New book helps Georgia genealogists research military commissions

A new sourcebook for Georgia genealogical research has just been published by Paul K. Graham, most noted for his Georgia Land Lottery books.

“Georgia Military Commissions, 1798 to 1818” was created from books and materials found at the Georgia Archives and covers officers of various ranks and their units. Almost 10,000 men are listed, including those in artillery, dragoon and cavalry units. The book is arranged by the six original commission books, but the introductory material needs to be read carefully. There full-name index has the original spellings, as interpreted. Names are not grouped phonetically, and spellings of the era can differ widely.

Following the full-name index are four other indexes: a county index to units, a Militia District index, a district to county cross reference and then a county to district cross reference. All these indexes are important access points to the information. Through them, I found an ancestor: Isham Brooks, Captain, District 375, 26 Mar 1817. I also learned that district was in Putnam County. The author projects this to be the first of a series going to 1860. This is a very important new book for any Georgia collection, be it an archives or personal library. For purchasing, see georgiamilitarycommissions.com, to order via PayPal in either hardback ($44.95), paperback ($29.95), or Kindle eBook ($6.95), plus $6 shipping.

Genealogy holiday gifts

The December Family Tree Magazine has a “Genealogist’s Tech Gift Guide” for your favorite genealogist (or yourself). It includes online records access, books, consultations and classes, software, DNA tests, wall charts and hardware. To this, I would add membership in your local genealogical society or one where your ancestors lived.

AncestryDNA, more changes

Ancestry.com's DNA program has changed again. Now they are allowing new DNA testers to choose not to have their results shared with other cousins, succumbing to the popular notion that DNA ethnicity matches are in a vacuum, rather than based on data from real people who have already tested. Many are unaware that, when they get an ethnicity profile, on another part of the website there was a long list of real people they matched. Ancestry has also eliminated the page numbers so now you have no idea how many people you match, in my case, at last count, around 40,000.