NOVEMBER 2014 NEWSLETTER

   Reflections of 2014

Well, the year has gone by faster than ever. We hope that you have been able to do the research that you planned for 2014.

Reflecting on the year, we can be proud of the many presentations that have been made during our meetings. The speakers have been exceptional. Perhaps that only thing that we did not do that we might have were
the research trips. In the past we have taken trips to libraries around the area. We did do one over to the Clarke County Library. I believe that this was the only one taken during 2014. President Chris should be commended for keeping the meeting place available for our use and
providing the projection system for the speakers.

Looking ahead, we need someone to take the helm of the newsletter and give it the spark it needs to keep the interest of the membership at a high level. We need some vigorous board members to bring a new
perspective to the club. There were some new members of the board for 2014 that added a great deal to our efforts during the year. We need to continue this trend.

   One Hundred Years Ago In Rockdale

Little Thelma Chandler picked 203 pounds of cotton last Monday. She is the daughter of Mr. G. W. Chandler of near Pleasant Hill. An excellent days work.

The editor of the paper was concerned of wandering bands of gypsies whose purpose seemed to be the fleecing of the people of Conyers of their money in fortune telling.

A proclamation was published proposing an amendment to the Georgia Constitution to create the county of Evans from land from Bullock and Tatnall Counties. This was to be on the next general election ballot. It must not have passed.

Mr. Joe M. Towns purchased a lovely home from Mr. C. M. Swords on Milstead Ave.

The City of Conyers had three marshals (Policemen), Mr. W. B. Parker, Mr. Jeff Baker , and Mr. Will McDaniel.

Sixty-six percent of Georgia farmers were reported as tenants and moved nearly every year.

Patrons were reminded to stop by Louis Summers Soda Fountain to get the score by innings of the world series baseball game between Boston and Philadelphia.

All male citizens of Conyers between the age of 16 and 50 were required to pay the street tax for 1914 per the mayor and city council

     Hancock Courthouse Burns

The Hancock County Courthouse in Sparta was severely damaged by fire on August 11, leaving the building in ruins and records dating back to 1793 in great jeopardy, if they survived at all.

   Have Your Own Research Assistant

Do you need your own general search assistant? Google Alert may be the answer. You will need to sign up for a free account and run your searches; then, post your query into google alerts, indicate how you want the results sent to you. Google will run the search for you 24 hours a day and send you the results. Sign on to www.google.com/alerts
to accomplish this.

Dropbox (dropbox.com) can be used to coordinate several devices (mobile, PC’s, etc.) and give you instant access to your files from whichever device you may be using at the time. It gives you 3 gigabytes of free storage which is enough to hold quite a bit of information. You can
store your research and come back to it remotely whenever you need to review what you have accumulated from other sources. This is a handy way of keeping track of your research.

It was announced on November 4, 2014, that Dropbox would be integrated with Microsoft Office, the office software that dominates the word processing and office related software markets. Using Microsoft Office, one supposedly would have direct access into dropbox to edit and store information. This won’t mean that you can’t have access to dropbox
using other software such as Open Office, the free competitor. It just won’t be integrated.

  Confederate Pension Web Sites

Websites for Pensions:
Confederate Pensions Guide: archives.gov/research/military/civilwar/
Georgia Confederate Pension Applications:
georgiaarchives.org.2011/cdnallandingpage/cdlections/testapps

    Billion Graves Information

Familysearch.org is going to integrate the results from searching the data at http://www.billiongraves.com

What BillionGraves is, is like Find a Grave, except a smartphone app is used to take pictures of the headstones at any cemetery, the app adds GPS data, and the user then uploads the pictures taken to the BillionGraves website. As soon as they are uploaded, the photos are immediately browsable.

Others then transcribe the data, and as soon as a transcription is finished and the user transcribing goes to the next image, that information is also searchable.

BillionGraves is already a FamilySearch affiliate, so they have been working with them for nearly a year now. But now FamilySearch is going to make the data searchable through its own search engine, which will allow matches for headstones to show alongside results for other records
like say, a 1940 Census record or some other record that FamilySearch has.

You’ll still be able to search globally and by cemetery at BillionGraves. The FamilySearch integration will allow for finding multiple records for the same person. So if you are looking for the headstone and BillionGraves has it, it will be there alongside any other types of records, or if you are looking for that other type of record, and BillionGraves has a headstone, that will show alongside the other search.

BillionGraves also has an ambitious goal for May, to collect 1 million new headstone photos. More on that at their website.

Here’s the FamilySearch blog post that mentions the integration of the database with FamilySearch’s own search results, and the article also has the best description of how it works, some FamilySearch employees went out and shot through a large cemetery, gathering pictures of
over 14,000 headstones in a single day last month.

https://www.familysearch.org/blog/billiongraves/

  Some Notes on Find-A-Grave

I‘m finding a lot of info at Find-a-Grave, but, I can no longer tell what’s actually on the stone and what’s been
added from other sources, and, what other source was used is hardly ever given.

Mostly, I use the site as a source for death-dates. And when there’s a photo of the stone, I’m happy -- grateful even -- for the new data and copy the entire thing into my own records. Right or wrong, it’s what the stone SAYS and if that’s good enough for deaths in the 1890s when people had to save up to buy a stone, it’s surely good enough
in the 21st century when you can buy it and the grave plot at the same time and on the same charge receipt.

It’s the ones that contain voluminous additional data that concern me, whatever the death-date. Even, the photo of the stone says 1901-1997, but the text says “15 May 1901 Caddo Parish, Louisiana” for the birth and “28 Dec 1997, San Diego California” for the death, and then proceeds
to link to the spouse, the parents, several children and through the children to grandchildren. I’ve just been copying that into my NOTES for the person, but I’m afraid one day I’m gonna toss caution to the winds and add it in as “fact”!

What do others do with the memorials that have extra data?

Ed:  My thanks to the writer of this commentary.

  

      
   Research the Old Conyers Newspapers

Some people have asked about using the old Conyers newspapers. The microfilm for the old papers is located in the Nancy Guinn Memorial Library’s file cabinets in the genealogical/legal library room.

The cabinet that they are in is located facing the doorway as you enter the room. It is the second cabinet from the left. You will find the newspaper microfilm in the bottom two drawers of the cabinet.

Each roll of the film indicates the year or years that are covered. There is no index at this time to assist you in finding information. You will have to know in general the year you want to do your search.

The microfilm reader is located next to the door of the room. There is a diagram on the machine which shows you how to insert the microfilm into the reader. You need to pull the film holder forward in order to have the glass over the projector pop up to allow you to slide the microfilm under the glass. The machine has two on switches. One switch turns on the motor that advances the film. The other turns
on the power to the bulb that projects the film onto the reader screen.

Finding obituaries is the main reason to use the microfilm. You will find that many of the older papers did not have what would be called an obituaries page. The persons death might be mentioned in an obscure report by a neighborhood reporter. Some deaths were front page news. If the person was considered important enough, his death was given
headline status.

Not all issues of the papers had neighborhood reporters. Sometimes there were none. Often there were only a couple. It seemed to run in cycles. A reporter might miss a few issues for the particular neighborhood.
Sometimes there were more that one reporter covering certain sections of the county. Sheffield District had reporters for Pleasant Hill, Bethel, or Zingara, as the case might be from time to time. You have to be careful that you don’t get so interested in reading the papers
that you overlook doing your search.

Ken Thomas’ assertion about errors made on-line and other ways is worth repeating.

The Internet has been a wonderful tool for genealogists, both in communicating and researching. It is also a way to perpetuate incorrect information on our ancestors. I consider that some people have “hijacked” some of my ancestors by continuing to repeat information that we have tried to prove to them is incorrect. Some Wynn researchers have grafted onto our family tree a man found in another branch’s family Bible with a date of birth of 1797. They claim he is our ancestor who married in 1811, when he would have been 14. Impossible. Trying to get them
to realize the error of their thinking, also impossible. When faced with similar continuations of errors, you should write a memo about your own ancestor, with citations of sources, and post it here and there in the hope that some relatives might see it. It’s always good that you have someone else read over your documentation to make sure
you are on target. Then post it on Facebook, or on your own free blog, comment on Ancestry.com at the appropriate place, join a local genealogical society and share it there, get it published in their journal or some
other pertinent journal, and be sure a copy is in your papers, wherever they end up. Be proactive to get the correct story out. While those continuing to circulate the bad data may not be vicious, once you alert them to your research, they ought to hear you out. Many times they have repeated the story so often, posted it so many places, that
it’s hard to retract it.

Ed.

It seems that one of the unforeseen results of the computer age is the rapidity with which information is passed about regardless of how accurate it is. Acquiring information that doesn’t provide the source should be regarded skeptically until verification independently is done. Putting your own eyeballs on the original documents should
be a goal with any suspect information.

  MyHeritage Has a New Editor

The look and feel of the new family tree editor is very similar to the previous editor, but it includes many enhancements and subtle changes described on the web page.  It is very detailed, it’s probably the longest we’ve ever written for the blog We encourage you to read it in detail in order to learn all about the enhanced family tree editor, and how you can make the most of it.

Sign on to http://blog.myheritage.com/2014/introducing-the-enhanced-family-tree-editor-1/


JEANS & GENES is a publication of the Rockdale County Genealogical
Society.
% Nancy Guinn Library
864 Green St. SW
Conyers, Ga.  30012

President:  Chris Zawadski
V. President: Gayle Vivian
Treasurer:  Jane Conn
Secretary, Webmaster/Facebook coordinator: Ellen Blakeslee
Program Chairman: Deborah Dial
Trip Coordinator: Claudine Jackson
Library Liaison:  Martha Brown
Newsletter:  Marion Farmer
Web page:
www.facebook.com/rockdalecountygenealogicalsociety
http://mtf.home.mindspring.com
www.rockdalegenealogicalsociety.weebly.com

AUGUST 2014 NEWSLETTER         

 Archive Hours Update

the Georgia Archives will now be open five days a week, Tuesdays thru
Saturdays from 8:30 a.m. until 5 p.m. except when state or federal
holidays occur. An increase in the budget has allowed the hours to
return to where they were some ten years ago when the Georgia Archives
moved to their present location in Morrow, at 5800 Jonesboro Road,
across the plaza from the National Archives at Atlanta. They are also
able to add a few more staff members.

It certainly is a relief that the facility is now available for use
at nearly the former hours.


     One Hundred Years Ago in Rockdale

Last Friday and Saturday the rural mail carriers of Georgia, about
400 strong met in their first annual convention at the Kimball House
ballroom in Atlanta.

The following officers were elected:: Geo. C. Bond, Elberton, President;
Tom Harris, Lawrenceville, vice President.

Rockdale was represented by J. L. Camp,No 6, and C. B. Etheridge,
No. 4.
A
 tick eradification had been completed for Rockdale County in June,
1914

The Conyers Coca Cola Bottling Company had an advertisement which
stated Coca Cola available everywhere for five cents. The bottle was
pictured as a straight bottle not the hourglass figure used now.

Mr. W. R. Still advertised as an agent for the Buick Automobile Company.

The Conyers Public School opened Sept. 1 with 250 pupils in attendance.

           Oxford Book Published

Oxford, Georgia, site of Emory University’s Oxford College and its
original campus, began in 1836 as a college town. It is now the subject
of a new picture history “Images of America: Oxford” by Erik Blackburn
Oliver, a man with deep roots in the community and author of “Cornerstone
and Grove,” a history of Emory College at Oxford. Oliver, president
of the Oxford Historical Society, wrote this for 175th anniversary
of the city’s incorporation. He has secured photographs, many never
before published, but all of which are attributed to the people who
provided them. The book is divided into seven chapters of photographs
covering the founding of Emory College, one on downtown Oxford's businesses,
another on "preservation and loss" about efforts to save and restore
houses and buildings and people instrumental in those efforts. He
stresses the role of local people and local organizations in other
chapters with the final chapter devoted to photographs of children
from all eras. This book is a well-researched and thought out work
in which the history of this town is told through 200 photographs
from all eras. It is the latest in the “Images of America” series
by Arcadia Publishing, 420 Wando Park Blvd., Mt. Pleasant, SC 29464,
with books by local authors for over 8,000 American places. Check
www.arcadiapublishing.com to find your favorites. Oliver’s book can
be ordered from his website www.operaevocata.com for $22 plus shipping,
from the publisher, or at local bookstores.

This is a book we may want to purchase for the library.

 Open Office Available For Downloading

Those of you who may be looking for an alternative to Microsoft Office
will be happy to learn that there is a very good one. It is called
“Open Office”. It has all the functions that make Microsoft Office
the most used office software and it is free.

It has a word processor, a spread sheet, a database program, and,
a presentation program. There is a drawing program too. In short,
it has it all.

The main reason to have an office program is for the word processor
and Open Office has a great one. It has all of the better functions.
The database program could be used to set up a genealogy chart for
the more ambitious users.

It is a simple matter to download the program. Google the Name “Open
Office” and you will find a site from which you will be able to click
on the download button and receive the program. Depending upon the
speed of your internet provider, it may take an hour or less to put
the program on your computer. Using dial-up it was two hours downloading,
and installing the program. But, it was worth it. This is what you
are looking for. Did I mention that it is free?

                  New Web Page

Our new webpage is www.rockdalegenealogicalsociety.weebly.com Ellen
Blakeslee is moderator of the web page.   We post the newsletter on
this site and other information which will keep the membership informed
about the activities of the society.  Take a look at the page.  You
will be pleasantly surprised.


        World War One Article

You may want to take a look at the latest issue of Family Tree Magazine.
A copy is in the history room at Nancy Guinn Library. It has an article
about the “Great War”, or the First World War. An interesting note:
there were four million soldiers from the United States which took
part. This means that almost everyone should have a relative who was
in service in this war.

The magazine article points out the various sources which are available
online from which information can be derived about the soldiers and
other participants. It notes that as the last soldiers have passed
away, technology unimaginable in the era when they served has made
their surviving records more accessible than ever before.

One source of information is at the National Archives on Jonesboro
Road. It is the records of the draft which listed all of the local
men who had to report for enlistment. Of course, not all had to serve.
The cards showing the signature of the draftee provide for more information
about the individuals whether they served or not.

After the Civil War anniversary has passed, the next big thing will
be the First World War. The involvement of the U.S. will be one hundred
years old in 1917.

       Johnny Appleseed Story

If you picture Johnny Appleseed as a loner wearing a tin pot for a
hat and flinging apple seeds across the countryside, experts say you’re
wrong. A traveling exhibit funded by an anonymous donation to the
Johnny Appleseed Museum at Urbana University will help clear misconceptions
about the folk hero and the real man behind the legend.

John Chapman, known as Johnny Appleseed to generations of Americans,
was a pioneer nurseryman in the late 18th and early 19th centuries
credited with introducing apple trees to portions of Ohio, Indiana,
Illinois, Pennsylvania, Kentucky and West Virginia. While it’s probably
true that he lived outdoors and wore ragged clothes, at least sometimes,
researchers doubt he wore a pot on his head or just gave his seedlings
and nurseries away.

When I was a boy scout of twelve, we were hiking on the Appalachian
trail. The section of the trail was along the North Carolina, Georgia
line. Reverend Holmes was our scoutmaster. He took our group on the
trail two separate times. We had been hiking all day with a short
stop for lunch when alongside the trail stood a splendid apple tree.
The tree was loaded with plump, juicy red apples. We boys could not
believe our eyes. We quickly filled our pockets with apples and started
to enjoy the fruit. One of us was assigned to carry the cook pot which
was slung from the back of his pack. He filled the pot up with more
apples which made his pack rather heavy. But, it didn’t take long
before all the boys were helping themselves to these as well. We wondered
if this tree was evidence of Johnny Appleseed.

   Larry Knowles Writes From Virginia

Good to hear from you and learn the society is still perking. Glad
to know some Newton County folks are getting involved too. I haven’t
really done much digging lately. Most of my research has been online,
using mainly good old Georgia records, through FamilySearch and the
Georgia Archives sites. But, the latter seems to have not been helped
by the reorganization-so far, as I haven’t found many familiar records
from the Virtual Vault! I may have not keyed in to the new navigation
system just yet. I need to get back to the local Family History Center
soon, but the humidity has just been awful lately. As I have only
one proven VA connection-near Cartersville VA, I don’t have many clues,
but I do hope to visit that area soon. I can’t wait to get back into
a courthouse. Those folks who try doing everything online don’t know
what they are missing. And, I would love to visit the Virginia Library(archives)for
about a week, but it is just too far at 130 miles, and would be too
costly for me.

My efforts regarding the Robert E. Lee letter were fruitless as it
proved bogus. I finally carried it to the staff of special collections
at Washington and Lee University. They had numerous examples of his
legitimate letters, and the director had previously worked at the
UGA’s Hargrett Library, telling of about a dozen articles he’d assessed
there, which were valid, from a guy who had found them in an old desk.
The father had been in the antique business and had gotten the desk
somewhere in the Shenandoah Valley. My neighbor, who had the letter,
probably had gotten the replica letter through his SCV associations,
and ultimately believed-through age and a stroke, that it was actually
from R. E. Lee’s hands! He told some believable stories. Anyhow, I
enjoyed doing his family research, which I know is correct, and I
was able to visit three nearby courthouses in those efforts.

I was successful recently, working with Gene Wade of the Joseph Wheeler
Camp of the SCV, there in Conyers, in getting the grave of my 2nd
great uncle, John J. Buffington’s grave marked in the Decatur City
Cemetery. I have sent a couple of photos. Don’t know just how long
Confederate soldier’s graves will continue to be discovered and marked,
but John has had to wait since 1921! I had intended to visit the site
before moving since seeing his death certificate with burial information.
Further research indicated that only his wife, daughter, and son-in-laws
graves were marked. Gene went to the cemetery and found proof in the
Sexton’s office-in very old books, that sealed our case for a marker.
It was just recently placed. I didn’t really know about that Conyers
SCV Camp, which I found online. They have a great website. You should
do an article about them in the newsletter. And, maybe even get a
member as a speaker!

Tell everyone hello,
Larry

Ed:  Larry had sent me a copy of the Robert E. Lee letter.  I know
he was very disappointed that it proved to be fake.

My Reply:

Larry, Thanks a bunch. That was great information. You might be interested
to know that the Rockdale Historical Society and the Joseph Wheeler
Camp of the SCV had a meeting at the depot on July 22, 2014, whch
was the 150 anniversary of the Kennard Raid on Conyers Station on
the 22nd July 1864. He sent a detachment of 50 mounted cavalry to
Conyers to burn the depot and the bridges over the Yellow River. He
captured a train which was sitting at the depot. The cars on the train
were burned and the train was still sitting at the site when Sherman
came through on Nov. 17, 1864. It was a very good meeting. The sons
had lots of memorabilia from the war. They had an example of every
flag which had been flown by the CSA..

I expect to use your letter in the August newsletter. - Marion

  

      Conference Planned in Texas

One of the major genealogy conferences of the year will take place
in a few weeks in San Antonio. If you would like to attend, now is
the time to make your plans.

The Federation of Genealogical Societies’ annual conference will be
held August 27-30. This year’s event is cosponsored by the San Antonio
Genealogical and Historical Society and the Texas State Genealogical
Society. The four-day conference will be held in downtown San Antonio
at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center. This convenient location
at 200 East Market Street is surrounded by hotels, restaurants, and
historical sites. In fact, the Alamo is within walking distance of
the convention center.

JEANS & GENES is a publication of the Rockdale County Genealogical
Society.
% Nancy Guinn Library
864 Green St. SW
Conyers, Ga.  30012

President:  Chris Zawadski
V. President: Gayle Vivian
Treasurer:  Jane Conn
Secretary, Webpage and Facebook: Ellen Blakeslee
Program Chairman: Deborah Dial
Trip Coordinator: Claudine Jackson
Library Liaison:  Martha Brown
Newsletter:  Marion Farmer
Web page:
http://mtf.home.mindspring.com
www.rockdalegenealogicalsociety.weebly.com
Facebook:   www.facebook.com/rockdalecountygenealogicalsociety

May 2014 Newsletter

                Board Meeting Time Change

The Board of Directors has voted to change the meeting time of the
board to 1:30 p.m. instead of 2:00 p.m. as it has been in the past.
  This was done to allow more time to set the meeting place up for
the speakers.  The regular meeting will still be at the usual time
of 3:00 p.m. at the LDS Church on Flat Shoals Road in Conyers.

               Magazine Article for Web Sites

The “Genealogy Web Guide” featured in the March/April issue of Family
Tree Magazine is a must read to get the most use out of the top eight
genealogy websites. For each of these the author covers step by step
advice on how to search, the major content collections, the various
price options if a subscription site, shortcuts, sister sites, and
one of the most important features, quick tips.
The websites featured in these four page reviews include: Ancestry.com,
Archives.com, Archives.gov (the National Archives site), FamilySearch.org,
Findmypast.com, Fold3.com, loc.gov (the Library of Congress site),
and myheritage.com. How to use the social media sites is covered also.


       South Carolina State Grants Book


A book we might consider getting is “South Carolina State Grants,
Volume Two: Grant Books 7 through 11, 1785-1786”. This is the latest
in a series of volumes of published abstracts of the vital details
in the state-issued land grants that began in 1784. This has just
been published by Brent H. Holcomb. Cost is $35 plus $5 handling.
P. O. Box 217066, Columbia, SC 29221. Other available books can be
noted at: www.scmar.com

The Rockdale County Genealogical Society continues to buy books and
materials for use in the history room at the Nancy Guinn Memorial
Library in Conyers.  Some money still remains in the fund from the
sale of the History of Rockdale which was published by the Society.
A few copies remain to be sold.

              Name Change Information

If you are concerned about a possible name change which may have you
stymed in your research, one source of name change information is
contained in “The Georgia Black Book” a copy of which is in the collection
of the Nancy Quinn Memorial Library. Name changes were handled by
legislative act from 1800 to 1856. These are included in the “Black”
book. After 1868, name changes were handled by the Inferior Court
or Court of Ordinary. The Court of Ordinary records are held by the
Judge of Ordinary or each county in Georgia.

            Intelligent Character Recognition

ICR or intelligent character recognition has come to genealogy research.
According to an article in the May/June issue of Family Tree Magazine,
the holy grail of genealogy transcription has been realized. OCR or
optical character recognition has been around for more than a decade.
Of course, it only works for typewritten text. The advent of ICR,
intelligent recognition, will enable transcription of multitudes of
handwritten genealogy texts.
Brigham Young University among others is investing heavily in the
potential of this development. While not yet fully perfected, it holds
promise to unlock the logjam so that manual transcription will no
longer be required. This has potential for many disciplines other
than genealogy. Lawyers and doctors come to mind. It would be a wonder
indeed if it can unscramble a doctors prescription.
There is only one concern that we might have about this; We are already
approaching overload in digitized on-line text. Will this result in
more confusion and difficulty in researching? Time will tell.

        National Genealogical Society Meeting


The following was written by the folks at the National Genealogical
Society:

Arlington, VA, 9 MAY 2014: The National Genealogical Society held
its annual banquet on Friday evening, 9 May 2014, at the NGS 2014
Family History Conference in Richmond, Virginia, to present awards
that acknowledge and honor genealogical scholarship and service. Each
year, these awards are presented to organizations and individuals
who have made outstanding contributions to NGS programs or have performed
outstanding work in the field of genealogy, history, biography, or
heraldry.

Several awards were made for service and voluntaryism. One of whom
was Mr. Ted O. Brooke of Cumming, Georgia. His was for Genealogical
Methods and Sources. The title of his entry was “Georgia Stray Wills
1733-1900”. The award was for a specific, significant single contribution
in the form of a book, an article, or a series of articles that discuss
genealogical methods and sources, which serves to foster scholarship
and/or advances or promotes excellence in genealogy.

Founded in 1903, the National Genealogical Society is dedicated to
genealogy education, high research standards, and the preservation
of genealogical records. The Arlington, Virginia, based nonprofit
is the premier national society for everyone, from the beginner to
the most advanced family historian, seeking excellence in publications,
educational offerings, research guidance, and opportunities to interact
with other genealogists. Please visit the NGS Pressroom for further
information.

       

        One Hundred Years Ago in Rockdale

A letter was received from Old Doctor Glenn from his new home in Durand,
Ga. dated March 8, 1914,  asking for renewal of his subscription to
the newspaper.

A fire company was organized with Marion H Plunket as chief and F.
C. McDaniel and assistant chief. W.K. Downs was chosen as captain
of company #1 and J. W. Corlen as captain of company #2.

A note of thanks was written for the donation of one acre of land
to Honey Creek Baptist Church by Arthur Whitaker.

The Ideal Theatre was opened for business and the first pictures were
shown.

Mercer W. Hull was City of Conyers Treasurer. All water bills had
to be paid to him.

               Genealogy Classes in Henry County


Advanced genealogy classes, “Beyond the Basics”, will be held at the
Brown House in McDonough in May. These will be sponsored by the Genealogy
Society of Henry and Clayton Counties. Sessions will be held on each
Friday in May from 10 a. m. to 12:00 noon except for May 9th. That
session will be from 10 a. m. to 1:00 p. m. There is a limit of ten
participants at each session. Pre-registration will be required for
each session. Contact [email protected]. Their website is:
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~gagshcc/
topics will be: May 2, Lineage Society Applications, May 9, Georgia
Archives Experience, May 16, Probate Office Treasures, May 23, Internet
resources, May 30, Land Records and Fraud in Georgia.

                VMI Civil War Re-enactment

The 150th anniversary civil war re-enactment of the battle of New
Market Virginia will be held on May 15, 16, and 18th on the original
battlefield of 1864. The re-enactment has been held for the past forty-two
years.

VMI Cadets fought alongside Confederate Troops in original 1864 battle.
On May 10, 1864, the VMI Corps of Cadets was ordered to join Gen.
John C. Breckinridge’s Southwest Virginia forces with the expectation
of a coming battle in the upper Shenandoah Valley. After marching
nearly 85 miles northward, the entire Corps arrived at New Market
on May 15, set to defend the Valley from the pressing Union army under
Gen. Franz Sigel.

Taking heavy fire from the Union, the Confederate front line was severed,
creating a gap of some 350 feet. Originally, Breckenridge refused
the advice of one of his officers to send in the Corps, saying, “This
will not do. … I cannot expose them to such a fire as our center will
receive.” Breckenridge soon realized he had no choice, and he reluctantly
ordered the the cadets to fill the gap.
Remarkably, the cadets closed the gap, allowing the Confederate forces
to regroup and push back the Union army. Eventually, Breckenridge
forced Sigel and his men to retreat, securing the battlefield and
the Valley for the Confederacy.

Many cadets lost their footwear in the freshly plowed soil, turned
to thick mud after several days of rain. That battlefield became known
as the “Field of Lost Shoes.” The cadet charge, and the shoe-scattered
field, are depicted in a painting, New Market Battle, by Benjamin
West Clinedinst, VMI Class of 1880, a dominant feature in Jackson
Memorial Hall since its unveiling in 1914.
The days following the battle were filled with care for the more than
40 cadets wounded and marching. The cadets were ordered from Staunton
to Richmond to Lexington to Lynchburg and back to Lexington again,
before being furloughed on June 27, 1864.

As one of our 150th Anniversary Commemoration projects, we are attempting
to reach the living descendants of the VMI Cadets and soldiers, North
and South, who fought here in 1864. The information you share will
deepen our understanding of the human scale of the battle as well
as enrich the interpretive experience of our thousands of annual visitors.
We look forward to having many descendants of the VMI Cadet Corps
who fought at New Market present for the 150th Reenactment in May
2014. One who is expected to take part is Bowman Jordon who is married
to the former Amy Rogers of Rockdale County, Georgia. Amy was homecoming
queen at Rockdale County High School in 1980.

The New Market Day ceremony is an annual observance held at VMI in
front of the monument Virginia Mourning Her Dead, a memorial to the
New Market Corps, sculpted by Sir Moses Ezekiel, VMI Class of 1866,
who was a veteran of the battle. The names of all of the cadets in
the Corps of 1864 are inscribed on the monument, and six of the ten
cadets who died in the battle are buried at this site. The ceremony
features the roll call of the names of the cadets who lost their lives
at New Market, a custom that began in 1887. As the name of each cadet
who died is called, a representative from the same company in the
modern Corps answers, “Died on the Field of Honor, Sir.” A 3-volley
salute is then carried out by a cadet honor guard, followed by Taps
played over the parade ground. To culminate this ceremony, the entire
Corps passes Virginia Mourning Her Dead in review.


    

JEANS & GENES is a publication of the Rockdale County Genealogical
Society.
% Nancy Guinn Library
864 Green St. SW
Conyers, Ga.  30012

President:  Chris Zawadski
V. President: Gayle Vivian
Treasurer:  Vacant
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Web page:
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