Schley County GaArchives Photo Group.....Unburied Treasure July 2006
************************************************
Copyright.  All rights reserved.
http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm
http://www.usgwarchives.net/ga/gafiles.htm
************************************************

File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by:
Harris Hill http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00011.html#0002514 August 21, 2006, 8:37 pm

Source:             The Tri-County Journal & Chattahoochee Chronicle  Wednesday, August 16, 2006
Photo can be seen at:
http://www.usgwarchives.net/ga/schley/photos/unburied11665gph.jpg
Image file size: 260.6 Kb

The Tri-County Journal & Chattahoochee Chronicle  Wednesday, August 16, 2006

UNBURIED TREASURE
HISTORIC DOCUMENTS UNEARTHED IN SCHLEY COUNTY COURTHOUSE
by Linda Adams

Magistrate Judge Larry Wall had known that there were old documents stored in 
a closet above the stairwell that lead down into the depths of the Schley 
County Courthouse basement.  One day, earlier this summer, he opened the door 
and took out a paper to examine.  It just happened to be a document relating 
to his family!  Realizing that there was information of historical interest in 
the stored papers, he went about retrieving them.  

A trustee was given the task of taking the documents out of the closet and 
putting them into plastic bags.  There were also documents stored in the 
basement that were retrieved at the same time.  In all there were some seven 
big bags of decomposing paper in Wall's office awaiting inspection.  
Fortunately, two gentlemen were about to come to Schley County to the Murray 
family reunion.  These two men, Harris and Keith Hill, second cousins, have 
neither one ever lived in Schley county, but their ancestors did, and their 
interest in and knowledge of Schley County history, plus their expertise, made 
them perfect candidates to go through and examine the documents.

Because of the state of decomposition due to insects and humidity, many of the 
papers were either stuck together or not legible.  However, about a third of 
the documents could be read and salvaged.  Many of the documents date from the 
time Schley County and Ellaville were established, right after the mid point 
of the eighteen hundreds.  

One receipt was printed with "Pond Town" as the city, rather than Ellaville, 
although it was dated after the establishment of Ellaville.  All of the 
salvaged documents are being carefully preserved and those of interest are 
being transcribed and digitally scanned.  The results are being posted on the 
Rootsweb website that Harris Hill coordinates.

The address is:  www.rootsweb.com/~GASCHLEY

Additional Comments:
I might add that none of the preservation and posting by myself and keith 
would have ever taken place were it not for the writer of this article, Linda 
Adams and Judge Larry Wall.  We are most grateful for these are 
truly "unburied treasures."

File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ga/schley/photos/unburied11665gph.txt

This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/gafiles/

File size: 3.1 Kb