The founding of Georgia took place Feb. 12, 1733, when James Edward Oglethorpe, representing the trustees who had obtained the colony’s charter, arrived at what is now Savannah with a group of 115 settlers.
Those hearty souls included men, women and children. We now know that most of them came from the greater London area and had been vetted by the trustees in interviews for their suitability to be colonists.
There are many books about the early days of the Georgia colony, and the trustees’ records have been published as well. It is one of the best documented English colonies.
The Georgia Historical Society in Savannah has some of the best links to articles about the founding, material for school teachers, and other information about Georgia history at georgiahistory.com.
Their annual Georgia History Festival, with events running through much of February, is usually the most elaborate observance in the state honoring the founding. This year's keynote speaker was archaeologist Dennis Blanton, who discussed the latest discoveries related to Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto in Georgia.
The Georgia Historical Society is located at 501 Whitaker St., Savannah.
British Georgia
Mary Bondurant Warren of Athens continues her British Georgia Kindle book series on amazon.com. Each of these works is a compilation from various sources of documents and other materials related to the colony of Georgia.
Her latest e-book, “Trustees: Unsung Heroes, 1732-1752,” contains a lot of material about the Georgia trustees and their work with the colony.
Also in the series for those with Kindle readers are “Entry of Land Claims, 1755,” “Presidents and Assistants, 1741-1754,” and “Loyalists Claims” from after the American Revolution. The cost varies, from $4.95 to $9.95 per book.
Other authors’ books related to early Georgia also appear on Amazon.
German newspapers online
“Historic German Newspapers Online” is the latest compilation by Ernest Thode, noted German scholar. The book lists the available newspapers by location, titles and dates.
The introduction provides crucial assistance in finding the newspapers online; if you need them, this will be a great guide. It's available for $24.95 plus $5.50 postage from the Genealogical Publishing Co., 3600 Clipper Mill Road, Suite 260, Baltimore, MD 21211; 1-800-296-6687; or genealogical.com.
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