Putnam

Putnam County Wills, Estates, Marriages, Church and Military Records

Putnam County was created from Baldwin County on Dec. 10, 1807, by an Act of the General Assembly and was named for American Revolutionary War General Israel Putnam.

Abstracts of Putnam County Wills

  • 1822-1857
  • Wills 1808-1822

Images of Wills 1822 to 1831

Names of Testators: Abercrombie, Wilie Allen, John Allen, John (2) Allen, William Ashurst, Robert Averea, Arthur Bailey, Green Bigbee, James Bird, Pue Blunt, Edward Bradley, Charles Burt, Jesse Cooper, Martha Copeland, Richard Crews, Etheldred Crouch, Shadrach Cullafer, Henry Curry, Polly Denham, Charles Dickey, Patrick Dixon, Nicholas Duncan, Mathew Edmondson, Patience Espey, James Fretwell, John Gaither, Brice Gant, Brittain Gee, Peter Gray, Thomas Harris, Eli Harris, Stephen Harwell, John Hearn, Jonathan Hearn, Phoebe Hill, John Holland, Elizabeth Holt, Singleton Hudson, Charles James, Elias Johnson, Martha Keaton, Jesse Kendrick, Martha Killebrew, Robert Kimbrough, Thomas Little, Jesse Lunsford, Nancy Maddox, Joseph Manning, Adam McCoy, Archibald McGhee, James McGhee, James Jr. Moreland, John Napier, Tabatha Dixon Pace, Stephen Park, Thomas Perry, Green Posey, John Hamilton Price, Zemulia Read, Asa Rees, Eliner Rees, William Richards, William Robey, Timothy Rosser, David Scott, Francis Singleton, Hezekiah Skaggs, Charles Smith, Dorothy Smith, Joel Spivey, Henry Stembridge, William Stephens, Abraham> Stewart, James Stone, William Sturdivant, John Turner, Henry Turner, John Watkins, Charity Welborn, Thomas White, Micajah Williams, Mabel Williams, Stephen Wooldridge, Martha

Indexes to Probate Records

  • Annual Returns, Appraisements, Vouchers 1808 to 1820
  • Annual Returns, Appraisements, Vouchers 1820 to 1825
  • Annual Returns, Appraisements, Vouchers 1824 to 1833
  • Annual Returns, Appraisements, Vouchers 1836 to 1848
  • Annual Returns, Appraisements, Vouchers 1849 to 1859
  • Annual Returns, Appraisements, Vouchers 1857 to 1874
  • Will Bk C, 1857-1888.

Miscellaneous

  • Clements, Jesse, estate (1822).
  • Head, Thomas, LWT (1848), transcript.

Church Records

Crooked Creek Primitive Baptist Church, Members 1807, 1820, 1824-1826.

Marriage Records

  • Licenses, Book D, 1823 to 1842
  • Licenses, Index, 1822 to 1952

Military Records

  • Putnam County Muster Roll of Brown Rifles, C. S. A.

Traced Genealogies:
Putnam County Families

BowdoinBucknerDixonGarrard
HollidayHoltLeverettMcKay

Tax Digests

  • 1813
  • 1830

How to Find the Parents of Immigrants

After one discovers the immigrant in his family on passenger lists and land records, the next step is to visit the records in the country of embarkation. It is not too complicated because church attendance was required and baptisms, christenings, marriages, and mortuary records were kept in the local parish. In London, for example, one should research all parish registers, regardless, in order to have a better understanding of the family seat. Each surname should be written down, with its data, and carefully identified. In working with the names, each person is a suspect as being a family member. Cataloging this information is best done on a family group sheet. This practice will assist in sorting out the children of each generation and ascertaining what happened to them. Studying the history of the family seat will provide keener reasoning and rationalization of that era. It is important to know the politics of the ruling monarchy, such as when Henry VIII converted the church to Anglican. The Catholic records prior to that era are probably located at the Vatican. Pope Clemente VI was in Avon, France, and he did not expose himself publically because Europe was suffering from the Black Plague.
One of my ancestors, Sir Thomas de Hollande had secretly married Joan Plantagenet, the Fair Maid of Kent, the granddaughter of King Edward I. Afterwards, Thomas, a Knight of the Royal Garter, was sent to fight in the war in France. When he returned, he discovered that King Edward had given Joan in marriage to the Earl of Salisbury. The Catholic Church ruled over such matters, so Thomas presented his petition to the pope. The brief notation which I found was that the petition was not heard by the Pope until several years later. This is because of the plague. Thomas won. He returned to England and his wife was returned to him. These are the sort of things to consider and question for the purpose of seeking more clues. Thomas and Joan had six children, and Thomas died on the battlefield of France. He could have been slain or died of the plague, as this was also common among the knights. Joan married again, this time to her first cousin, Edward III (the Black Prince) and by him had one son, Richard II. Richard II was unpopular and a weak ruler, and the Holland step-brothers were his loyal defenders. The history of this family continues in the Chancery Records and Church Records for several hundred years. But let us not forget that a rather large population of the peasant class was imprisoned at Fleet’s Prison. The prisons had wardens, and gatekeepers, and these appointments were recorded in local records. The Chancery Courts and other local records should turn up some names of prisoners. One needs to investigate the history!

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