With so much activity on the Taliaferro County, Georgia, list in the past week and some questions about doing research there, I thought I would throw in my "two cents" worth which isn't much now days if you have been doing any Christmas shopping lately. I was in Crawfordville for a couple of hours on Tuesday, July 13, 2004, around lunch time. There was not much going on there. Even with early primary voting, except for maybe a few voters, I think my husband and I were just about the only customers in the Probate office and the Superior Court Clerk's office during that time. No phones ringing all the time either. Officers of the Court in both places were very helpful and made suggestions. However, I did not find the records I was seeking which was estate administrations for Seaborn Pollard between 1840 and 1850. I am fairly sure now that there were two of them, SR. and Jr.(father and son???) who died between those dates. All the early county records before the Civil War are suppose to be on Microfilm at the new Georgia Archives in Morrow, Georgia. I was able to handle all of the original loose probate packets in my own hands and the judge would make copies from the originals. They were not labeled very well and I was looking for the proverbal needle in a hay stack. For the newer people to genealogy research, this is important, because these are the papers that were brought into that county office to be recorded, copied by hand into the county record ledgers. There is alway room for errors, mistakes, and left out lines in the recording. Some I have been fortunate or unfortunate enough to find out about. One whole child was left out of a will in another county. The town has been "drying" up for years. I presume it still has an elementary school, but the high school was closed a number of years ago. High school students are bused to Greensboro, the county seat of Greene County. There is not a single law office in the whole town/county from what we were told. They have to come from other counties for legal work in Taliaferro County. No chain restaurants or motels. There is a very small truck stop out on the interstate a couple of miles from the main town. I had somewhat planned ahead and had picnic supplies with us to eat right out side on the courthouse square. At least there was not a parking problem. So far as a place to stay and eat the nearest ones are in Washington, Wilkes County, or Greensboro, Greene County, or on down the interstate much closer to Augusta which is about an hour away. Union Point does not have a restaurant or a motel. If the State Park is still open to campers and RV's that is the best situation for a place to eat and to stay if you have access to one of those. It is maybe about a mile or maybe a little more from the courthouse. The Alexander H. Stephens House is a really good tour. Has been years since I took that. The park is very old, dates back to the 1930's. There was a lake for swimming. Nice bath house and full hook ups. Not sure what it is like now as it has been more than a dozen years since I was there. So far as research is concerned, Lunceford's book is the best source. It has just about all the main records in it except court cases and estate administrations (those without a will). The marriages of my mother's two brothers are even in it. If copies of Lunceford's book are still available, that is the best place to start. Even has census and lotterys in it. Copies were very reasonable at the courthouse. 25 cents or less a page in both offices. Find the reference in the book to the record you want and then write or call the courthouse for a copy. By contrast, the Probate office in Greene County was very busy with a bunch of employees. Vivian Cates, Rt. #2 Box 52-A, Alto, Texas 75925 1-936-858-3801 http://www.inu.net/vcates

Vivian, I do not live in Crawfordville or Taliaferro County, and I really do not think that you were in Crawfordville on July 13th, 2004. With a population of 597 in the city, and 1,915 in the whole county you cannot expect to find chain hotels or restaurants. They do have internet service and a library. And let me tell you, if you speed you will get caught by the local police department. I do not know how you missed the brand new school which houses grades k to 12. Yes, the High School has moved back from Greene County last year. The people there are very friendly and helpful, just as they are in the court house. If you want to eat and sleep somewhere, just drive the few mile to Washington. You mentioned Greene County Probate Judge's office, well I have done research in Greene County, population of 15,000 plus, and found them well staffed, very helpful, but most of their old records are in the basement, falling apart and no one allowed to touch them. In Wilkes County, population of 10,000 plus, as well as Taliaferro County, there is just the Probate Judge and one clerk, but the records are there and you can copy them for just .25 cent per page. Wilkes County has the best kept records that I have seen. Both Taliaferro and Wilkes counties have local folks that are very helpful and will even take you to old family cemeteries located on private property. No like my home town of New Orleans where they ask "Why Do You Want To Know", when you ask where someplace is located. Spend a little more time than just two hours in a town to get to know more about it. Remember, "The original Wilkes (in some old records Wilkes) County included all of the area now in Lincoln, Elbert, and Wilkes Counties; most of Oglethorpe,, Madison, Taliaferro and Warren Counties; half of Hart County, and parts of Clarke, Glascock, Greene Hancock , and McDuffie Counties, and of course present day Wilkes County." Don ----- Original Message ----- From: Vivian Toole To: GATALIAF-L@rootsweb.com Sent: Thursday, December 09, 2004 12:04 PM Subject: DOING RESEARCH IN TALIAFERRO COUNTY, GEORGIA With so much activity on the Taliaferro County, Georgia, list in the past week and some questions about doing research there, I thought I would throw in my "two cents" worth which isn't much now days if you have been doing any Christmas shopping lately. I was in Crawfordville for a couple of hours on Tuesday, July 13, 2004, around lunch time. There was not much going on there. Even with early primary voting, except for maybe a few voters, I think my husband and I were just about the only customers in the Probate office and the Superior Court Clerk's office during that time. No phones ringing all the time either. Officers of the Court in both places were very helpful and made suggestions. However, I did not find the records I was seeking which was estate administrations for Seaborn Pollard between 1840 and 1850. I am fairly sure now that there were two of them, SR. and Jr.(father and son???) who died between those dates. All the early county records before the Civil War are suppose to be on Microfilm at the new Georgia Archives in Morrow, Georgia. I was able to handle all of the original loose probate packets in my own hands and the judge would make copies from the originals. They were not labeled very well and I was looking for the proverbal needle in a hay stack. For the newer people to genealogy research, this is important, because these are the papers that were brought into that county office to be recorded, copied by hand into the county record ledgers. There is alway room for errors, mistakes, and left out lines in the recording. Some I have been fortunate or unfortunate enough to find out about. One whole child was left out of a will in another county. The town has been "drying" up for years. I presume it still has an elementary school, but the high school was closed a number of years ago. High school students are bused to Greensboro, the county seat of Greene County. There is not a single law office in the whole town/county from what we were told. They have to come from other counties for legal work in Taliaferro County. No chain restaurants or motels. There is a very small truck stop out on the interstate a couple of miles from the main town. I had somewhat planned ahead and had picnic supplies with us to eat right out side on the courthouse square. At least there was not a parking problem. So far as a place to stay and eat the nearest ones are in Washington, Wilkes County, or Greensboro, Greene County, or on down the interstate much closer to Augusta which is about an hour away. Union Point does not have a restaurant or a motel. If the State Park is still open to campers and RV's that is the best situation for a place to eat and to stay if you have access to one of those. It is maybe about a mile or maybe a little more from the courthouse. The Alexander H. Stephens House is a really good tour. Has been years since I took that. The park is very old, dates back to the 1930's. There was a lake for swimming. Nice bath house and full hook ups. Not sure what it is like now as it has been more than a dozen years since I was there. So far as research is concerned, Lunceford's book is the best source. It has just about all the main records in it except court cases and estate administrations (those without a will). The marriages of my mother's two brothers are even in it. If copies of Lunceford's book are still available, that is the best place to start. Even has census and lotterys in it. Copies were very reasonable at the courthouse. 25 cents or less a page in both offices. Find the reference in the book to the record you want and then write or call the courthouse for a copy. By contrast, the Probate office in Greene County was very busy with a bunch of employees. Vivian Cates, Rt. #2 Box 52-A, Alto, Texas 75925 1-936-858-3801 http://www.inu.net/vcates ============================== Census images 1901, 1891, 1881 and 1871, plus so much more. Ancestry.com's United Kingdom & Ireland Collection. Learn more: http://www.ancestry.com/s13968/rd.ashx