Non-Population Census Schedules on Ancestry.com

     For some time, Ancestry.com has had a few states worth of Non-Population Census Schedules online. I found a lot of relatives in their South Carolina records and waited patiently for the Georgia records to go online. I could have accessed these in person at the Georgia Archive, but there are so many records other there that I had not gotten around to them.  Then I didn't bother to get around to them since they didn't have an index and Ancestry.com announced that they would be putting the GA records online in 2011. Well, that didn't happen. But on May 21st the Non-Population database was updated and the GA records arrived. Yay!

     Well, not so much "yay" as "what the...?" There are some problems with the Georgia index. Some somewhat serious problems that could impact researchers.


     First: badly indexed names.  Now, some of this is due to bad images. I browsed a number of pages that were extremely difficult to read, probably based on bad microfilm copies. I'm sure the original records were destroyed long ago, so Ancestry can only work with the current microfilm. But the indexing problems go well beyond that.

     See the image on the right? I think the name of my 3x Great-Grandfather is pretty clear: "R T Smith." Maybe the indexer might not get the "T", but otherwise it's pretty easy. Apparently not. The only thing the indexer got right was the "T"! They turned the "R" into a "B" and "Smith" into "Chnith."

     There is no way that anyone searching for Smith would find this record. So how did I find him? I searched for my ancestor's neighbors in the corresponding population census, using the FAN Club approach to search for Friends, Associates & Neighbors.

    Most of them were indexed badly as well, but at least "Brnmbelo" is close enough to "Brumbelo" to be found via soundex. Once I found this record I went through a portion of the page adding corrections to the names. Although this is the worst example that I've found so far, many of my other ancestors have indexing errors that should have been pretty obvious.

     Second: mixing up the 1860 and 1850 records. I really don't understand how this happened, but let me start with a screenshot:

     As you can see in the image, I was searching for anyone with the surname "Boatright" in Emanuel County, Georgia in 1850. I got results back for both 1850 and 1860.  If I do the same search, but in 1860, I don't get any results. So it seems that the 1860 records have been placed in the 1850 category.  Further, when you save an 1860 record to your family tree, it is saved with an 1850 date.  This is not the only example of this that I've run across and I have reported this error to Ancestry.com.

     So, if you are searching the Non-Population Census Schedules on Ancestry.com prepare to do some creative searching. I'm finding my ancestors and I'm coming up with some great information, but it's more difficult than it should be.

Waters - Smith - Carson Connection

Edited 12 Jun 2011

     One of the earliest brick walls on my mom's side of the tree is the Waters family. I can't uncover details on J Waters and Mary, parents to Leverett, Millard and Queen Waters. To try and uncover the ancestry of this couple, I'm researching all of the children, not just my direct ancestor.

     Today, a search on Genealogy Bank turned up a result for "Mrs. Millard Waters." I know that Millard appeared in 1920 with a wife whose name looks to be Suzie. In 1930, their known children, Ben and Ida, as well as a new girl, Marie, show up with a mother, Bessie Edwards. Is Millard's wife Suzie or Bessie? Did she marry a Mr Edwards after Millard's death?


     I can't find any mention of Millard after 1920 and I didn't have information on his wife - until today. I found an obituary for Allen M Carson, who had a sister called Mrs. Millard Waters of Atlanta. This provided me with Suzie's parents: William and Ella Carson. And guess what? They were already in my tree, complete with two daughters named Susan and Betsey!

      I'll need to do a little more research to sort out Susan and Betsey, but this information didn't actually add anyone to the tree, it just connected people. In fact, it created something of a circle. This family connection gets pretty confusing, so instead of explaining everything, I drew a family tree:

Civil War Profile: Richard T Smith

     The following is a profile of one of my Civil War ancestors. What was their life like before, during and after the war? Where did their sympathies lie? How did they feel about the war?

_____

Before
    Richard T Smith was my Great-Great-Great Grandfather. He was born in Georgia on 2 Jan 1829, in the area that is present day Cobb, Cherokee, Fulton or Forsyth County, Georgia. According to his death certificate, his parents were George and Mary Smith, though I've yet to find further evidence of them. Some records indicate they were born in Georgia, while others indicate Virginia.

     The earliest record I have for Richard is the 1860 census of Shady Grove Post Office, Milton County, GA [recorded as R L Smith]. He appeared there with his wife, Eliza, and four children. Richard was a farmer, with a personal estate valued at $125 and no property listed. The family did not own any slaves at this time and I don't believe they ever owned any.

During
     The only real evidence that I have of Richard's Civil War service comes from the 1910 census. Question #30 asks about civil war service. Richard answered "CA" for Confederate Army.



     I thought that I had found Richard's Pension record, but when I compared them to city directory records (which list his wife) I started to doubt it. Some facts match, but others weren't quite right. With such a common name, it's been very difficult to confirm any muster roll records as well. Richard might be listed in the 1864 Census for Re-Organizing the Georgia Militia. This Richard is a shoemaker, an occupation my Richard is attributed with in a city directory.

     Without records it's difficult to determine Richard's position on the events unfolding around him. He did not own slaves, but he seems to have come from a southern background. Many men signed up with a sense of patriotism toward their new country. But did he enlist or was he conscripted? With four small children at home in 1861, I doubt Richard was running out to enlist. Also, his fifth child, Richard Jr, was born in 1863, which indicates that Richard likely didn't sign up until at least around this time (although I have found that men who were "away; sick at home" at some point in the war tended to find a larger family when they next came home).

After
     In the 1870 census, Richard is still living in Milton County and is still farming. One major change has occurred however: his wife, Eliza, is not listed. It seems that Richard is now a widower, raising six children between the ages of 16 and 2. He's not doing it alone though - Rachel Garman is there as well. She's listed last, after the children, so she's probably some sort of servant, nurse or distant relative. Only weeks after this census was taken, Rachel and Richard were married. My Great-Great Grandmother Louise was a child of this union.


     In 1870, Richard's land is valued at $200 while his personal assets are valued at $900. Richard didn't appear to own land in 1860 and his personal assets were much lower. It looks like Richard might have achieved some success after the war. Perhaps he took advantage of the economic upheaval of the time period? I know that during the war nearby Atlanta was evacuated of all citizens, many who chose not to return. Perhaps he was able to purchase land at a good price using money he made from the service. 


     Hopefully I'll be able to uncover more about Richard T Smith's time during the war soon and discover details on what his Civil War service was like.

Are You My Smiths (Pt 4)

     This is part three in a series detailing the research I did on my Smith family. Check out parts one, two and three.

___

     Having explored all population census records on the life of my Great-Great-Great Grandfather, Richard T. Smith, I decided to move onto city directory records to see if I could flesh out his life. I'd browsed Atlanta directories at the Fulton County Library Central Branch, but had been looking for other families and not Richard, at the time. Luckily, many directories of the appropriate time period have been placed online recently at Internet Archive.

     I started with the 1899 Atlanta City Directory. This was the year before my Great-Great Grandmother Louise would marry and leave home and the year that her twin sister, Louisa died (btw, who decided on such identical names?).  In the 1899 directory, there were 7 Richard Smiths, two with the middle initial T recorded and none with wives listed. In order to confirm which Richard Smith was mine (if any), I needed to match the address given for him with another member of his family who was living with him. City directories are different from census records: not everyone is listed; usually only home owners and those in the work force are recorded in directories. Based on census records from this time, I knew that Richard worked in a cotton mill, as did the rest of him family. Those working should be listed and should share an address with their father. Sure enough, this was how I was able to identify Richard.

     The following individuals were listed as living at 63 Organ in the 1899 Atlanta City Directory:

• Aaron, wks Expo Cotton Mills, r 63 Organ
• Albert, wks Expo Cotton Mills, r 63 Organ
• Miss Eliza, wks Expo Cotton Mills, bds 63 Organ
• Miss Louise, wks Expo Cotton Mills, bds 63 Organ
• Richard T, wks Expo Cotton Mills, r 63 Organ

     Ok, wait - who's "Miss Eliza?" Could this be Louisa? The only information I have on Louisa comes from Louise's family bible and the fact that my grandmother told us that her grandmother, Louise, had once had a twin sister (I'm a twin, so the topic of twins in the family tends to come up). But for both her birth and death, the name Louisa is given, not Eliza. But honestly, how can you tell Louise and Louisa apart? It would make sense that one would go by anther name. I can't find an Eliza Smith with this family in any other directory. I think that this is likely her, but it's impossible to confirm right now.

     Going back to Richard, I followed this same strategy throughout the available city directories. He stayed on the same street with his family for a number of years.

• 1898: 63 Organ with sons Albert and Aaron [earliest confirmed appearance]
• 1902 : 67 Organ, as a shoemaker, with wife "Efeline," son Aaron and his wife Sarah, son Albert, and son William with his wife "Versa"
• 1903: 63 Organ, as a shoemaker with wife Rachel, son James H and his wife Sallie
• 1904: 67 Oragan, as a shoemaker with wife Evelyn, son Aaron, James H and his wife Sallie
• 1905: 67 Organ, as a laborer, with wife R Evelyn
• 1906: 92 Center, at a "mach wks" with wife Evelyn
• 1907: 92 Center, at machine works, listed alone
• 1908: 92 Center, as machinist, listed alone
• [In the 1910 census, Richard and family had moved a few miles east to Rockdale County to work in a mill there.]

     From these entries I can see that many of his children are moving in and out of the home (though there may be errors in the listing). Also, Richard's wife, Rachel, goes by different names at different times. I knew that her middle name started with an 'E' from her headstone, but now I know it to be Evelyn.  Also, with her name going back and forth, it adds evidence for this being the correct family.

     It's also very interesting to note something written in the 1899 directory, regarding the accuracy of the listings: "In comparing the present work with that of 1898, we find less than thirty-five per cent. of the population are at the same address."  This is something that I've come to discover on my own while researching. Louise Smith Waters appears with her husband each year in the Atlanta directories. And it almost never fails that they will be at a new address. Usually they are in the same neighborhood or just down the street, but sure enough, the move constantly.  I think it's a product of mill workers who don't live in mill villages. They are constantly on the move to find cheaper rent and possibly better positions.

     In part five, I'll continue to explore facts about the Smith family's life using these directory listings.

Are You My Smiths (Pt 3)

     This is part three in a series detailing the research I did on my Smith family. Check out parts one and two.

___

     In my previous research, I uncovered my Great-Great-Great Grandfather Richard T Smith's life from the time of his marriage to Rachel Garman in 1870 to the end of his life in 1920. But Richard had a number of children in his home before his marriage to Rachel. Who was his first wife, the mother of these children?

     I looked for Richard in the 1860 census on Ancestry.com (old search), but was unable to locate him. I tried searching for Richard, Richard T, and R. T. Smith with no luck. I couldn't find any of the children's names either. I ended up doing a search for 'Smith' in Milton County, Georgia.  I saw an R. L. Smith, five years younger than my Richard, which turned out to be him. Although none of the names or ages matched exactly, this was the family I was looking for. Here's a breakdown of the family in 1860, compared to 1870.

• 1860 = 1870, age difference
• R.L = Richard T, 5 years off
• Priscilla = Paulina, same age
• Lowery = Lucresy, 2 years off
• Dilmus = Dumas, 2 years off
• Arminda = Amanda, 2 years off 

     By finding this record, I also found a name for Richard Smith's first wife: Eliza. I have to make a guess that Eliza died before the 1870 census, leaving Richard with the children. I wonder, did Eliza answer this census and Richard the next? Is that why the ages are so different? Or perhaps a neighbor answered one?

     The children from this first marriage have proven harder to trace, thanks in part to the name and age variations. Also, my Great-Great Grandmother Louise did not seem to view her older half-siblings the same way she viewed her full siblings. There is no mention in her bible records of these children, which made me doubt my research at first. But I believe my research on Richard is correct: a farmer and mill worker with two wives and at least 14 children (likely more: in 1910 Rachel indicated she'd had 13 children with eight living).

     But what about Richard's life before marriage? Who were his parents?

     I know from his death certificate that his son, James Henry Smith, believed Richard's parents to be George Smith and Mary Lane of Georgia. I'm not sure when Richard and Eliza married, but their first known child was born in 1854. In the 1850 census, I had a chance of finding Richard with his parents or his spouse.

     Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find Richard in the 1850 census.  There was no Milton County in 1850. Looking at maps, it appears that DeKalb County sat there instead. I did find a Geo P and Mary living in Brownings, DeKalb who were a good fit to be Richard's parents, but Richard was not with them. I've searched the counties surrounding the area where Richard would appear in the 1860 census, but have so far come up cold. A search of the rest of the state didn't provide any likely results either.  I even searched the 1850 census for Richard's neighbors from 1860, with no luck. I wish I knew the names of any siblings that Richard might have had, but so far have no proof of any. 

     For now, it looks like I've done everything I can with census records. But there are a lot of other resources out there. Next up, city directories.

Are You My Smiths (Pt 2)

     This is part two of a series that details how I researched my Smith ancestors. See the first post here.

___

     Richard T Smith was born in 1829 and died in 1920 at the age of 91. I had found him in census records from 1900 to 1920 and then found evidence of his death. Now, I wanted to find records of his earlier life, which left a number of census records left to research. With such a common name, and living in a metropolitan area, I knew that in order to guarantee that I was researching the correct man, I would need to search for the family as a unit.
  
     I started with the 1880 census and worked backwards. At least three of Richard and Rachel's known children were alive at this time, so I used the children to target the correct family. I was quickly able to find the entire family in 1880 census of Milton County, Georgia. In addition to the previously known children, there were two others: Richard and Sarah. However, these children had been born before the 1872 marriage date given for Richard and Rachel in the 1900 census. Had Richard been married before he married Rachel or could their marriage date be wrong? Also, there was another Smith, Delmus, listed just below Richard's family. Could this be a relative?

     Going backwards in time, I next found Richard in the 1870 census of Milton County, Georgia. With him were two of the previously known children, Richard and Sarah, as well as four new children: Pauline, Lucresy, Dumas, and Amanda. This Dumas was very close to the same age as Delmus from the 1880 census.  I'm pretty certain that it is the same person.

     Interestingly, there was no adult female listed directly under Richard, where the wife is usually listed. Instead, the last individual in the household was a Rachel Garman, age 20, occupation "at home." This had to be his wife. Armed with a maiden name, I quickly found a marriage record for Richard F Smith and Rachel C Garmon from Milton County in August of 1870 (only 16 days after the census was taken). It seems that Rachel lived with the Smith family before marrying Richard. She wasn't listed as a servant, so I'm not sure why she was there.

     So, I have information on Richard and Rachel's life together. I can infer that all of the children living with him in census records who were born before August 1870 were from a previous marriage. Who was Richard's first wife, the mother of Pauline, Lucresy, Dumas, Amanda, Richard and Sarah?

Are You My Smiths? (Pt 1)

     Like most every other genealogist, I have Smiths in my family tree. Here's how I've traced my Smith family so far.

_____

     My grandmama told me that my Great-Great Grandmother was born Louise Smith and was married to Leverett Waters. Their children were Ruby, Ethel, Alma, Ruth, LC, Milton and Jack. I was easily able to find this couple in the 1910 - 1930 censuses, living with their children in a different location each time. 

     But what about Louise's parents - the Smiths - who were they? I wasn't able to find a trace of Leverett Waters in the 1900 census and hoped that Louise was living with her parents at the time. She was born in 1881, so the 1900 census would be the only census for her to appear with her parents.

     My grandmama knew Louise's death date and place, so I started my research by requesting her death certificate. It listed her father as J. Richard Smith and her mother as "Don't Know." Next up: her obituary. Aside from her children, others listed in her obituary were Millard Waters (known to be her brother-in-law), Charles Smith, Aaron Smith, M. Smith, and Mary Hollis. Could these people be her siblings? I knew that in order to be able to say with 100% certainty that a particular Smith family was the correct one, I would need to utilize collateral line research.

     I started searching the 1900 census for Louise, paired up with names from her obituary. In the Atlanta, Georgia there was a Louiza N Smith of the correct age with a brother named Aaron and a father named Richard T. Could this be her? It looked good, but I really didn't have any concrete proof that this was the family I was looking for.

     Luckily for me, I had a happy dance moment in my research: my grandmother had Louise's family bible. On the New Testament introduction page, there was a list of names: Will, Mary, James, Aaron, Louise, Albert and Clarence. The family believed that this was a list of Louise's siblings. I was able to find Aaron, Albert and Clarence listed in the bible and the ages certainly lined up for these to be siblings. Going back to the possible 1900 census listing, I found that this list supported the record that I had found, which showed these names as the children of Richard T and Rachel Smith.

     With this family now defined, I was able to find Richard and Rachel together in the 1910 Rockdale County census and Richard as a widower in 1920 Rockdale County Census. I was able to confirm that these were my GGG-Grandparents since they consistently appeared with their children.

     Next I wanted to find information on Richard and Rachel's death. In the bible, I had a record of "R. T. Smith - Died Oct 24, 1920," which was probably Richard. I confirmed that this was a Richard from the Georgia Deaths Index on Ancestry.com and ordered a copy of his death certificate. Richard's death certificate indicated that his parents were George Smith and Mary Lane of Georgia. He was listed as having been buried in Milstead, the town where he last appeared in a census. Some research on the town of Milstead showed that this had been a mill village, complete with cemetery. Sure enough, graves for Richard, Rachel and son, Albert, were found in the Milstead community cemetery.  The gravestone provided information on Rachel's death, which I had been unable to find. Unfortunately, she died a few years before death certificates were required in Georgia.

Having created a brief sketch of the Smith family from the time of Louise's childhood on, now I would start to locate the Richard and Rachel Smith on records prior to 1900.

Amanuensis Monday - Smith's In The 1899 ATL Directory

   A number of my Smith family ancestors appeared in the 1899 Atlanta City Directory. Because many in the family were of age and working they had their own listings, even though they lived in the same household.  I was excited to find my Great-Great Gradmother, Louise Smith with her own listing. I'd hoped to find her twin sister, Louisa, listed, but she died in 1899 and must have already passed when this directory was created. I was also hoping to find Louise's future husband, Leverett Waters, listed, but he wasn't there either. I haven't been able to find him in the 1900 Census and, as Lou and Leverett were married late that year, I hoped that he would be living near her in 1899. No luck so far. Regardless, here are the Smiths as they are listed in the directory.

__________________________________

Atlanta City Directory for 1899

Page 1189

[Smith] Aaron, wks Expo Cotton Mills, r 63 Organ

[Smith] Albert, wks Expo Cotton Mills, r 63 Organ

Page 1200

Smith Miss Louise, wks Expo Cotton Mills, bds 63 Organ

Page 1202

[Smith] Richard T, wks Expo Cotton Mills, r 63 Organ

Surname Saturday - Smith

Like many others, I have a troublesome Smith family in my lineage. And, like others, the popularity of the name makes the family hard to trace.

My Smith family can be traced to Richard T. Smith, who was born on either 2 Jan 1829¹ or 11 Feb 1830², depending on the document you're looking at. He died on 24 Oct 1920 in Rockdale County, Georgia¹.

Based on Census records, he married Eliza UNKNOWN around 1848, and then Rachel Garman on 18 Aug 1870³. His children from his first marriage were Paulina or Priscilla, Lucresy, Delmus, Amanda, Richard and Sarah. From his second marriage, his children were William, Mary J, James Henry, Aaron M, Louise, Louisa, Albert H, and Clarence. I descend through Louisa Smith, who married Leverett Waters. These names are based on census and Bible records. I find it curious that Louise recorded only her full-blooded siblings and not her half siblings in her Bible. It's made me wonder if I have the correct families, but at least some of the siblings from different marriages are listed together on census records.

I have a good amount of information on Richard, but not enough to find his parents. According to his death certificate, his parents were George Smith and Mary Lane, both of Virginia. I haven't been able to locate this couple. I also have not been able to find a listing for Richard in the 1850 census. At that time, he should have still been single and, hopefully, living with his parents. He was likely in Fulton, Cobb, Milton or in the surrounding Georgia counties.

Right now I'm working on tracing the lines of his children to try and make a connection with other family members. Also, I'm continuing to search the 1850 census for him. If you're connected to this Smith family, I'd love to hear from you.

_______________________

Sources

1. “Certificate of Death for Richard T. Smith,” 24 Oct 1920, File No. 29598, Georgia Bureau of Vital Statistics, http://www.flickr.com/photos/genealogyphotos/137928528/.

2. “Georgia, Confederate Pension Applications, 1879-1960 about Richard T Smith,” Rockdale County, 1906, GCP-406, Confederate Pension Applications, Georgia Confederate Pension Office, RG 58-1-1, Georgia Archives.

3. Edna Strickland [ednab@mindspring.com]. “MILTON COUNTY, GA - VITALS MARRIAGES Alphabetical Groom.” [http://files.usgwarchives.net/ga/milton/vitals/marriages/groom.txt].

Tombstone Tuesday - Smith

Heading straight up my maternal line, my Great-Great-Great Grandparents are Richard (1829/30-1920) and Rachel (Garman) Smith (1850-1915). They lived their lives in what is today the Metro Atlanta, Georgia area, but was farmland and small villages during their lives. They are buried in the Old Milstead Cemetery in Milstead, Rockdale, GA, next to their son, Albert.

Piecing together Richard Smith

Richard T. Smith was my Great-Great-Great Grandfather. I've had his birthdate as 2 January 1829 in GA¹ and his death date as 24 October 1920, in Milstead, Rockdale, GA^1,2. He was married to Eliza Unknown and their children were: Paulina or Priscilla, Lucresy, Delmus, Amanda, Richard, and Sarah^3,4.

He married Rachel Garman on 18 August 1870 in Milton County, GA⁵, but she was already living with Richard in July 1870⁴. Together Richard and Rachel's children were: William, Mary, James Henry, Aaron, Louise, Louisa (twins), Albert and Clarence².

With the last name, Smith, Richard had been somewhat hard to track, especially since he seemed to move around quite a bit between Milton, Fulton and Rockdale Counties in Georgia. I was particularly interested in finding out about his service in the Civil War, but was being hampered by his popular name. I "knew" that he had served in the civil war from his listing in the 1910 census⁶, but had been unable to find any service records for him on Footnote.com and Ancestry.com.

I had more luck when Ancestry.com released their Georgia, Confederate Pension Applications, 1879-1960. A quick search turned up only three Richard Smiths, two of whom had the middle initial 'T.' Now, I had to prove that this was my Richard T. Smith. This is where Richard's movements helped me identify him in the Pension records.

There were two sets of Pension files for Richard T. Smith, the first set for Fulton County⁸ and the second set for Rockale County⁷. It was easy to prove that these two files belonged to the same man, as the first document for the Rockdale County files stated that Richard had previously filed in Fulton County. This movement matched Richard's movement from 1900⁹ in Fulton County to 1910 in Rockdale County⁶.

But, I wasn't sure if this was my Richard Smith, because the birth date didn't match. On the pension records, he had listed his birthday as 11 Feb 1830⁷, not the January 1829 date that I already had. And with such a common name, I didn't want to assume anything. So, I decided to see if there were any other Richard Smith's living in Fulton County at the same time. There were quite a few, only one with a similar birth year. So I went back to look at my Richard Smith's 1900 census page - and there it was! In the 1900 census he gave his birth year as February 1830⁹. There seems to be some confusion over Richard's birthdate, but in this instance, it helped prove his identity.

So, I'd found the Civil War Pension Records for my Great-Great-Great Grandfather! He was in Co. H, 2 Reg of the Georgia State Troops Cavalry for the Confederate Army. During the 1900s he was unemployed and owned no property. Also, I now have an alternative birthdate for him and know that he moved from Fulton County to Rockdale County in 1905.

_______________

1. Certificate of Death for Richard T. Smith, 25 Oct 1920, File No. 29598, Georgia Bureau of Vital Statistics. Certified copy in possession of author.
2. Louise Smith Family Bible, The Holy Bible. In possession of author.
3. 1860 United State Census (Free Schedule), , Milton, Georgia; p. 66, family 7, dwelling 7, lines 16-21; 6 July 1860, National Archives Microfilm M653_131; Page: 0; Image: 67.
4. 1870 United State Census (Free Schedule), District 150, Old First, Milton, Georgia; p. 93, family 805, dwelling 731, lines 3-19; 30 July 1870, National Archives Microfilm M593_165; Page: 489; Image: 519.
5. Edna Strickland. “MILTON COUNTY, GA - VITALS MARRIAGES Alphabetical Groom.” http://files.usgwarchives.net/ga/milton/vitals/marriages/groom.txt.
6. 1910 United State Census (Free Schedule), Milstead, Rockdale, Georgia; p. 6A, family 101, dwelling 92, lines 47-50; 21 Apr 1910, National Archives Microfilm T624_207, Image 570.
7. “Georgia, Confederate Pension Applications, 1879-1960 about Richard T Smith,” Rockdale County, 1906, GCP-406, Confederate Pension Applications, Georgia Confederate Pension Office, RG 58-1-1, Georgia Archives.
   
8. “Georgia, Confederate Pension Applications, 1879-1960 about Richard T Smith,” Fulton County, 1900. GCP-207, Confederate Pension Applications, Georgia Confederate Pension Office, RG 58-1-1, Georgia Archives.
   
9. 1900 United State Census (Free Schedule), Cooks, Fulton, Georgia; p. 26B, family 555, dwelling 510, lines 67-75; 19 June 1900, National Archives Microfilm T623_197.

Names, Places & Most Wanted Faces

The surname genealogy meme, started at GeneaBlogie

Surnames & Locals:

Albea - Georgia (Lincoln), South Carolina (Greenwood, Greenville)

Barfield - Georgia (Emanuel, Burke)

Boatright - Georgia (Emanuel, Burke)

Craft - Georgia (Elbert, Hart), South Carolina (Anderson)

Dorn - South Carolina (Edgefield, Greenwood)

Farr - Pennsylvania (Tioga), England

Hyler / Huyler / Hoyler - South Carolina (Lexington)

Leaphart - South Carolina (Lexington)

Powell - Georgia (Elbert, Hart)

Quattlebaum - South Carolina (Edgefield, Greenwood)

Waters - Georgia (Cobb, Milton, Fulton, Rockdale)

Smith - Georgia (Milton, Fulton, Rockdale)

Most Wanted Ancestor:

Parents of Leveret Wat(t)ers (b. 1881, Cobb County, GA)

I ♥ Bible Records

My favorite record are probably Bible Records.  I'm lucky enough to have access to a family Bible on my direct maternal line.  I was also given a Bible with family information for a family that branches out to touch mine.

Why do I ♥ Bible records? For two reasons: they provide a lot of information but must also be puzzled out.  When you have Bible records, you have a list of names and dates, often jumbled together and lacking relationship information.  You could have a page that lists Grandchildren, Parents, Children, Grandchildren, Nieces, Nephews, Cousins, etc, all on the same page.  Now you have to figure out how these people relate to each other. It's a challenge, which can be both fun and frustrating.  But in the end, I'd much rather have the Bible and not be able to identify some people, than to not have the Bible at all!

I also hope that by deciphering the Bible entries, that the Bible will be helpful to other researchers.  There might be someone else researching the same line, that would find the information extremely valuable.  It's always nice to be able to help someone else!

One thing that I would really love to have happen, is to make a connection to my Smith line, which is partly covered in my maternal line family Bible.  I've yet to connect with anyone who is researching my Smith line - which is brickwalled with Richard T. Smith (1829-1920).  I'm really hoping that putting the family Bible out there will help me connect with fellow researchers.  *fingers crossed*

DNA test received

I just got an email stating that my mtDNA test has been received by FamilyTreeDNA. The email says that it will be between three to five weeks before I receive my results. This is less time than they quoted to receive my Dad's results - however I got his DNA test results back about two weeks early. I'm really looking forward to receiving my test results back.

In anticipation, I've been working my my direct maternal line ancestry. The line follows backwards:

• Betty Huyler Albea - 1932-2005, GA
  
• Ruby Waters Huyler - 1911-1953, GA
  
• Louise Smith Waters - 1881-1949, GA
  
• Rachel Garman Smith - 1850-1915, GA
  
• Martha Yancy Garman - 1820-?, GA
  
• Mary _?_ Yancy - ?-?, ?
  

Looking back at old notes

Lately I've been looking back over old notes that mom & I took during the beginning of our research. At the time the notes either didn't make since at the time or didn't seem to connect to any of the other information we had. Now, looking back, I see notes that we'd put aside for years that have snippets of information that makes since and will start me off in new directions. Some information backs up other sources that I've found as well.

Most of the information consists of notes taken by my mom from interviews with my grandmother. One piece of information is a partial transcript of Milstead Methodist Cemetery in Rockdale County, Ga (I added the info to findagrave.com). There are also cemetery maps from a few Atlanta cemeteries.

It's nice to look back at this "old" information and find "new" leads.

New research added on the Powell Family (Wiley -> John F. -> Effie) and Taylor Family (Jesse -> Frances "Emma" -> Effie)

Updated the Louise Smith Bible Records page. I didn't realize that I hadn't posted the Cover Page and the Chapter Index Page. I also added an (*) next to the people who appear in my family tree.