Houston County Researchers: While compiling our Family Histories, we are often concerned only with establishing the "bare bones of our pedigree charts". Those of us who aren't content with this method, know that there is a lot more information available about our families, and newspapers are a *great source* of genealogical material. In Houston County, the first official newspaper (legal organ) of the county, was the FORT VALLEY MIRROR. This newspaper was established sometime in the 1860s by the elite class of families who migrated there from South Carolina during the 1830s thru 1850s. However, there was a certain animosity which existed between Fort Valley and Perry, both of which were Houston County towns. So, in December 1870, THE HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL was established, and soon became the legal organ of the county. This newspaper is still in existence today, almost 130 years later. If you want to add some "real meat" to the bare bones of your pedigree charts, you will really *enjoy* reading the very early issues of THE HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL. Besides the obvious birth, marriage and death notices, there are many other portions which yield genealogical *gold* to determined researchers. The society page, the legal notices, the monthly court case listing, the listing of jurors, etc., will give you plenty of *ingredients* to "stuff your turkey". The HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL newspapers from 1870, and up to the 1980s, have been microfilmed by the University of Georgia. Although there are many reels of microfilm of the HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL, the period of 1870 through 1900 are included on nine reels, as follows: 1. 17 Dec 1870 thru Jun 1874. 2. Jul-Dec 1874, 5 Jan 1877, 26 Jan 1877 thru Apr 1880. 3. May 1880 thru 12 Jul 1883. 4. 19 Jul 1883 thru 16 Sep 1886. 5. 23 Sep 1886 thru Jul 1889. 6. Aug 1889 thru Oct 1892. 7. Nov 1892 thru Mar 1896. 8. Apr 1896 thru Jul 1899. 9. Aug 1899 thru Nov 1901. As you can see, there is a serious *gap* from January 1875 thru January 1877, where there are *no* newspapers microfilmed. We are lucky that this is the only portion missing. In Summer of 1999, I went through *every* bound volume of the HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL at the Houston County Probate Court, as well as the 130-degree attic of the HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL newspaper office. Many of the early newspapers at the Probate Court have been eaten by silver fish and various other pulp-eating insects. The attic of the HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL newspaper office, had almost no issues prior to the early 1880s. It's a good thing that these newspapers have now been microfilmed, because a lot of Houston County's early recorded history could have *easily* been "lost in oblivion". Most all public libraries have a microfilm reading machine for you to use. Some of you more *addicted* genealogists may actually have your *own* readers. If you would like to purchase your own microfilmed reels of the HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL newspaper, you may do so for $28 per reel, as of 1999. Please allow 1 to 3 weeks for delivery. For further information, please contact: CHRISTINE CRUMLEY-BROWN GEORGIA NEWSPAPER PROJECT CHIPS, MAIN LIBRARY, UGA ATHENS, GA 30602-1641 PHONE: (706)-542-2131 EMAIL: [email protected] William A. Mills Perry, GA [email protected] ________________________________________________________________ YOU'RE PAYING TOO MUCH FOR THE INTERNET! Juno now offers FREE Internet Access! Try it today - there's no risk! For your FREE software, visit: http://dl.www.juno.com/get/tagj.