If you are searching for your Georgia ancestors, Wilkes County is a logical step because of its many early courthouse records available to genealogists. Also, because of the large number of land grants offered to veterans of the Revolutionary War.
In 1784 when the State of Franklin was formed west of the Appalachian Mountains on the border of North Carolina and Eastern Tennessee, a cession was offered to Congress to help pay off the debts of the Revolutionary War. Yet it only existed for about four and one-half years. The soldiers who had served in the war found themselves eligible for land grants, and many of them moved to Georgia.
In Wilkes County, Georgia we find a list of patriots from North Carolina applying for land grants. Presumably, they were former residents of the State of Franklin.
Wilkes County was formed in 1777 from Cherokee Cessions, and Washington, Georgia was founded by Stephen Heard. During the Revolutionary War, Washington was known as Heard’s Fort and temporarily the Georgia state capitol.
Wilkes County is one of the first counties to search for Revolutionary War Soldiers.