Rockdale County GaArchives Photo Document.....Newsletter-Rockdale County Genealogical Society October 28, 2008
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Larry C. Knowles http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00012.html#0002854 October 28, 2008, 2:53 pm

Source:             Larry C. Knowles
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ROCKDALE COUNTY GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY-NEWSLETTER, November 2008  [page 1 of 3]

Jeans & Genes

Rockdale County Genealogical Society Newsletter-Nov. 2008

Rebels and Patriots

How to find your historically important soldiers

Many people get their initial introduction to genealogy by searching for their 
ancestral soldiers, particularly those who were in the Civil War, or the 
Revolutionary War. In the South those "Rebels" of 1861-1865 are still vivid in 
the imagination, but most don't consider that many of those brave men came 
from "Patriot" stock-or in some cases even our "Yankee" forbears, who came 
down for a more favorable climate and the bounty of untilled soil. Unless 
links are made through family lore, most folks will have to trace their 
lineage back at least to the period of the war(s) to find if an ancestor was 
old enough to have fought. In my Wilson family line, my 2nd great-grandpa
(b.1854)was too young, but six of his brothers fought, some even in Virginia, 
as Union troops marched in 1864 near their home in Butts Co. GA, on land 
settled by their grandfather Joseph Wilson, who was born in NY!

As is the case with most genealogy, time and place are necessary for tracing 
your soldier(s), so find a location before doing Civil War research. All early 
units were formed in counties, and were generally organized into regiments 
soon after. Four of the "boys" above, joined in adjacent Henry Co. in 1861, so 
be sure to look for possible enlistments in nearby units. A good source for 
Georgia soldiers at Nancy Guinn Library is Lillian Henderson's, "Roster of the 
Confederate Soldiers of Georgia, 1861-1865, in six volumes. A later index to 
this series lists over 80,000 names, all in infantry units. You will have to 
go to the Newton County Library for volume one. If you haven't yet utilized 
the Heritage Room at NCL, now would be a good time, during our renovation. 
There you will find Janet B. Hewett's- "The Roster of Confederate Soldiers-
1861-1865" in sixteen volumes. It includes soldiers from all southern states. 
For regimental histories, diaries, reminisces, or pension applications, you 
will have to go to the State Archives here, or in the states where your 
soldiers served.

The Georgia Archives at Morrow has two large banks of published works on both 
wars. "Index to Georgia Civil War Confederate Pension Files" by Virgil White*-
with supplement by Ted Brooke & Linda Geiger might be helpful. The bulk of 
these records are on self-serve microfilm in drawers #271-277. An index is 
found in boxes 13-51 of drawer #261. Don't forget that widows were eligible, 
and may have filed long after a soldier's death! If you can't find your 
ancestor here, you might find him in a book by Nancy J. Cornell, "1864 Census 
for Re-Organizing The Georgia Militia", the so-called Governor-"Joe Brown 
Census"(also at NCL). All males between the ages of 16-60, who were not 
already serving, should be listed. Infirmities, some exemptions, ages, and 
many places of birth(not found elsewhere)are also noted.

The Archives' wonderful old card catalog has a drawer full of Georgia Civil 
War units listed by county, and another for pension applications by county. 
There is also a drawer of 1867 "Oath Books" by county, for the pledges of 
allegiance during reconstruction. I didn't see the drawer for the compiled 
service records, but I had seen it previously. It contains muster rolls, pay 
vouchers, records of leave or sickness of soldiers, but usually not in much 
detail. On the shelves-Ray Roddy's, "The Georgia Volunteer Infantry, 1861-
1865" likely will place your regiments in all the major skirmishes and battles 
of the war. 
* Also available at NCL


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