It's very disappointing to find that your ancestor came from a county in Georgia that suffered a major loss of records in a courthouse fire or other disaster such as a tornado.
When that happens, you have to think outside the box. Cemeteries, newspapers, church records, local library resources, the local family historian and surrounding counties may hold the information you need. Additionally, state, federal and private records probably survive for the county in question.
Although Georgia's pre-1820 federal census records do not survive (except for Oglethorpe County's 1800 records), Georgia is fortunate to have land lottery records, state census records for 12 different Georgia counties (1827-1859), and also the wonderful collection at the University of Georgia's Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library in Athens.
You also should search for your ancestor in Revolutionary War, War of 1812 and Civil War pension files. And newspapers in neighboring counties might provide obituaries, estate records and a list of tax defaulters.
Search the Periodical Source Index on Heritage Quest online at your local library for your ancestor and you might find an article, diary or a Bible record listed in a genealogical publication.
Know the laws
The records we use in genealogy exist for the most part because they were required by law.
In an article in the September 2011 issue of Family Tree Magazine, on newsstands now, Michael Hait stresses knowing what laws existed at the local, state and national level and what records they caused to be created.
Always know when a city was incorporated, as the records begin then. The states all have requirements for marriages to be recorded, but South Carolina, for instance, did not require such until 1911.
On Google Books you can find scanned editions of at least one early state code from each state and those can help a lot, or you can find originals at a law library or a state archives.
Irish tips
David Rencher, expert on Irish genealogy, lectured at the National Genealogical Society meeting on "Irish: Chasing the Poor and the Landless."
Many people in Ireland were farmers but not landowners. Many moved often from parish to parish, and thus records that look like several people with the same name could indeed be for the same person.
There were many famines in Ireland other than the great one. Records to check include "loan funds" provided by counties, although they don't survive for every county.
Lots of Irish records are in the English archives rather than those of Ireland, because Ireland was an English province.
His main point: Learn more about Irish records before you begin your research.
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