & 1893,
and county treasurer in 1906. Information is abundant on him, but not on
his wives. Where are they buried, when were they born, when did they die,
who were their families?
Walter Herbert MCDONALD:
b. 13 March 1880, married and died in Jacksonville, Florida. Supposedly
born in Donaldsonville or Homersville (might mean Homerville), but
according to his death record, he was born in Alabama, and no record of
towns by these names can be found in Alabama. His mother was Viola MCGEE
and his father was possibly named Charles. He had a twin sister named
Emily.
Email member Sandra
Phillips at:
sandel20@starpower.net
INTERNET
http://www.itd.nps.gov/cwss Civil War Soldiers & Sailors System.
Search for soldiers, regiments, battles, and much more. Microfilm roll
information provided also!
http://www.paperofrecord.com/ Search many newspapers from the early
1800’s for Canada, Australia, Mexico, United Kingdom, and the US. You
must buy a subscription, but the good thing is that you can buy a weekly
(7 days) for $6.75. The majority of the papers are for Canada and Mexico.
http://cpcug.org/user/jlacombe/terms.html Ever wonder why great
grandma’s occupation was listed as a “hooker” or why her husband was
considered a “quarrel picker”? Located at this site is a list of many
archaic occupations of our 19th century ancestors.
PUBLICATIONS
Everyone in Glynn County may have heard of this book, but some of our
readers and Glynn County researchers may not know of it’s existence.
I am talking about Margaret
Davis Cate’s book titled: “Our Todays and Yesterdays, A Story of
Brunswick and the Coastal Islands”.
Published in 1930, it gives
a very in depth look at Glynn’s early history. Also included are some
early tombstone transcriptions, early marriages, estates, and many more
records that may not be found in Brunswick anymore. I know the tombstone
transcriptions are a great help as some of these stones have been damaged
over time, like one in DuBignon Cemetery on Jekyll Island, or they are
wearing away.
There were many mistakes in
the original book, but have been corrected in some copies by the author.
Unfortunately, new copies are only available on a limited basis when they
are reprinted by various book publishers. But, there are always copies
in our local public library for check out, and if your library is on the
Three Rivers Regional Library System, you can get this book on
interlibrary loan.
UPCOMING EVENTS
4-6 April 2003 The Blessing of the Fleet in Darien, Georgia.
6 April 2003 Copeland Reunion at Waverly, Georgia.
13 April 2003 Metts Reunion between Waycross and Douglas, Georgia.
15 April 2003 Sons of Confederate Veterans
24 April 2003 The League of the South: Dedicated to preserving the truth
and history before, during, and after the War Between the States and
Reconstruction. Meets the fourth Thursday of every month at Capt. Joe’s
on Hwy. 17. Dinner at 6 p.m.; meeting at 7 p.m.
27 April 2003 Maulden Reunion in Ludowici, Georgia.
4 May 2003 Clark Reunion at Plant McManus in Brunswick, Georgia.
SAFE SOLUTIONS FOR
SCRAPBOOK MEMORIES
Here are some tips on preserving your material memories:
Pressed Flowers: Enclose in a Mylar sleeve.
Newspaper Clippings: Treat with a deacidification spray and encapsulate,
or use a color photocopy.
Letters, Cards & Programs:
Treat with a deacidification spray. To make both sides readable place in
a separate page protector, in a keepsake pocket, or use a color photocopy
for displaying.
Polaroids: Use a color copy.
Fabrics: Encapsulate, color copy or photograph wool or silk items.
Hand-stitch other items to your page.
Coins: Place in a keepsake pocket. Arrange so they’ll stay in a single
flat layer.
"My family tree is full of
notholes. It's not him, it's not her, it's not them . . ."
"You think you've got problems? How far do you think Adam and Eve got?
"Genealogists will date any old thing."
"A great many family trees are the result of grafting."
CEMETERY PRESERVATION
WORKSHOP
On 22 March 2003, the Bryan-Lang Historic Library hosted Ms. Debi Hacker
of the Chicora Foundation with her presentation on cemetery preservation
and conservation.
I was very impressed! Ms.
Hacker was very informative and knowledgeable about this topic, as well
she should be.
We were given a notebook
with an outline of every slide shown, and a space to write notes, which
were very few as the whole program was in this notebook, so note taking
was not a necessity.
Some important pointers:
Number one, if you do not know how to correctly preserve or conserve a
cemetery, hire a proffessional (which is no easy task).
Number two: do not put anything on a tombstone that you would not put on
your face, i.e. bleach, ammonia, etc.
Number three: do not use mechanical lawn mowing equipment around
stones. Hand trim if possible, any grass or brush.
Number four: don’t let your landscaping get away from you. Don’t plant
things that have to be constantly maintained, and get rid of potential
problems before they become a problem.
There are many more
guidelines to follow, and I am glad that I attended this workshop as I am
sure one of our email members, Ken Sylvester of Waycross, is too, with all
of the cemetery surveys he has completed over the years.
For more information on
what Chicora has to offer, go to their website at:
http://www.chicora.org/
The Brunswick Advertiser &
Appeal
Reminiscences of St. Simons Island, by M. de Luogad, Chapter 1
Soon after the settlement of St. Simons, near the south end occurred an
event which will always invest the place with interest. General
Oglethorpe had selected Frederica as the most suitable place for erecting
fortifications to command the inland passage, and prevent the incursions
of the Spaniards from Florida. Spain claimed all the territory to the
Savannah river, and the Spanish governor at St. Augustine made
preparations to expel the English. The works at Frederica, the forts at
the south end and at Gascoigne's Bluff (now Hamilton) were completed, and
a flotilla of gun boats was assembled in the Sound, when the Spanish
armament, numbering eighth thousand men, crossed St. Simons bar. The
Spanish fleet ran past the batteries, dispersed the gun boats, and landed
at Gascoigne's Bluff. That and all the other out-posts were abandoned,
and the entire strength of the English concentrated within the works at
Frederica.
Soon afterwards, a
reconnoitering party was sent out by the English general, consisting of
two companies of the Highland regiment, under command of Capt. McKay and
Lieut. Rutherford, and thirty Indians--Yamacraws--led by their chief,
Tomechichi. The military road crossed the Island from Frederica to the
east marsh and skirted the woods till near the south end, when it diverged
to Gascoigne's Bluff, on the west side of the Island.
When the party had reached
the neighborhood of the Spanish camp, they were met by a superior force of
the enemies, who had probably sallied on the same errand. The English
fell back, pursued by the Spaniards.
Marching along, the two
young officers arranged a plan to ambuscade the Spaniards. Ambuscading
was a favorite mode of warfare with both the Highlanders and the Indians.
The spot selected was well fitted for that purpose. It is where the marsh
bends into the high ground, and makes a half circle. One company
concealed themselves in the bushes at one point of the crescent, and the
other company at the other--the Indians being distributed in the bend.
The Spanish commander, by a strange fatality--when fairly in the
trap--ordered a halt and gave the command to "stack arms," having given up
the pursuit. Capt. McKay, restraining his ardor till the right moment,
gave the signal--which was the elevation of Highland bonnet on the point
of a sword. A volley at short range and the assault with claymores and
tomahawks did the work of destruction. The Spaniards, surprised,
decimated, and cut off from the woods, fled panic stricken into the marsh,
the wooded and sand hills on the other side offering a chance of safety,
and not suspecting the impassable nature of the ground. But every step
taken in that direction made it more difficult to advance, till, mired
helplessly, they became an easy prey to their merciless enemies, for no
quarter was given.
How many, if any, escaped
is not known. Many years afterwards, when the introduction of sea island
cotton had given a great stimulus to agriculture, and the adjoining forest
was cleared, to be converted into cotton fields, the human skeletons found
buried under the leaves, told of the sad fate of many unfortunate
Spaniards, who, desperately wounded, had sought concealment in the
thicket, and perished miserably. The scene of this tragedy has since that
day been called "Bloody Marsh."
Vol. 2, No. 42; Wed.
Morning 11 April 1877; pg. 2, col. 2
OUR VOLUNTEER RESEARCHERS
We have a few in our membership who will volunteer to do lookups on a
limited basis. Some of us have jobs, and other projects going on, so it
may take some time.
Please limit your lookups
to GLYNN COUNTY ONLY. We do not have the time to travel to the
surrounding counties to do research.
Charges may be applied to
you for photo copies, postage, and certification of court records. These
charges are not ours, they are from the source. Court records are 25
cents per page plus $5 to certify them. Library copies and microfilm
copies are 15 cents per page. Gifts to the Coastal Georgia Genealogy
Society for research are always welcome!
Email the newsletter with
your lookup requests and it will be forwarded to one of our volunteers.
Bill Smith will do lookups
in Brunswick, Georgia.
Amy Hedrick will do lookups
in the courthouse and in her vast holdings of marriages, church records,
miscellaneous court records, cemetery, and funeral home records.
Dot Fowler will do lookups
in the St. Simons Island Library. This library sometimes has a more
diverse collection of books, especially on St. Simons history.
Jim Wroton will do lookups
on St. Simons also.
MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION
Annual membership to the CGGS is only $15 for one person or $18 for a
family. Membership extends from 1 January 2003 to 31 December 2003.
Remit payment to our treasurer:
Barbara Baethke
119 Bayberry Circle
St. Simons Is. , GA 31522 |
