Liberty

Liberty County Genealogy, Wills, Estates, Cemeteries, Maps

Many colonials who settled in Savannah also owned large rice plantations in Liberty County. Also, after General Oglethorpe removed the regiment to England in 1744, residents of Frederica began moving into Liberty. Liberty County, located in the southeastern portion of the state on the Georgia coast, was one of the seven Georgia counties created from the original colonial parishes on February 5, 1777. The Guale Indians inhabited that area from prehistoric times, and in the eighteenth century, the tribe became a part of the Muskogee or Creek Confederation. The Spanish placed a mission on St. Catherines Island in the late sixteenth century among the Guale Indians. After General Oglethorpe left St. Simons Island, some of the settlers to Frederica were removed into Liberty County, settling on large tracts of land grants. In 1752 after the Charter was surrendered, the land was opened up to large parties and congregations for settlement. A group of Puritans from Dorchester, South Carolina (originally from Dorchester, Massachusetts) took up large land grants and developed communities such as Midway and Sunbury, a thriving Colonial port. In 1777, Liberty County was officially created.
Maps
  • Map of Liberty County.
Deaths
  • Midway Cemetery, a List of all burials
  • Deaths from State of Georgia 1919-1925
Residents
  • Images of Liberty County 1870 Residents, Physical Descriptions of Persons

Indexes to Probate Records

  • Estate Index 1784-1791 (Digital Image).
  • Estates 1784-1791, Surnames A (Digital Images).
  • Estates 1784-1791, Surnames B (Digital Images).
  • Estates 1784-1791, Surnames C (Digital Images).
  • Estates 1784-1791, Surnames D (Digital Images).
  • Estates 1784-1791, Surnames E (Digital Images).
  • Estates 1784-1791, Surnames F (Digital Images).
  • Estates 1784-1791, Surnames G (Digital Images).
  • Estates 1784-1791, Surnames H (Digital Images).
  • Estates 1784-1791, Surnames J(Digital Images).
  • Estates 1784-1791, Surnames K (Digital Images).
  • Estates 1784-1791, Surnames L (Digital Images).
  • Estates 1784-1791, Surnames M (Digital Images).
  • Estates 1784-1791, Surnames N (Digital Images).
  • Estates 1784-1791, Surnames O (Digital Images).
  • Estates 1784-1791, Surnames P (Digital Images).
  • Estates 1784-1791, Surnames Q (Digital Images).
  • Estates 1784-1791, Surnames R (Digital Images).
  • Estates 1784-1791, Surnames S (Digital Images).
  • Estates 1784-1791, Surnames T (Digital Images).
  • Estates 1784-1791, Surnames V (Digital Images).
  • Estates 1784-1791, Surnames W (Digital Images).
  • Index to Wills and Appraisements,Book A, 1789-1823.
  • Index to Wills and Appraisements, Bk B, 1824-1850.
  • Index to Liberty Wills and Appraisements, Bk C, 1863-1873.
  • Index to Wills 1863-1942.
  • Abstracts of Wills 1772-1887

Digital Images of Wills 1779 to 1823, Book A

  • Testators: Austin, Henry
    • Austin, Sarah Ann
    • Bacon, Martha
    • Bacon, Thomas
    • Baker, Artemas
    • Baker, Benjamin
    • Baker, Elijah
    • Baker, John Ichabod
    • Baker, Nathaniel
    • Baker, Susanna
    • Baker, Thomas, Jr.
    • Baker, William
    • Ball, Edward
    • Bennet, Elizabeth
    • Bell, William F.
    • Bennett, Hugh
    • Bennett, Rebecca
    • Bon, Richard
    • Brown, Francis
    • Brown, Mary
    • Burnby, Samuel
    • Burnley, Thomas
    • Butler, Shadrach
    • Cantey, James
    • Carter, Hepworth
    • Carter, James
    • Carter, Martha
    • Christopher, Spencer
    • Cochran, James
    • Cole, James A.
    • Cooper, Richard
    • Crews, Isham
    • Cubbedge, Ann
    • Cuthbert, Alexander
    • Cuthbert, Isaac
    • Douse, Gideon
    • Dunham, Margaret
    • Elliott, Daniel Robert
    • Feaster, Catharine
    • Fickling, Elizabeth
    • Winn, Sarah
    • Wood, John
    • Wood, Joseph
    • Woodward, William
  • Fleming, William
  • Foster, John
  • Fraser, John E.
  • Fraser, Mary Ann
  • Fraser, Simon
  • Fraser, William
  • Girardeau, Ann
  • Girardeau, John Bohun
  • Girardeau, Rebecca
  • Girardeau, Sarah
  • Goulding, Thomas
  • Graham, James
  • Graham, William
  • Graves, John
  • Greene, Samuel T.
  • Harrell, Isaac
  • Hastings, Archibald
  • Hastings, Catherine
  • Hay, M.
  • Hext, John
  • Hinson, Clayborn
  • Jeffries, Nancy
  • Jones, Samuel
  • Jones, Susannah H.
  • King, Thomas
  • Ladson, Margaret
  • Lambert, John
  • Lambright, John
  • Lambright, Margaret
  • Lanchester, Thomas
  • Law, Mary E.
  • Lawson, John, Sr.
  • Lewis, Elijah
  • Lewis, Joseph
  • Lines, Samuel
  • Lockerman, Persiana
  • Lowe, John
  • Mallard, Lazarus
  • Mallard, Sarah
  • Mansell, Josiah
  • Way, William
  • Webb, John
  • Wilkins, Hampden
  • Winn, Joseph
  • Martin, Alexander
  • Martin, Martin
  • Maxwell, Sarah
  • McCollough, Hugh
  • McCollough, James
  • McLair, Lewis
  • Munroe, Elizabeth
  • Myers, Daniel
  • Norman, Ann
  • Osgood, John
  • Osgood, Josiah
  • Peacock, John
  • Porter, A.
  • Powell, Elizabeth
  • Powell, James
  • Quarterman, Joseph
  • Quarterman, Rebecca
  • Quarterman, Richard
  • Quarterman, Thomas
  • Robarts, ThomasSallett, Robert
  • Salters, Samuel
  • Sapelo, Elias
  • Sandifer, William Case
  • Schmidt, Egideas Henry
  • Shave, Richard
  • Shepard, Edward
  • Shepard, Mary
  • Shepard, Thomas
  • Simpson, James
  • Singleton, Thomas
  • Smith, James
  • Spalding, John
  • Spears, John
  • Spencer, Rebecca
  • Spencer, Samuel
  • Stevens, Joseph
  • Stevens, Thomas
  • Stone, Elizabeth
  • Sumner, Edward
  • Walker, Charles
  • Walker, Joel
  • Way, Ann
  • Way, Susannah

Laurens County Genealogy, Wills, Estates, Marriages

Digital Images of Estates 1823 to 1829

Testators: Bacon, Thomas F.

  • Elden, James
  • Hughes, Elizabeth
  • Lambright, James
  • Ross, Fannie
  • Winn, Peter
    Digital Images of Wills and Estates 1789 to 1823
    Testators:Austin, Isaiah Bacon, Martha, Baker, Artemus, Baker, John, Baker, Nathaniel, Baker, Susanna, Baker, Thomas, Baker, William, Ball, Edward, Bennet, Rebecca, Bennett, Elizabeth, Bennett, Hugh, Box, Richard, Brown, Francis, Bunnley, Samuel, Cantey, James, Carter, James, Cole, James, Cooper, Richard , Crews, Isham, Cuthbert, Daniel, Dollar, John, Dowse, Gideon, Dunham, Margaret ,Fickling, Elizabeth, Foster, John, Girardeau, John, Graves, John, Hastings, Archibald, Hext, John, Jeffries, Nancy, King, Thomas, Lambert, John, Lanchaster, Thomas , Law, Mary, Lawson, John ,Lewis, Elijah , Limbough, John,Lines, Samuel, Lockerman, Persiana, Mallard, Elizabeth, Maxwell, Isaiah, Mill, John, Minson, Clayton, Myers, Daniel, Newman, Ann, Osgood, John, Osgood, Josiah, Planter, William, Porter, A., Powell, Elizabeth, Quarterman, Joseph, Quarterman, Rebecca , Quarterman, Thomas, Quarterman, William, Robart, John, Sallers, Samuel , Sallett, Robert , Schmidt, Henry, Shepard, Mary , Shepard, Thomas , Simpson, Jerome, Singleton, Thomas , Spears, John , Stevens, Joseph, Stevens, Thomas, Summer, Edward , Summer, Thomas , Van Youesck, Wendell , Walker, Charles , Walker, Joel , Way, Ann , Winn, Isaiah , Winn, Joseph ,Wood, John, Wood, Joseph ,Woodward, William
    Digital Images of Unbound Wills and Estates 1824 to 1833. Note: This will book has no index and this is the first indexed record
Testators:
  • Anderson, William, estate
  • Austin, Henry, estate
  • Austin, Joseph
  • Axson, Sam, et al
  • Bacon, Francis F., estate
  • Bacon, Joseph
  • Bacon, Thomas F.
  • Bacon, Thomas W.
  • Baker, Richard Jr.
  • Baker, Thomas Jr., estate
  • Baker, William, estate
  • Bennett, Matthew, estate
  • Bradford, Ann, estate
  • Bradford, John
  • Butler, Henry N.
  • Butler, Shem, orphans of
  • Campbell, John
  • Carter, Phebe
  • DeLoach, Hardy
  • Dregnors, John M.
  • Elders, James, estate
  • Elliott, John, estate
  • Footman, Richard
  • Foster, William
  • Fraser, Donald
  • Goulding, Palmer, estate
  • Gowen, John W.
  • Hargroves, Joseph
  • Holmes, James, estate
  • Hughes, Elizabeth
  • Laing, Robert
  • Law, Benjamin
  • Law, Joseph
  • Lewis, Drusilla
  • Lewis orphans et al
  • Lewis, Samuel
  • Limbright, James
  • Mall, William T.
  • Mallard, Amarintha, orphan et al
  • Maxwell, James A., estate
  • McConnell, Robert C.
  • Mell, Benjamin, Sr.
  • Mills, Mary Ann
  • Mills, Mary Jane, estate
  • Norman, Joseph
  • Norman, William, estate
  • Osgood, William
  • Ross, Francis, estate
  • Screven, John Odinsells
  • Smith, John W., estate
  • Smith, William Jr. (bond), guardian of John Madison Smith, orphan of John W. Smith, deceased
  • Stacy, James
  • Stacy, James, et al
  • Stewart, Daniel (General)
  • Stewart, Sarah
  • Stewart orphans
  • Taliaferro, Lydia
  • Tanner, William
  • Walthour, Andrew, estate
  • Walthour, Elizabeth
  • Ward, William
  • Way, John
  • Webb, Thomas J., estate
  • Wilkins, Mary
  • Wilson, Josiah
  • Wilson guardians
  • Wilson orphans
  • Winn, Peter

Unbound Wills and Estates 1834 to 1856. Note: This will book has no index and this is the first indexed record

Testators: Andrews, Micajah, Ashmore, John, Austin, Mary, Bacon, Augustus O., Bacon, Thomas , Baker, Edmund, Baker, Elijah, Bacon, Jonathan, Broughton, John C., Butler, Henry, Currie, John, Hart, C. T., Hendley, Sarah , Hendry, Ann , Hendry, Robert , Hines, Lewis, Howard, Christian , Jones, Joseph , Jones, Mary , Jones, Samuel, Ladson, Mary Ann, Lanford, Joshua, Lanford, Susannah, Law, Joseph, Law, Sanuel S. , Lee, Elizabeth, Lines, Dorcas, Mallard, Elizabeth Quarterman, Martin, John, Martin, Lanetta , Maxwell, Audley, Maybank, Andrew, McGowen, Joseph, McDonald, Randle, orphan , McGowen, Sarah, Mell, Elizabeth , Mell, John S. , Mell, John S., estate, Miller, James B. , Miller, John, Moody, James Sr. , Morgan, Levender , Nelmes, Elizabeth, Osgood, Rebecca, Parker, Solomon, Powers, Anne , Quarterman, Elizabeth, Quarterman, John L. , Quarterman, Robert, Quarterman, Sarah, Russell, Mary, Screven, Charles O., Smith, William Jr., guardian of John Madison Smith, Stevens, Mary , Way, Moses W. , Wilkins, Paul Hamilton , Wilson, Josiah, estate , Winn, Ann , Woods, orphans

Miscellaneous Wills, deeds, and estates (transcripts and digital images)

Edward Ball, John Goulding, Thomas King, General Washington Smith deeds to Henry Strum, White, William Smith deed to Brown, Dunwoody, William Smith deed to William Dyess Jr., Baxter Smith deed to Matthews.

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  • 1755-1802

Marriage Records

  • Loose Marriages 1785-1789
  • Loose Marriages 1790-1799
  • Loose Marriages 1800-1809
  • Loose Marriages 1810-1813
  • Loose Marriages 1814-1816
  • 1816-1819
  • 1807-1896
Militia Records
    • 1863 Georgia Militia, includes names, where born, age
    • Confederate Indigent Soldiers, Widows, Rolls, and Claims 1909-1915
  • Confederate Pensions

Genealogy Research includes Mariners and Vessels

Once we pose the question ” why” we are on the right track. Imagine a dangerous and tumultuous voyage across the Atlantic. Do you have fear of getting lost? Or. being sunk in a storm? When one considers the vast number of lost vessels discovered at the bottom of the sea dating back several hundred years, it is easy to understand that our ancestors indeed took a risk. Yet, although vessels were required to keep a manifest of their passengers and cargo, they were not turned over to the port master in a timely manner. Months could have passed after the actual voyage. Although the National Archives has a collection of ship manifests, it is incomplete for many reasons. Another point of interest is that when mariners set out to deliver supplies, they signed a contract concerning possible loss. I found several contracts for cargo to be delivered to Sunbury, Georgia during colonial days. They were in the deed records. Oftentimes, the cargo was spoiled. This is because of delays in the passage. Had I not read the colonial deeds, I would have never known that Sunbury was an active port city and resort town for New Englanders before the American Revolutionary War. This popular resort town was destroyed, however, in the hurricane of 1800.

Norwegians to Georgia

The Norwegians have a unique immigration path into the United States from Norway. Generally, they arrived in Canada before crossing into Minnesota. That is not to say that families did not move about independently to areas where there were no Norwegians. Such was the case of a Norwegian sailor by the name of Captain Iverson, who settled in Liberty County sometime about the close of the 18th century. Alfred Iverson 1798-1813), a U. S. Senator from Georgia, descends. The senator was removed to Columbus, Georgia where he studied law and was buried in the Linwood Cemetery.

The Lost Town of Sunbury

Deep in the entrails of Liberty County lies the old town of Sunbury. After General Oglethorpe left Georgia, one of his officers Colonel Mark Carr who was granted lots of acreages, donated over 500 acres of land to a town in 1757. Carr maintained a substantial plantation and was a prominent force toward wealth and prosperity. Before the Revolutionary War, Sunbury thrived as a popular seaport town that attracted residents of New England who built homes for their winter residences and supported as many as five wharves along the Medway River. Around 1800 the town was struck by a hurricane and afterward, fevers. During the War of 1812, the port was occupied by American soldiers to protect Georgia against an attack by the British. Thereafter, the area seemed to have vanished. When I visited the region in 1966, only a portion of the arch into the port was still standing. The property was privately owned and used as a farm. The pier and cottages were gone. The old cemetery was sunken into the dirt and tombstones were difficult to read. The Colonial Deed Records of Georgia reveal a thriving port whereby goods were received and shipped, and contracts made with merchant ships detailing cargoes provide information as to its residents. In 1758 the town plat showed 496 lots arranged around three large squares.

The Flemings of Sunbury

Elizabeth and Helen Fleming, the young daughters of the late David Fleming of Sunbury, Georgia, who formerly resided in Edinburgh, Scotland, chose Dr. John Irvine of Sunbury and John Wallace, a Savannah merchant, as guardians. They were entitled to the estate, along with their sisters, Jean and Beatrix Fleming as the nearest of kin to the proceeds of the estate of their deceased uncle, Lieutenant Boswell, late of Edinburgh, as well as to that of their father. This information came from the Chatham County Deeds and these connections would have remained unknown had those deeds not been read.

Envision the Activities of Colonial Days to Help Find Ancestors

In colonial days, the mode of transportation was local rivers whose tributaries also flowed into other waters, as well as the sea. It is not too difficult to determine the first residents of an area and then compare those names to other regions. For example, the Gibbons and Bryans had estates and relatives in Savannah and in Liberty County which were frequently visited by water. Ferries located along the Savannah River between Edgecombe, South Carolina, and Savannah, Georgia accommodated other families such as the Butlers and Youngbloods. Vessels from Europe as well as the West Indies frequented the coasts. Families in New England visited the Georgia resort, Sunbury, and built cottages. Thus, this remote village in Liberty County became a fashionable sojourn for winter residents long before the onset of the Revolutionary War. Plats are excellent resources in determining where people resided. If you can discover the names of neighbors and friends, more avenues of interest enter the horizon. We cannot assume that the colonials were without means of socialization because they were active in contacting and writing letters to relatives and friends.

Families who Settled Midway

In many instances, families and friends traveled together. Also, whole congregations of people moved from place to place, searching for religious freedom and fertile farming lands. Such was the instance of the Puritans who came from Dorchester, Massachusetts to Dorchester, South Carolina, and finally to Midway, Georgia during the mid-seventeen hundreds. The old neighborhood today is near Boston and consists of six square miles. It was founded in 1630 by Puritans from Dorchester, Dorset, England. Dorchester, South Carolina is situated on the Ashley River and was founded in February of 1696 by the followers of Rev. Joseph Lord from Massachusetts. The town was abandoned in 1751 when it was removed to Midway. Midway is located halfway between Savannah and Darien. The cemetery is a lovely setting of brick and wrought-iron ornamentation and pleasant to visit. A complete record of burials is available to members of Georgia Pioneers. The old church is huge in diameter, having a balcony for easy viewing of the pulpit. Families were provided enclosed pews, but that did not prevent the preacher from using his long prodding stick should a member nap during the sermon. The area was agriculturally productive and active socially, with friends coming from Massachusetts and New Hampshire to spend the winter at the resort town of Sunbury. Also, people in Liberty County attended this coastal resort during summer to protect against mosquitoes and malaria. Since this mid-region was primarily settled after King George assumed possession of the Georgia Colony in 1752 and during a time when slaves were first permitted into the colony, prosperity abounded in this section more so than anywhere else.

The Children of Pride

The history which is taught in school has little to do with the actual past. Southerners were always depicted as illiterate farmers because they grew the crops and shipped them to northern factories. However, there is overwhelming evidence that they were instead well-read, articulate ladies and gentlemen whose education far excels that of today. A ” a person of letters” aptly describes the proper use of verbs, nouns, and pronouns, and the phraseology contained in old diaries and war letters reflects that quality families resided in remote places out in the country. The Children of Pride by Robert Manson Myers is a collection of letters written by the Jones families during the Civil War. The Jones resided on a plantation in South Georgia, in the isolated community of Midway, Georgia. Some 1200 letters were written, packed with vocabulary, style, and the beauteous cursive writing. Although in a back-woods setting, the Jones family carefully reflected upon their correspondence, taking time to ” keep up with their letters” as the expression goes, meaning that writing letters helped to retain grammar, vocabulary, and educational skills.

Puritans to Midway, Georgia

Puritans, Michael and Joanna Bacon, born ca 1670, migrated from England to Pennsylvania, then to Dorchester, South Carolina, and were the founders of the movement in Liberty County. Their minister had acquired large land grants for his congregation in Liberty County at Midway. The South Carolina Governor was a factor in encouraging Puritans to move into Georgia because he said that there was a great opportunity in the Colony and its fertile lands. The first minister in Midway was Rev. Osgood and the old Puritan Church at Midway, Georgia still stands. Midway is halfway between Darien and Savannah. The cemetery is across the street from the church building and contains the graves of its original settlers who were emigrants from Dorchester, South Carolina. The Bacon lineage is traced and available to members of Georgia Pioneers (In the Library, click on ” Colonial ” Puritans were industrious persons as well as religious and built a thriving community in Midway after 1752 when the Trustees surrendered the Charter to King George. The home place was situated on the Midway River. A son, Thomas, petitioned for 500 acres of land on Little Mortar, stating that he had a wife and eleven slaves.

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