Why you did not Find your Georgia Ancestors

Why you did not Find your Georgia Ancestors

1889 Atlanta Post Office

Sometimes the records are not good enough. For example, the 1820 and 1830 census records of Georgia appear to be incomplete. After viewing the microfilm, one gets the impression that there are illegible entries and missing pages. Of course, tax digests can help us on this, if we can find surviving records and specific dates. Again, in Georgia, there are few surviving tax digests compared to the number of counties. And legibility is always an issue. Marriage records also take a hit due to faded ink on the paper. There may be some visible entries, while a portion of the page is totally faded. A visit to the Forsyth County court house revealed county books where the writing was so dim that the effort to preserve them utterly failed. The method of storage is the culprit. In certain court houses, I discovered file cabinets of original wills destined for cold storage in boxes. In the world of today where there is insufficient room for the old records, one has to learn where the county is storing them. It is often an off-site location, like in Chatham County, which requires a request slip and a wait of several days before they are brought to the court house. My search at the Hancock County Court house found loose bindings and books carelessly thrown about. Were it not for the microfilming by the LDS Church during the 1950's, much would be lost! Thus, examining the microfilm is your best bet! Or, view records on Georgia Pioneers which digitizes records from microfilm!

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Index to North Carolina Wills and Estates

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