Georgia Voter Records on Ancestry.com

     A new database was published last week on Ancestry.com: Georgia, Returns of Qualified Voters and Reconstruction Oath Books, 1867-1869.  In conjunction to passing the 14th Amendment, Georgia re-registed elegible voters, both black and white.  This database contains lists of those eligible to vote, as well as oaths taken by each registrant, pledgeing their loyalty to the United States.  This database might be of particular interest to those researching black Georgians.  For a short period of time, until Jim Crow became king, men of all races were seen as equal under the law.

     These records lack certain identifying pieces of information, such as age and familial relationships. However, used in conjunction with the 1870 census, researchers should be able to identify their ancestors.  I was able to find a few of my ancestors, though one, a known politician before the Civil War, does not seem to be listed. He might have lost his eligibility to vote based on his political activity during the war.

     Here's an example of the type of documents found in this database. These are the Return and Oath for Tilman Albea, my 4x Great Grandfather:

Georgia Archives Hours Changing

     I went to the Georgia Archive today and made it in a record time of 45 minutes (yay!). I didn't find out anything amazing about my ancestors but did make one big discovery: The Georgia Archive's hours are changing - again.

     According to a sign in the lobby, staring July 1, 2011, the Georgia Archive will be open Friday and Saturday from 8:30am - 5pm. They will be closed Monday through Thursday. There is no mention of these changes on their website - with less than a month to go!

     That's right, the state's archive will only be open two days a week. How does Georgia compare to research hours at state archives throughout the South? Let's compare:

• Alabama: Tue-Fri, 8:00-4:30; 2nd Saturdays
• Florida: Mon-Fri, 9:00-4:30
• Tennessee: Mon-Fri, 8:00-6:00
• South Carolina: Tue-Sat, 8:30-5:00
• North Carolina: Tue-Fri, 8:00-5:30; Sat 9:00-5:00
• Mississippi: Mon, 9:00-5:00; Tue-Fri 8:00-5:00; Sat 8:00-1:00
• Virginia: Mon-Sat 9:00-5:00

     So there's no other state in the South East that has cut back so dramatically (back in Oct '10 they were open Tues-Sat). What is Georgia doing? 

My GGGG Grandfather was a Democrat

     Of note to anyone doing Georgia Research: A new collection to the Digital Library of Georgia is the Athens Historic Newspapers Collection (spanning 1827-1922). Athens, Clark, Georgia is only about 40 miles from Elberton, Elbert, GA, the home of my Craft ancestors.  I didn't think I'd find much in these newspapers, but I decided to give it a shot anyway.

     I had a little trouble getting started, technically speaking. The Digital Library displays results using DjVu, which is made for Windows. I had to download the DjVu plug-in and Firefox to use the site. Even then, I was unable to download or print my results and had to take screenshots. But I did turn up some results!

     My GGGG Grandfather, Willis Craft, was a member of the Georgia State House of Representatives from 1857-1858. I didn't really know anything about his time in office, and was curious to find out more. My findings in the Athens Newspapers have helped me discover a few additional facts. First, Willis Craft was a Democrat. It's the same Democratic Party that exists today, though there are some changes to it. Also, he was running against the American Party, which would be defunct in a few years. Second, I learned that he was on the Judiciary Committee (I'm not yet sure what that entailed).

     I'm curious to find more information on how elections were run during this time period and how Willis was elected to the State House. Anyone know of any resources for this?

     Here are two of the articles I found:

My Day at the Georgia Archive

     Today I visited the Georgia Archive for the first time. I found a few things that I was interested and found out that they didn't have a few things that I was looking for.

     This is the Georgia Archive (which you might recognize from the Spike Lee episode of Who Do You Think You Are).

     Located just off of I-285 in Morrow, it's really easy to get to. It's also right next door to the National Archives SE branch. And I mean that literally. If the GA Archive played really loud music in the middle of the night, the National Archive would bang on the wall and tell them to "turn that racket down!"

     Anyway, when we entered the Archive the reception desk was right in front of us. There was another desk attached to the side where we sat down to fill out our researcher forms. This allows us to read the policies (no pens!) and receive our free card that we wear the entire time and that identifies us. We were able to put all of our "banned" items in a free locker (take the key with you) and followed the directions around the corner to the research room.

     The research room was guarded by a security guard, who made sure we didn't have any pens and had us sign in. We then went into the research room, that looks just like any other library - except that nothing was labeled! You know how library shelves usually have catalogue numbers or subjects listed at the end of each shelf? Not here. You just have to start at a random point and figure out which direction the decimals are flowing. At the GA Archive, the Georgia books are at the back, far end of the shelves. To get us started, I grabbed a few Lincoln County, Georgia book for mom to look through while I headed over to the microfilm side of the room.

     I have to say, I was confused. Like the bookshelves, there was a distinct lack of signage in this portion of the room and I didn't know how to start. I saw lots of microfilm machines and two long rows of shelves, labeled only with numbers. How would I find the film I wanted? I had to ask an archivist, who explained the system to me. One set of files is set up much like a card catalogue or inventory list. They're organized by type or location (ex. GA Counties Jefferson - Gwinnett or GA Tax Lists). On each card is a title and extremely short description of a film, as well as the drawer number and then box number where the film is located. From there you help yourself to the film and find a machine.

     I started by looking at Elbert and Emanuel County wills. I have two specific ancestors that I hoped to find wills for, as well as others that it would have been nice to find one for. Unfortunately, I didn't find a will for anyone. But at least now I know they're not there. I next looked at Lincoln County Estate Indexes for my Albea ancestors. There I found success, with a document where my GGG Grandfather indentured himself to purchase land (more on this later). From there I picked topics at random that struck me and continued to find small discoveries. Nothing dramatic or brick-wall breaking, but enough to make the trip worth it. I also picked a few films for mom to browse through.  Look at her - hard at work!

     Also on the microfilm side of the room were the General Name Files and Vertical Files. The Name Files are available online and give extremely brief biographical information on folks, mainly politicians. I double checked the card for my GGGG Grandfather Willis Craft, who had been in the state House, but didn't find any more information than what was already online.

     The Vertical Files consist of random bits and pieces of material that might interest genealogists. I browsed church and cemetery records before checking the surname files. I found some great stuff in the Craft Family folder, in which a researcher wrote an affidavit about the previously mentioned Willis Craft who "had always understood that he was the son of John Craft, an early settler of Elbert County, Georgia." Great stuff!

     I made a number of photo copies (20¢ for the copier, 30¢ from microfilm) and will be transcribing the documents over the next few days. I hope to go back next week or the week after, my work schedule permitting. There's still a ton of stuff I didn't get to.

My Genealogy Plans for This Week

     My mom has the week off from work, so I've drafted her to help me with my genealogy research. We'll be doing some things that I've put off - again and again. One of my personal hurdles with research is my hesitancy to do new things, especially new things on my own. So I'm taking Mom with me. Also, I'm broadcasting my plans to the world, which is further incentive to follow through.  So, what am I doing?

     Wednesday, I have the day off. I'll be going to the local Family History/FamilySearch Center. That's right: I still haven't been to the location three miles away. I'm the queen of procrastinating! Though it doesn't hurt that the center is open only two days a week, which doesn't often fit with my varying work schedule. I'm not sure what to expect, but I have looked up some microfilm records online that I'd like to request. (The FamilySearch Center locator on the new FamilySearch.org was broken. I sent an email about my problems using it and was told that, for now, the old Family History Center locator on the old site is the best option right now).

     Friday, I've requested the day off from work. Bright and early, I plan to travel down to the Georgia Archive in Morrow. They're open from 8:30 am to 4 pm and I hope to make use of most of that time. I'm currently trying to use their website to plan my visit, though I find their Finding Aids hard to understand. The Georgia Archive is right next door to the National Archive's Southeast Branch. We plan to stop by to get information, but we'll have to visit gain to do actual research. Friday evening I'll be doing what everyone else reading this blog will be doing: Watching the first episode of season two of Who Do You Think You Are.

View Larger Map

GA Archive Hours Reduction

     I have to be honest, I have yet to make it to the Georgia Archive, which is about 2 or 3 hours from home, depending on (horrible) Atlanta traffic. I spend too much time researching online and not enough getting out to 'real world' repositories. Actually, I plan to take off a week of vacation at the same time as the ATL family history expo to do extended genealogy research. I hope to make a trip to the Archive, maybe stay overnight to take advantage of their somewhat limited hours: Tuesday - Saturday, 8:30 am - 5 pm.

     Well, I'll have to plan a bit more carefully now, as the hours at the Georgia Archive are changing.  Now, instead of being closed two days a week, they will be closed for four days and open only for three.  Here's the notice they posted online:

"Effective October 1, 2010 the hours available for public visitation to the Georgia Archives will change to Thursday through Saturday 8:30 am to 5:00 pm. This is an unfortunate action we must take to meet the difficult budget environment facing all State Agencies.

With the reduction in public hours the Archives staff will now be deployed to fulfill different functions on different days. When the Archives is open to the public, most or all employees will serve the public in the Reference Room. When the Archives is closed to the public, most or all of the employees will work with state agencies to bring records into the Archives, catalog them, and shelve them. To provide better and timelier service for research requests outside the core duties of the State Archives, i.e. genealogy requests, a list of other sources of information can be provided. In this way the Archives will maintain its critical functions with reduced staffing."

The Georgia Archives identifies and preserves Georgia's most valuable historical documents. Whether you love history, or simply want to know how we serve the citizens of Georgia, we invite you to explore our web site or visit us in the City of Morrow, located just south of Atlanta. We look forward to serving you!

Thanks Frank

Before there was FindaGrave.com, Atlanta had Franklin Garrett. In the early 1930s, Garrett traveled throughout Atlanta and recorded the headstones, mainly of white males, in over 750 cemeteries. In the 80 years since his survey, many of these graves have weathered away, been overgrown, or destroyed, making his work a priceless piece of Atlanta's History.


Today, his database is referred to as Garrett's Necrology. It can be viewed on microfilm or searched online, both at the Atlanta History Center. Although I haven't found family in this database yet, I have used it to find grave that are not my ancestors. For anyone researching ancestors in Atlanta, this database is a must.


And of course, Garrett's burial listing can be found online at FindAGrave.com.

The Price of Research in The South

It was recently announced that the price of vital records document requests will soon go up here in Georgia - for the second time in a year. All together, the cost of requesting these certificates will have gone up 150%! I thought I would put together a chart to show the different prices throughout the region.


The prices listed below are for records available through each state's vital records office. Not all years may be available at these locations and/or prices. Records that do not fit into the categories listed here are usually available through individual counties. Also, be sure to review each state's policy when "family only" restrictions are listed, as this term varies by state.

State  (Website Link)	Birth	Death	Marriage	Divorce
Alabama	$15; 1908-Present; Family only	$15; 1908-Present; 25 year restriction to family only	$15; 1936-Present	$15; 1950-Present
Arkansas	$12; Feb 1914-Present; Family only	$10; Feb 1914-Present; 50 year restriction to family only	$10; 1917-Present; Family only	$10; 1917-Present; Family only
Florida	$9; 1916-Present with limited availability from 1865; Family only with ID	$5; 1917-Present with limited availablility prior; 50 year restriction for COD or for family only	$5; Jun 1927-Present	$5; 1927-Present
Georgia	$15 now, soon $25; 1919-Present; ID Required & family only	$15 now, soon $25; 1919-Present	$10; 1952-1996	$10; Search Only/No Copies
Kentucky	$10;1911-Present	$6; 1911-Present	$6; 1958-Present	$6; 1958-Present
Louisiana	$15; 1907-Present; 100 year restriction & ID Required	$7; 1957-Present; 100 year restriction & ID Required	$5; 1957-Present; New Orleans Only	No Information
Mississippi	$15; Nov 1912-Present; ID Required & family only or for Genealogists after 100 years	$15; Nov 1912-Present; ID Required & family only or for Genealogist after 50 years	$15; 1926-Jul 1938 & Dec 1941-Present; ID Required & family only or for Genealogists after 100 years	$15; 1926-Jul 1938 & Dec 1942-Present; Search Only/No Copies
North Carolina	$24; 1913-Present; Possible family restrictions	$24; 1930-Present;  Possible family restrictions	$24; 1962-Present	$24; 1958-Present
South Carolina	$12; 1915-Present; ID Required	$12; 1915-Present; ID Required	$12; Jul 1950-Aug 2009	$14; Jul 1962-Dec 2008
Tennessee	$15; 1914-Present	$7; Available for past 50 Years	$15; Available for past 50 Years	$15; Available for past 50 Years
Virginia	$12; 1853-1896 & Jun 1912-Present; ID Required & family only	$12; 1853-1896 & Jun 1912-Present; ID Required & family only	$12; 1853-Present; ID Required	$12; 1918-Present; ID Required

The Digital Library of Georgia

A great resource for those researching ancestors in Georgia is the Digital Library of Georgia. This is a free resource from GALILEO, which is part of the University System of Georgia. The DLG offers a wide variety of collection in reference to Georgia's history and culture.

The DLG can be searched via keywords or browsed by topic, time period, county, institution, media type, or alphabetically. Some of the collections appear to be links to other sites (such as Georgia Virtual Vault or different universities) and others are hosted at the DLG. Some of the great collections on this site include:

• The African American Funeral Programs
• Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps (previously discussed here)
• Atlanta in the Civil Rights Movement
• Various Newspapers
• Georgia Government Publications
• Mill Workers Oral Histories
• Georgia Ariel Photographs
• Central Atlanta Progress, Inc. 1960-1981 photographs

There are hundreds of collections available via this website. If you have ancestors in Georgia, you're bound to find something of interest here.

How to get more from the GA Archive's Virtual Vault

A wonderful website that I've mentioned before is the Georgia Virtual Vault at the Georgia Archive website. There's are a whole lot of free digitized records available online for genealogists.

The amount of content can be a bit of a hindrance though. Many of the records are not indexed, or have only an image of an original index. Finding these records can be time consuming and difficult to find a second time. Well, don't search - save it. Researchers can use the "Favorite" function to save their documents so that they don't have to search for them again. You can even make a webpage out of the documents. Just make sure that your browser is accepting cookies and you're ready to go.

When you find a document, you will see a few options along the top of the image, just above the toolbar. These options include "Add Document to Favorites" and "Add Page to Favorites." In most cases, you'll want to save the page, not the document. If you save the document, you'll have to re-find the image from the entire collection again - and what's the point of that?

Now, view your favorites page, by clicking the link at the top of the page. You can see all of the documents that you've saved and have a few options of what you'd like to do with them. You can create a slideshow, re-arange or remove them, or create a webpage with them.

I saved my documents as a "page source/html" and I simply upload the document to my web host and, voila - I can share my favorite documents from the GA Virtual Vault. See it here. But what is the benefit of a webpage like this?

Well, for me, it's about having all of your documents right there for to find, linked to their original source, in a way that can be presented to others. Sure, I go ahead and download a copy of the image, but sometimes I miss the source information or make a mistake. Or perhaps the file disappears or becomes corrupt. Because I've created these favorites I can go right back to the document with it's original source without having to search for it. Also, I can very easily share my finds with others.

I really think this is a great way for the GA Archive to share their documents in a way that preserves their historical context and help with source citation. I'm looking forward to using this tool more thoroughly in the future.

Some improvements I'd like to see: the ability to rename a document and the ability to organize favorites into folders or sets.

Historic Georgia Maps

As part of the Georgia Virtual Vault, the GA Secretary of State's office has put historic Georgia Maps online. There are maps of 161 GA counties (some no longer in existence) that date from 1866-1935. You can browse a list of maps, or search the database in categories such as title, publisher, year, notes, etc.

The maps are available in high resolution and individuals can use the maps themselves as long as they give credit. For each map, there is a usually a bit of information about it's creation.

Map of Emanuel County, GA, cir. 1886:

The Augusta Chronicle Goldmine

The Augusta Chronicle's archive website is a wonderful resource for anyone researching ancestors in the Georgia and South Carolina border area. Their fully searchable, online collection spans the Daily Chronicle & Sentinel, The Augusta Chronicle and Gazette of the State, and The Daily Chronicle & Constitution. It's not clear what dates are covered, but I returned results from the 1990s to the 1880s. The newspapers cover a wide swath of area, covering news from across the region, including somewhat distant cities such as Lincolnton, GA and Greenwood and Columbia, SC.

I bought a one-day pass ($4.95) and was able to search their archive for a little over 24 hours. The search is based on OCR text recognition, so it's not perfect, but it is very good. I turned up a lot of obituaries for distant aunts and uncles, and a little infant I would not have otherwise known about.

One search I had luck with was "Surname NEAR town/county NEAR died." This turned up the obituaries of entire families in certain areas. Here are a few I found:

GA Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps

A valuable resource for those researching in Georgia, is the Sanborn Fire Insurance Map Collection. The collection is made up of colorful maps from 1867-1970 that depict mostly cities and town from across the county.

The Georgia collection is available online from two sources: Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps, 1884-1922 (Free) and Digital Sanborn Maps, 1867-1970 (ProQuest subscription required).

Navigating the images is made easy by an "index" map. When viewing a city's index map, you can click on a part of that map to view a particular section of the city. You can navigate from section to section, exploring streets and buildings. Streets will include address numbers and buildings may include information about the business, building materials, number of floors and any other information that might be of importance to firemen. Make sure to check out the map's Key, Seal and Index page for more information.

For example, see: Elberton, GA in 1885 and 1922. In 1885, according to the seal there was a population of 1,000, no Steam or Hand Engines and water facilities were "not good." By 1922 there was a population of 7,000 with 4 firemen on duty at all times and a detailed description of a complex water system. This can be very valuable information for understanding where our ancestor came from.

Georgia County Formation

The state of Georgia has 159 counties - the most of any state west of the Mississippi River and the second most in the US. These counties seem to be ever changing (want to bring Milton County back?) and have a long history of creation.

When searching for ancestors, you often have to know what county they lived in, in order to search the correct census, court house or archive. It also helps to have alternative places when you hit a brick wall. If you're having trouble figuring out which county your county was created from and when, check out the Georgia Formation Maps at FamilyHistory101.com. It's a pretty neat slideshow that could help Georgia researchers quite a lot.

Genealogy in the AJC

For (Metro) Atlanta, Georgia residents, as well as anyone interested: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution runs a genealogy column every Sunday, written by Kenneth H. Thomas Jr. Located in the Living Section, the column usually address two or three different topics, from book reviews, local events, internet happenings, and research tips. In general, the content is relevant to those researching their family history in the southeast, but will often include information on other regions as well.

The columns can be found by viewing Mr. Thomas' news articles. You'll have to pay for the full text of older articles.

GA Newspapers Online

Online newspaper subscriptions can be pricy. Before making the investment, make sure to see what newspapers are available for the areas that are important to your research.

Here's a list (updated 7 Feb 2010) of digitized Georgia Newspapers available online at the major database sites. If you looking for a specific newspaper, remember to check their website. Many major newspapers now offer programs to access their archives on their websites.

Databases:

GenealogyBank.com ($)

- Athens Banner-Herald (2006-Current)
- Atlanta Daily World (2006-Current)
- Atlanta Jewish Times (2006-Current)
- Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The (1985-Current)
- Augusta Chronicle (1792-2003)
- Augusta Chronicle and Georgia Advertiser (1822-1830)
- Augusta Chronicle, The (1994-Current)

- Augusta Herald (1799-1815)
- Chatsworth Times (2009-Current)
- Cherokee Tribune (1998-Current)
- Clayton News Daily (2009-Current)
- Coastal Antiques and Art (2002-2006)
- Coastal Senior (2004-2006)
- Columbian Museum (1796-1799)
- Columbus Daily Enquirer (1860-1932)
- Columbus Ledger-Enquirer (1855-1927)
- Columbus Ledger-Enquirer (1994-Current)
- Cordele Dispatch (2007-Current)
- Daily Citizen, The (2007-Current)
- Daily Tribune News, The (1998-Current)
- Dunwoody Crier, The (2004-Current)
- Farmer's Gazette (1803-1807)
- Forsyth County News (2006-Current)
- Forsyth Herald (2006-2009)
- Gazette of the State of Georgia (1783-1783)
- Georgia Argus (1808-1816)
- Georgia Gazette (1763-1802)
- Georgia Journal (1809-1817)
- Georgia Weekly Telegraph (1880-1881)
- Gwinnett Daily Post (2005-Current)
- Henry Daily Herald (2009-Current)
- Jackson Progress-Argus (2007-Current)
- Johns Creek Herald (2006-2009)
- LaGrange Daily News (2006-Current)
- Loganville Tribune, The (2007-Current)
- Louisville Gazette (1802-1811)
- Macon Telegraph (1848-1921)
- Macon Telegraph, The (1994-Current)
- Macon Weekly Telegraph (1826-1923)
- Marietta Daily Journal (1998-Current)
- Marietta Journal (1868-1998)
- Milledgeville Republican (1816-1816)
- Moultrie Observer, The (2007-Current)
- Newton Citizen, The (2007-Current)
- Reflector (1817-1819)
- Revue & News, The (2006-2009)
- Rockdale Citizen, The (2007-Current)
- Savannah Morning News (1999-Current)
- Savannah Republican (1849-1851)
- Savannah Tribune (1875-1922)
- Southern Banner (1833-1837)
- Southern Centinel (1793-1798)
- Thomaston Times, The (2009-Current)
- Thomasville Times-Enterprise (2007-Current)
- Tifton Gazette (2009-Current)
- Times, The (1999-2004)
- Union-Recorder, The (2007-Current)
- Valdosta Daily Times (2008-Current)
- Walton Tribune, The (2003-Current)
- Waycross Journal-Herald (2005-Current)

NewspaperArchive.com ($)

- The Atlanta Constitution (1870 - 1924)

- The Butts County Argus (1877)

- Butts County Progress (1907-1915)
- The Carroll County Times (1872 - 1877)
- The Carroll Free Press (1883 - 1893)

- Clinch County News (2008-2009)

- The Constitution (1868 - 1895)
- The Daily Constitution (1876 - 1879)

- Forsyth Monroe County Reporter (2008)

- Gray Jones County News (2008)

- Greenville Meriwether Vindicator (2008)

- Hamilton Harris County Journal (2008)

- Harris County Journal (2005-2009)

- Hogansville Home News (2008-2009)

- Homerville Clinch County News (2008-2009)

- Jackson Argus (1894-1913)

- Jackson News (1882)

- Jackson Progress-Argus (1915-1977)

- Jackson Record (1902-1907)

- Jacksonian (1907)

- Jones County News (2008-2009)

- Manchester Star-Mercury (2005-2009)

- Meriwether Vindicator (2005-2009)

- Middle Georgia Argus (1878-1893)

- Monroe County Reporter (2008-2009)

- Talbotton New Era (2005-2009)

Ancestry.com ($)
- The Atlanta Constitution (1869-75, 1877, 1879, 1881-85, and 1887-89)
- The Daily Constitution (Oct 1876-1879)
- The Constitution (1868, 1875, 1876, 1895)

Footnote.com ($)

- The Atlanta Constitution (1868 ~ 1923)

- Clinch County News (1925 ~ 20 random years ~ 2004)

Contemporary:

- Harris County Journal (2004)

- Hogansville Home News (1999-2006)

- Jones County News (1973, 1980, 1990, 2004, 2005)

- Meriwether Vindicator (2001 - 2004)

- Monroe County Reporter (1998 - 2005)

- Talbotton New Era (2001 - 2005)

NewsInHistory.com ($)

- Augusta Chronicle (1800 - 2000)
- Augusta Chronicle and Georgia Advertiser (1822 - 1830)
- Augusta Herald Georgia (1800 - 1815)
- Columbus Daily Enquirer (1860 - 1932)
- Columbus Ledger-Enquirer (1855 - 1924)
- Louisville Gazette Georgia (1802 - 1811)
- Georgia Weekly Telegraph (1880 - 1881)
- Macon Telegraph (1848 - 1920)
- Macon Weekly Telegraph (1826 - 1922)
- Georgia Argus (1808 - 1816)
- Georgia Journal (1809 - 1817)
- Milledgeville Republican (1816)
- Reflector - Milledgeville (1817 - 1819)
- Georgia Gazette (1800 - 1802)
- Savannah Republican (1849 - 1851)
- Savannah Tribune (1875 - 1922)
- Southern Banner (1833 - 1837)
- Farmer's Gazette (1803 - 1807)

Individual Publications:

The AJC ($, transcription only)

- The Atlanta [Journal] Constitution (1868-1942 and 1985-2009)

AugustaOnline.com ($, 1821-2001, specifics unknown)

- The Augusta Chronicle

- The Daily Chronicle & Sentinel

- The Daily Chronicle & Constitutionalist

GA County records from Microfilm

As part of the Georgia Archive's Virtual Vault, County Records from Microfilm are available online.

This collection includes Marriage Books and Tax Digests from a few select counties (45 out of 159). Each record has an index, which is a digital scan of the record's index pages, and the record contents. What this means is that you have a digital copy of the microfilm records that you can view on your home computer. The records are not transcribed, so there is no way to search for a specific name - you can only browse. You can zoom and download the images, and not all of the images are legible. The site doesn't work well with Safari, so Mac users should try Firefox.

The only counties of interest to me are Elbert, Emanuel and Lincoln, none of which have tax info available. From those counties, however, I have half of my Georgia lines. I already know many of the marriage dates that I'm looking for, and am looking for the images to add to my files, as well as confirm my information.

Here are just some of my finds:

• Ledora Barfield & Nathan Britt
• Wm Barfield & S. Frances Boatright
• John F. Powell & Frances Taylor
  
• Effie Powell & George R. Craft

Georgia Vital Records

One fantastic resource for genealogists are state and county Vital Records offices. I've been a frequent requester of records from the GA and SC Vital Records.

The Georgia Department of Human Resources hosts the Georgia Vital Records office. They have a great website (http://health.state.ga.us/programs/vitalrecords) with information on how to request the records they provide.

• Birth - $15; state; 1919 to present; certificate provided
• Death - $15; state or county; 1919 to present; certificate provided
• Marriage - $10; state, 1952 to 1996; county, pre-1952 & post-1996; license (not application) provided
• Divorce - $10; state, search & confirmation only, no records provided; county, contact superior court provides record

For each record, the website provides detailed information on what information will be provided, who can request it and what information is required to complete your request. For birth and death marriages, there is an online form that requesters can fill out and print in order to ensure that the correct information has been provided.

Requests can be placed via mail or in person at the Vital Records office in Atlanta. Payment methods include money orders or certified checks for mail requests, or cash for in person requests. Response times for requests vary, with records being received as quickly as two weeks and as slowly as a month and a half.

Today, I mailed off for the marriage license of my GG-Grandparents, Leveret Waters and Louise Smith. I'm eagerly awaiting it's delivery.