Genealogy at a Glance: Georgia Genealogy Research

Description

Michael A. Ports–author of the groundbreaking series Georgia Free Persons of Color as well as numerous volumes of transcribed records from Baldwin, Elbert, and especially Jefferson County, Georgia–applies his expertise in Georgia genealogy research to this “Genealogy at a Glance” guide. Like the other publications in the series, Genealogy at a Glance: Georgia Genealogy Research is a four-page laminated folder that gives you all the useful information you’ll need to begin and proceed successfully with your research.

Ports begins with a discussion of Georgia’s settlement background, beginning in 1732 when King George II granted a charter for the new colony–named in his honor–to James Oglethorpe and twenty other proprietors. County formation began in 1777 with the creation of Burke, Camden, Chatham, Effingham, Glynn, Liberty, Richmond, and Wilkes counties, and ended in 1924 with the creation of Peach County. Many of the records most useful to genealogists are located at the county level. Therefore a general rule of thumb, Ports states, is to begin your research at the Georgia Archives, which houses original and microfilm copies of most county records, and he details the most critical of these records–marriage and divorce, birth and death, probate, and land lottery records.

Ports also gives an overview of two significant supplementary sources–land grant records and tax records–and identifies the major repositories and online resources with useful information for your Georgia family research. Along the way you’ll find research tips and references to key publications, making Genealogy at a Glance: Georgia Genealogy Research the most helpful four pages you’ll ever read on Georgia genealogy.