The following was presented at the June 2006 meeting by Cynthia Nason
and published here with her permission.
Using Maps as a Genealogical Aid
When used with other resources, maps can be a helpful genealogical
aid. The Internet has made it possible to access many different types of
maps for locations all over the world.
By locating where your ancestors lived and visiting the actual locations,
you may gain valuable insight about their lives and times. Walking the ground
where your ancestors lived many years before is a tangible way to connect
to the folks of long ago. We need to put our ancestors in the context of
their environment and their times to truly understand them.
My Bundrick ancestors left Crawford Co., GA, for Dooly (now Crisp) Co.,
GA, about 1864. One reason for the move was to put more distance between
the family and the advancing Union Army during the Civil War. Another major
consideration for the move was likely the terrain. The family had originally
left Newberry Co., SC, by 1830, seeking cheap cotton land in Georgia, but
wound up on rocky, hilly land (which you might not realize unless you actually
went there, using your map) in Crawford Co. That land is far better suited
for its present use, growing timber, than for growing cotton. The search
for better cotton land probably lured the family to southwest Georgia.
What if the place that your ancestor lived no longer exists? The good
news is that you may still be able to find it. The gazetteer is a geographical
dictionary. Gazetteers for many states and countries are available. These
give verbal descriptions of locations that—used along with maps—may help
you track down where your ancestors lived. You can use maps dating to about
the same time as your ancestors lived in a place and crosscheck them with
contemporary maps of the same area to identify the current location.
I have spent a great deal of time trying to track the Bundricks in their
European locations (French-German border), and that approach has been particularly
useful for this type of research. Many European villages were so small that
they did not have churches. You may have to look at the surrounding area
to determine where to look for church records, which form the bedrock for
European research. Our ancestors may have been too poor to own land or leave
much trace in secular records, but they were certainly still creating vital
records—births-christenings, marriages, and deaths-burials—and likely left
some evidence behind if the parish’s records managed to survive. Many vital
records are available through the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
(LDS) Web site: http://www.familysearch.org/
.
One of the major migratory paths that early settlers, including my Bundrick
ancestors, took to the Southeast was the Great Philadelphia Wagon Road, which
ran from Philadelphia, through Hagerstown, MD; through Augusta Co., VA;
then to the Moravian settlement at what is now Winston-Salem, NC; and finally
to South Carolina, where many Bundricks still live. The migration might be
relatively rapid—with families continuing southward in search of ever-cheaper
land. My Bundrick ancestor from Germany arrived in Philadelphia, PA, in 1741;
the family then passed through Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina before
reaching South Carolina by 1767—a migration through five states, lasting
only about 26 years.
Researching your families may involve tracing them backward up the wagon
road or another migration route. Many of our ancestors were farmers who needed
access to main roads and waterways so that they could get their crops to
market. Considering terrain features, such as roads to major cities, in areas
of interest will assist you in your research.
Land grants, used along with maps, have been a key resource in my search
for ancestors along the wagon road. Some of the original land grants for
various Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina counties have been mapped
and published such as those for Guilford Co., NC; Union Co., SC; and Newberry
Co., SC. Many early Virginia land records and indexes are available online
through the state archives, the Library of Virginia: http://www.lva.lib.va.us/ . Many North
Carolina land grants and patents have been transcribed and published. The
South Carolina Department of Archives and History (SCDAH) Web site, www.state.sc.us/scdah/
, has indexes to many records available online for various categories—such
as plats, state land grants, combined index to 30 records series, Revolutionary
War claims, and will transcripts. Plats depict the land survey and usually
include landmarks, such as waterways and adjacent landowners, if any. Such
statewide early records may have survived when county records did not.
To identify the property of your ancestors, you will need maps. State
archives have map departments; for example, the Library of Virginia has
maps such as the circa 1751 Jefferson-Fry (Peter Jefferson and Joshua Fry)
map that shows the Virginia-North Carolina border in the wake of the 1728
survey. A helpful resource for early South Carolina locations is the 1825
Mills Atlas, which has been reprinted and includes a map of every county
for that period. The maps contain the names of many individuals and also
include landmarks such as waterways and roads. Among the best online map
resources for this type of research are the county genealogical Web sites
(such as those available through GenWeb and rootsweb) that often include
historical and contemporary maps or map links for a county.
Most of the 13 original colonies used the metes and bounds system, with
measured distances, oriented on compass points, which relied on boundaries
marked by natural features, such as trees and waterways, and by stakes or
stones placed/identified during a survey. Adjoining property owners were
also often listed; a property, however, might be bounded by empty land. Metes
and bounds lands often had highly irregular shapes. This system is still
used today, with more permanent methods used to mark boundaries. Unfortunately,
in the past, the landmarks on which these boundaries were based could easily
change. What if—
• The waterway changed its course?
• The route of the road changed?
• A boundary rock or stake was inadvertently or deliberately
moved?
• A hickory tree marking a corner was inadvertently
or deliberately chopped down?
These events could change the land boundaries and possibly spark periodic
resurveys or legal proceedings to resolve disputes over property lines among
adjacent landowners. Another factor is the quality of the surveying—some
surveyors did a better job than others; a poorly surveyed piece of property—lacking
in the detail necessary to properly delineate its boundaries—might have generated
conflict among heirs or neighbors. These problems may have created records
of considerable genealogical value.
Part of Georgia was under the metes and bounds system, but most land was
granted in a series of state land lotteries (1805-1832), a system that was
unique to Georgia. As the Native Americans, Cherokees and Creeks, lost their
lands in northern and western Georgia, these lands were redistributed to
incoming settlers of European descent. The system included sections, districts,
and individual land lots with each regular lot consisting of 202 1/2 acres;
fractional lots varied based on terrain; for example, lots that adjoined a
river.
Boundaries of interior Georgia counties are sometimes tricky. One location
may have changed counties several times. My Jackson family was in the 1840
Sumter Co., GA, census; I have not found deeds for the family. However, the
district in which they resided during the census, the 785th Militia District,
is now located in Schley County. (At least some Georgia counties apparently
still use the militia district system, which was used for such records as
taxes and censuses.) I then found, online through the Schley County genealogy
site, that the couple belonged to the Ebenezer Baptist Church. From those
records, I found that the family had previously belonged to the Friendship
Baptist Church in Sumter Co., GA. A copy of the church records for that
period is in the Lake Blackshear Regional Library in Americus. The records
show when the husband and wife joined the church and when they were dismissed
from membership. The records of both churches give me a better idea of locations
and dates for this family. The family lived in the Friendship area, which
is in far northwestern Sumter Co. It is very near the county lines of Marion
and present-day Webster Co., which was then part of Stewart County when
my family lived there. It is likely that the family may have lived earlier
in Stewart. The family later (by 1850) was in adjacent Marion County, apparently
in the southeastern part of that county, not far from the previous residence
in Sumter-Schley. The points here are to be aware of changing county boundaries
and to consider looking in adjacent counties for records. The Jim Littlefield
map Web site, http://www.jrl2.com/maps.htm,
and the University of Georgia county map Web site, http://www.cviog.uga.edu/Projects/gainfo/gamaps.htm,
were of considerable assistance in pinning down locations such as Pondtown,
Friendship, and Dranesville.
I have found several significant land references in newspaper transcriptions.
Usually, the record is of an ancestor’s property being up for sale because
of debt. In several cases, the early deeds for the county were destroyed
so that the newspaper account is the only record of the ancestor’s presence
in that county. Maps can be used with these newspaper accounts to determine
a location. The early newspapers of many Georgia counties have been transcribed
by Tad Evans and Elizabeth Evans Kilbourne and are available in many Georgia
libraries. There are also other newspaper transcriptions available. The early
Milledgeville papers, which have been transcribed, provided statewide coverage
at the time that city was the state capital and are well worth a look.
While the early land system for the colonies was usually metes and bounds
and most of Georgia relied on the land lottery system, Alabama and many later
states are under the Federal land system. The rectangular lots were located
by township, range, and division.
Improvements in mapping technology, such as the use of global positioning
system (GPS) coordinates, are helping to firmly pin down locations. In the
future, we may no longer have to tramp through the woods, hoping to track
down a cemetery, with only the vaguest idea of where it might be.
Whenever I visit a county courthouse, I usually visit the tax office and
county engineer departments to buy maps of that county. The tax office should
have maps that show the land lot districts and lots for that county. The
county engineer department should have highway maps that show not only county
roads but also known churches and cemeteries as well as other landmarks.
When I travel to an ancestral area, I often stop at nearby office supply
stores to buy modern county atlases, if available. I have also found atlases
at area gas stations, Sam’s, and book stores.
Many maps are available, free, online. When you use someone else’s maps,
please credit the individual or organization. To copy an online map, right
click on the map and “Save Picture As” to a file such as “My Pictures” under
“My Documents.” If you use “File” and “Save As,” you may wind up saving the
entire page, rather than just the map. These maps, usually in jpeg (.jpg)
or .gif format, can be treated as photos; you can crop, enlarge, or enhance
them. Printing maps can be a problem. Low-resolution maps may be blurry when
printed; you may not be able to print the map large enough to see necessary
details. I usually print several low-resolution maps on one page. High resolution
maps may also present a problem. There may not be enough room on a letter-sized
page to see the degree of detail present on a scanned version of a large
map. You can, however, crop a high-resolution map to a more manageable size.
In conclusion, maps can help you narrow the search for your ancestors
by revealing the locations for—
• Ancestral residences, which might include family cemeteries.
• Neighboring counties where additional records might
be.
• Churches (determine denomination, find membership
and minutes records, find graves in church cemetery, etc.).
The information below is not all-inclusive. There are many other sources
for maps. I am listing some sites that I have found to be helpful in my own
genealogical research.
Jim Littlefield maps http://www.jrl2.com/maps.htm:
• Statewide maps of Georgia (1819-1867)
• Georgia militia districts
• SW Georgia land districts
• County land lot maps (southwest GA—Chattahoochee,
Crisp, Dooly, Macon, Marion, Quitman, Randolph, Schley, Stewart, Sumter,
Taylor, Terrell, Webster; also has Crawford, Peach, and Talbot)
Other maps:
• http://www.jrl2.com/maps.htm
• David Rumsey Historical Map Collection (private collection)
http://www.davidrumsey.com/
• Perry-Casteñada Map Collection, University
of Texas http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/texas.html
• Georgia Archives—maps and photos (Vanishing Georgia)
http://www.sos.state.ga.us/archives/Vault/ArcVirtualVault/recordType.aspx
• County genealogy sites—many have link to archives
maps http://www.usgenweb.org or
http://www.rootsweb.com/usgenweb/ga/gafiles.htm
• Library of Congress—maps and photos http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/browse/
• Sanborn fire insurance maps of GA cities and towns
(University of Georgia) that show streets, houses, and businesses 1867 –
WW II http://www.libs.uga.edu/maproom/ahtml/mchpmcf1.html
• 1895 U.S. atlas has been scanned—all counties in the
country! http://www.livgenmi.com/1895/
• Mapping software—DeedMapper™ http://users.rcn.com/deeds/ DeedMapper
software users (site includes links to some metes and bounds locations in
Virginia that have been mapped using the software)
• http://alabamamaps.ua.edu/historicalmaps/index.html
(Alabama maps)
• http://www.randmcnally.com/
(Rand McNally sells maps).
The following information came from the Muscogee Co., GA, genealogy Web
site:
Topographic Maps
These are sold in many map stores, but you can also order them on-line.
1-800-USA-MAPS. By calling the above number you and asking for Georgia,
you will be sent a catalog of the topographical maps available for all the
counties of GA. The material itself provides a very nice map of Georgia
itself, but it mainly shows the sections of the state so that you can select
and order the precise area that you need.
Geophysical GA maps: http://www.cviog.uga.edu/Projects/gainfo/gamaps.htm
The Georgia 1885 Atlas and Gazetteer Check out this new site created by
genealogist / historian Bob Franks. The site contains 1885 county maps,
as well as population and location names for communities. http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~robfra/georgia/
Hargreaves Map Collection, University of Georgia, Athens. Click on the
"nineteenth century" for some antique maps! http://www.libs.uga.edu/darchive/hargrett/maps/maps.html
Bonner’s 1851 pocket map of GA: http://www.libs.uga.edu/darchive/hargrett/maps/1851b6.jpg
1852 GA map: http://www.libs.uga.edu/darchive/hargrett/maps/1852t4.jpg
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