Coffee County Wills and Estates for Genealogists
Coffee County was created in 1854 from Creek lands and was formed primarily from the region of Telfair County south of the Ocmulgee River, with smaller portions added from Irwin, Clinch, and Ware counties. The county was named for the former soldier, state legislator, and congressman General John E. Coffee (1782-1836). Some of the earliest settlers were: Wiley Byrd, Joseph Bailey, William Dent, Joseph Durham, John Gasper, Leon Hargraves, James Isaac, Mark Lott, Elijah Paulk, Alfred Peterson, Matthew Summerlin, Arthur Turner, and J. W. Wilcox.
History of the Old Coffee County Court House
The first courthouse in Douglas, Georgia was made of logs and was erected ca 1855. Fireplaces and pot-belly stoves caused courthouse fires in the old days and it is uncertain as to how often this structure was rebuilt. Surprisingly, in 1889 this building was replaced by another log structure that burned to the ground in 1898. The courthouse pictured on the above postcard was dated 1891. The present two-story courthouse was erected in 1840, with subsequent additions.
Find your Ancestors in the Georgia Bible Records
History of the Old Coffee County Court House
The first courthouse in Douglas, Georgia was made of logs and was erected ca 1855. Fireplaces and pot-belly stoves caused courthouse fires in the old days and it is uncertain as to how often this structure was rebuilt. Surprisingly, in 1889 this building was replaced by another log structure that burned to the ground in 1898. The courthouse pictured on the above postcard was dated 1891. The present two-story courthouse was erected in 1840, with subsequent additions.
Find your Ancestors in the Georgia Bible Records
Reading India Ink on Old Documents
The process of making Indian ink traces back to China during 3,000 B. C. The traditional Chinese method of making the ink was to grind a mixture of hiding glue, carbon black, lampblack, and bone black pigment with a pestle and mortar, then pour it into a ceramic dish to dry. Then a wet brush would be applied until it was reliquified. The ink used in ancient China was in the form of ink sticks made of lampblack and animal glue. Many of the ancient cultures employed a common ingredient in Indian ink known as ” carbon black.” The ancient Egyptians and Greeks both had their own recipes for ” carbon black.” Most of the old English documents were written in Latin with India Ink. And this tradition was carried forward by American colonists into official records. For many years, Indian ink was in use by American schools up until about the middle of the 20th century. The genealogist is quite familiar with the beautiful formation of the old script in old wills, deeds, and marriages. Not only that but Indian ink hundreds of years old are sometimes worthy of framing. The genealogist learns to recognize the artistically leggy colonial alphabet and its transitions into modern times. Yet the survival of the ink upon documents depends upon the manner in which the documents were stored. Sunlight, dampness, and other exposures have affected some of our most important documents. The result is that pages or portions of pages are faded and difficult to read. I have visited courthouses where the ink was so faded that I gave up on transcribing the records. However, the eye of the camera has gotten so sophisticated that I later returned and it captured the paragraphs which were almost completely faded from the page.
