Archive for the ‘Georgia genealogy’ Category

Civil War soldier Jordan BAILEY (ca. 1828-1900)

Monday, May 26th, 2008

In honor of Memorial Day, I’m posting a brief biographical sketch of my great-great-great-grandfather Jordan BAILEY.

Jordan BAILEY served in Co. D, 40th Georgia Regiment, Georgia Volunteers, Army of Tennessee, during the Civil War. He enlisted at the rank of Private in 1862 in Gordon County, Georgia. He was 34 years old and a married man with four children, ranging in age from 1 to 7 years. (Four-year-old George T. was my great-great-grandfather.)

Jordan, the son of George W. BAILEY and Elizabeth ???, was born on 14 April 1828 or 1829 in DeKalb County, Georgia. Many BAILEY researchers indicate that Elizabeth’s maiden name was DAVIS.

Jordan appears in the 1850 U.S. census for Walker County, Georgia, in the home of Elijah STANSELL. Jordan married Elijah’s daughter, Louisa Jane STANSELL, on 11 Aug. 1851 in Walker County, Georgia. The couple appears in the 1860, 1870, and 1880 U.S. censuses in Gordon County, Georgia, and in the 1900 U.S. census in Whitfield County, Georgia.

Jordan died on 17 Aug. 1900 near Dalton, Georgia. He was 72.

During the Civil War, Jordan’s unit participated in many conflicts, including those at Chickasaw Bayou and Champion’s Hill, both in Mississippi.

Jordan’s unit was part of the garrison that surrendered at Vicksburg on 4 July 1863. The men were exchanged and attached to Gen. Stovall’s Brigade, Army of Tennessee. They saw action in many conflicts from Chattanooga to Nashville.

Jordan saw his last action of the Civil War at the Battle at Resaca, Georgia, in May 1864. He was captured and spent the remainder of the war in Camp Morton. The former state fairgrounds at Indianapolis, Indiana, had been converted to a prison camp.

Jordan’s Civil War service may have taken a toll on his health. In 1895, Jordan applied for a Pension for Indigent Confederate Soldiers. (Jordan’s last name was spelled as “BALEY” on the application.)

Jordan described his health as “very bad.”

“I am afflicted with paralysis and suffer with pains in my side and back and I am almost blind,” Jordan said. “At times I cannot hardly see my way attall (sic).”

Jordan received the pension. After his death in 1900, his wife applied for a Widow’s Indigent Pension.

According to his military records, Jordan was 5 foot 6.25 inches tall. He had a dark complexion, dark hair, and blue eyes.

Jordan BAILEY and Louisa Jane STANSELL were the parents of 10 known children, all of whom were born in Georgia.

a. Rebecca J., born ca. 1853

b. Martha B., born ca. 1854

c. George T., born ca. 1856; married Sarah BROCK in Gordon County, Georgia, on 1 Dec. 1872; died ca. 1900

d. Leroy W., born ca. 1859

e. James E. J., born ca. 1863

f. Elizabeth A., born about 1866

g. Zachariah V., born December 1869

h. Joseph H., born March 1874

i. John E., born May 1875

j. Benjamin Boss, born 11 March 1877

Posted in BAILEY genealogy, Georgia genealogy | 2 Comments »

Searching Google Nets Ancestors

Sunday, May 11th, 2008

One strategy I use from time to time in my genealogy research is a simple Google search.

I’ll search for the name of one of my ancestors – both first and last names or first, middle, and last names. Of course, I put the name in parentheses, so Google searches for that exact name or phrase, rather than those individual names or words.

As you might imagine, this strategy works best for unusual names.

Often I’ll find references to present-day individuals who have the same name as my ancestor, or I’ll find links to genealogy discussion boards, family trees, or other family history sites.

Sometimes I hit pay dirt.

Last night was one of those nights.

I searched for my ancestor “Mary Caroline FINCHER.” This led me to many sites dealing with the GENTLE family. Mary had married Pinkney GENTLE after the death or disappearance of her first husband, James Newton McGINNIS.

Even though I descend from one of the McGINNIS children, I spent some time looking at the GENTLE information and found a fascinating tidbit.

Leander Colbert GENTLE, son of Pickney GENTLE and his first wife, was the father of 29 children. 29 children?

Further searches on the Internet for Lee GENTLE led me to the following birth notice in the 21 Feb. 1927 issue of Time Magazine.

“Born. To Lee Gentle, 65, ‘champion father of Georgia,’ a daughter, in Atlanta, Ga. Mr. Gentle was recently congratulated by Congress and President Coolidge on his record of 28 children. He now has 29.”

This isn’t my line, of course, but it’s fascinating nevertheless.

On a different occasion I ran a search for another ancestor and discovered that someone was giving a speech in Virginia about him. I e-mailed the contact person for the group, and she forwarded my e-mail to the speaker – a distant cousin as it turned out. (I’m not using her name or the name of my ancestor, since I didn’t get permission from her to share this story.)

In any event, we corresponded for a time and exchanged information. The big prize for me was a digital copy of a photo of our ancestors – the ancestor my cousin was speaking about and his wife.

And, I learned that her father is writing a book about our ancestor. I can’t wait to see it.

All that, from a simple Google search.

Posted in Fincher genealogy, Georgia genealogy, McGinnis genealogy, genealogy research tips | 2 Comments »

State Archives, Libraries Provide Digital Treasures

Saturday, April 12th, 2008

I started researching my family history in the 1980s.

I remember how long it seemed to take to order a copy of a vital record. First, you had to request the form to use to order a copy of the record. Then you sent in the form, with your check, and waited weeks – in some cases months – to get the copy of your record.

That’s, of course, assuming that you had the right name, date, and place for the event.

Sometimes a request for a record search yielded no results. And, then you started over with another request. Another check. And another wait.

Today, a similar search can take minutes on the Internet, thanks to the efforts of various state archives, libraries, societies, and other organizations. In many cases, access to the digital records is free.

It’s truly amazing.

This week, for example, I found the death record for my great-grandfather, who died in 1927 in Georgia. In the 1980s, it took weeks for me to get a paper copy through the mail. This week it took minutes to find the same record on the Georgia Archives’ Virtual Vault.

Not only does Georgia’s Vault have death certificates for 1919-1927, it also has Confederate Pension Applications, maps, postcards, and a number of other documents.

Digital treasures – vital records, census records, and more – can be found on many web sites sponsored by state archives and libraries

The Library of Michigan, for example, has the state’s entire 1870 Federal Census – images and index.

Pennsylvania’s State Archives has marriage records, 1885-1891, among its digital documents.

West Virginia’s Archives has birth, death, and marriage records for a number of years and counties.

I’d encourage you to explore your states of interest to discover your own digital treasures.

Posted in Georgia genealogy, Michigan genealogy, West Virginia genealogy, genealogy research tips | No Comments »

Welcome to Genealogy Stuff

Sunday, February 17th, 2008

So what is genealogy stuff?

It’s “stuff” about genealogy.

Stuff about my personal family history.

Stuff about genealogy research in my areas of interest — primarily Michigan and many of the southern states, including West Virginia, Virginia, and Georgia. Oh yes, and Ontario, too.

It won’t be worthless or foolish ideas and writing, the way the dictionary defines the word “stuff,” but hopefully it will be stuff that will assist you from time to time with your family history research.

In turn, I hope that you also may be able to assist me.

Welcome to GenealogyStuff. Let our journey begin.

Posted in Georgia genealogy, Michigan genealogy, Ontario genealogy, Virginia genealogy, West Virginia genealogy | No Comments »