R E S E A R C H   G U I D A N C E

Georgia
Research Outline
   

Table of Contents
Records Of The Family History Library
Family History Library Catalog
Archives And Libraries
Bible Records
Biography
Cemeteries
Census
Church Records
Court Records
Directories
Emigration And Immigration
Gazetteers
Genealogy
History
Land And Property
Maps
Military Records
Naturalization And Citizenship
Newspapers
Periodicals
Probate Records
Taxation
Vital Records
Voting Registers
For Further Reading
Comments And Suggestions

COURT RECORDSLook this term up in the glossary.

The earliest colonial court records were kept by the Common Council in England and the governor and council in Georgia. Later Georgia court records were kept by the General Court of PleasLook this term up in the glossary. and the Court of Quarter SessionsLook this term up in the glossary.. None of these records exists today.

After the colonial period, Georgia courts that kept records of genealogical value were established as follows:

1777-pres

Superior courtsLook this term up in the glossary.. These county courts kept records of divorce, civilLook this term up in the glossary. and criminalLook this term up in the glossary. cases, naturalizationLook this term up in the glossary., military discharges, homesteadsLook this term up in the glossary., slavesLook this term up in the glossary., and prisonsLook this term up in the glossary.. The Family History Library has superior court records, especially minutesLook this term up in the glossary., from the 1790s to the early 1900s. From Fulton County, for example, the library has 48 microfilms for 1854 to 1901.

1777-pres.

Courts of ordinaryLook this term up in the glossary.. These county courts kept records of probates from 1777 to 1798 and again after 1852. Other records kept by the court include homesteadsLook this term up in the glossary., land warrantsLook this term up in the glossary., licensesLook this term up in the glossary., indenturesLook this term up in the glossary., paupers registersLook this term up in the glossary., voting registersLook this term up in the glossary., and marriage records. The Family History Library has many of the existing court of ordinary records, especially minutesLook this term up in the glossary. and indexes, from 1800 to the 1900s.

1798-pres.

Inferior courtsLook this term up in the glossary.. These county courts had jurisdiction over probatesLook this term up in the glossary. from 1798 to 1852, civilLook this term up in the glossary. matters (except for divorce and equity casesLook this term up in the glossary.), and minor criminalLook this term up in the glossary. offenses. The Family History Library has most inferior court minutes from the 1790s to the 1860s.


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DIRECTORIESLook this term up in the glossary.

DirectoriesLook this term up in the glossary. of heads of households have been published for major cities in Georgia. For example, the Family History Library has the following directories:

  • Atlanta
1859-1860 FHL fiche 6043557
1867-1935 FHL film 1376512—

  • Columbus
1859-60, 1906-1934 FHL fiche 6043828; films 1759663-66

  • Savannah
1848-1860 FHL fiche 6044484-88
1866-1934 FHL film 1377450—


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EMIGRATION AND IMMIGRATIONLook this term up in the glossary.


People

Colonial settlers of Georgia generally came from the Carolinas, from Virginia, or directly from England and Scotland. The first large group of immigrants came from the British Isles to the Savannah area with James Oglethorpe in 1733.

The total nonnative population of Georgia in 1752 has been estimated at 5,000. Small groups of Protestants from German- and French-speaking areas of Europe were in Georgia by that date, including MoraviansLook this term up in the glossary. and Swiss. The most important of these groups were the 1,500 SalzburgersLook this term up in the glossary. who had settled at Ebenezer in present-day Effingham County beginning in 1734.

An important group of 350 PuritansLook this term up in the glossary. from South Carolina, accompanied by 1,500 blacks, arrived in Georgia beginning in 1752. They first settled in the Midway District. Their ancestors had previously settled the towns of Dorchester in both Massachusetts and South Carolina. In 1758 these Puritans established the seacoast town of Sunbury.

Between 1802 and 1820 thousands of Americans moved to Georgia seeking free or inexpensive land. The CreekLook this term up in the glossary. and CherokeeLook this term up in the glossary. Indians were removed from the state before 1840.


Records

The Family History Library and the National Archives have passenger lists for Savannah for portions of the years 1820 to 1826, 1831, 1847 to 1851, and 1866 to 1867 (FHL film 830246).

Lists of arrivals in Georgia and other southern ports beginning in 1890 are also available at the National Archives. The Family History Library has an index to these lists for 1890 to 1924 (FHL films 1324938-63). These are in the Index to Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at Miscellaneous Ports in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina, 1890-1924 listed in the Family History Library Catalog under UNITED STATES - EMIGRATION AND IMMIGRATION - INDEXES.

The library also has Savannah lists for 1906 to 1945 (FHL films 1375955 and 1414793-95).

More detailed information on federal immigration sources is in the United States Research Outline.

Records about many families who passed through Georgia on their way west are in Mary Bryan, Passports Issued by Georgia Governors, 1785-1809, and 1810-1820, 2 vols. (Washington, D.C.: National Genealogical Society, 1959, 1964; FHL book 975.8 P4b; FHL films 844966 and 1033943 item 12).

Records of ethnic groups including Indians, QuakersLook this term up in the glossary., and SalzburgersLook this term up in the glossary. are listed in the locality search of the Family History Library Catalog under the subject heading GEORGIA - MINORITIES.

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