Our ancestors often seem to have changed counties, but did they move or did the county boundary change?
The news in May that the border between South Carolina and North Carolina was being “adjusted,” causing some people to change states, made me think of our ancestors.
We have to be aware of changing county boundaries, especially in Georgia, where older counties were subdivided, reaching 161 counties in 1924. (There are now 159 counties in Georgia.)
Researching ancestors, you need to determine when changes took place by checking maps, county histories, or by contacting the local historical organization.
My Revolutionary War-era ancestor, Joel King, on whom I joined the Sons of the American Revolution, only lived in three places in Georgia, but his records are in five counties. He got a land grant in Wilkes and stayed put while Warren County was created in 1793, including his farm. Then, he moved to Hancock County, and was living in the portion that was added in 1807 to Baldwin County. His third move was to Wilkinson County, where he was the first person recorded in the 1820 census.
City limits are equally important. Atlanta expanded its city limits several times, and renumbered housing three times, the last in 1926. If someone lived within the city limits, they appear in city directories; if outside the city, they won’t appear.
Today’s county and city mergers also cause confusion. My grandfather was born in 1903 in rural Muscogee County, but the SAR considers his birth as within the city of Columbus, which merged with the county in 1971. Since “Papa” was born above his parents’ rural general store, I think his birth record should reflect that.
Saturday School
Tom Keating will speak on the topic "Saturday School: How One Town Kept Out 'the Jewish' 1902-1932" at the July 19 DeKalb History Center Lunch and Learn. It's at noon and is free; bring your own lunch. For more information, check dekalbhistory.org or call 404-373-1088, Ext. 23.
Home sources update
A reader responded to my June 12 column on home sources for beginning genealogy by saying she had found her parents’ 1936 wedding book very useful for relatives’ names and addresses. Funeral books from funeral homes, where visitors signed in, often giving kinship, are also a good source.
