Georgia’s governors left rich historical records, and one of the best places to find information on them is the Georgia Archives.
Founded in 1918, the Georgia Archives is celebrating its centennial. Attempts to close it in 2012 failed, and it was administratively transferred in 2013 to the University System of Georgia. Increased funding has helped enlarge staff and services. The Archives houses the state’s official collection of records. Biographical questionnaires with genealogical information are on file for most 20th century legislators and governors.
Published biographical sketches are found in James F. Cook's "The Governors of Georgia, 1755-2004" (Mercer University Press, 2005), in the Dictionary of Georgia Biography (UGA Press, 1982), and the online New Georgia Encyclopedia . The Georgia Department of Natural Resources published a booklet in 2003 "Georgia Governors' Gravesites Field Guide, 1776-2003." Outgoing First Lady Sandra Deal and Kennesaw State professors Jennifer Dickey and Catherine Lewis co-authored "Memories of the Mansion: The Story of Georgia's Governor's Mansion" (UGA Press, 2015). It's a good history of the governors, their families and their lives in the mansion since 1968. So, if you are interested in the history of Georgia's governors, the best place to go would be the Georgia Archives.
While there, check out their vast collection of published Georgia county source books, family histories, as well as genealogy material from most Southeastern states. See GeorgiaArchives.org.
The Christian Index now digitized
The Digital Library of Georgia and the Georgia Newspaper Project have just added more digitized versions of Georgia newspapers to their site, dlg.usg.edu. Search the site geographically to find newspapers of interest. One of the most important titles now online is the official Baptist publication, “The Christian Index,” from 1833 to 1866, now fully searchable. Previous access was only through published abstracts of marriages and obituaries. Now researchers have access to all the other information within. You can search for a person’s name, or a church and, from my experience, find something interesting. For Baptist research, see the Georgia Baptist Archives in the Special Collections, Tarver Library at Mercer University in Macon. And see libraries.mercer.edu for files on many Baptist churches.
Linkpendium
Check Linkpendium.com, where you can search for your family members, especially those with an unusual last name, and find a lot of links and other clues.
