Genealogists are glad when an important book has an index, as so many early books lacked them.
Yet one should always study an index to be sure it is complete. Some authors only index those sections with information that is not in alphabetical order. Abstractors of courthouse records often index items by original page numbers, not current page numbers.
Some authors seem to randomly index some names and not others, so unless you study the book carefully, you might think your family was not included. This is often a good reason to own an important work, so that you can understand all aspects of it.
When checking online, various searches work differently as well. Google searches suggest alternate spellings and pull various possibilities together. On Ancestry.com, it pulls up only the exact spelling.
So, for example, when searching “Russell,” if the name got spelled with only one “l” (as some did), and you don’t search for that separately or use various wild card options, you will miss a lot.
Also, if the name you are searching is not your surname, you might be unaware of the various spellings you could encounter.
Hancock County history reprinted
Forrest Shivers’ “The Land Between, a History of Hancock County, Georgia, to 1940” has been reprinted. Originally published in 1990, it was long out of print.
Shivers has written a true history of the county, not a genealogy compendium. Beginning with the Oconee Wars of the 1780s and 1790s through all the various issues of the 19th century, he has studied the county’s activities.
Chapters cover public education, transportation after the Civil War, white supremacy, churches and schools, and various themes in the early 20th century.
The appendices have some lists of names, including black landowners of more than 40 acres in 1892 and 1920. The book is footnoted, with a bibliography and a full-name index.
This 430-page, hardback book was reprinted by the Reprint Co. of Spartanburg, and is available for $39 plus $6 shipping from the Sparta Cemetery Association, P.O. Box 396, Sparta, GA 31087. You can find an order form at usgenweb.org; look under Georgia, Hancock County and then books for sale.
Virginia Road Order books
Virginia's Department of Transportation has many colonial county Road Order books online. Go to virginiadot.org and search for "road order books." Or look via an online search and your county of interest.
