This picture may appear to have a little gold in this ore, however, it is actually the mother lode.
It is always “one little detail” that the genealogist needs to make the puzzle fit. When I first began researching the ancestors, the people at the archives told me to always write down the names of witnesses appearing on documents, such as wills, deeds, etc. More often than not, this “one little detail” has eventually been the detail stood out in subsequent records. Eventually, I began thinking of the area in which the ancestors resided as “the old neighborhood.” This idea led me to track local cemeteries, maps, landmarks, etc. I found the names of some of the witnesses on tombstones, in revolutionary war pensions, and on wills and estate records. Sometimes they mentioned my ancestor as being a distant relative or adjoining neighbor. This is where I found husbands of the daughters. Typically, I search the marriage records (via the witness surname) and find other relationships. Also, revolutionary war pensions (of witnesses) because this is where the applicant describes his war activities, names minor-ranking officers, men and people he served with. In earlier times, everyone settled in “the old neighborhood”, where they worshipped, socialized, married and died. It is easy to find. Simply locate some deeds of your ancestors and write down the legal description. Okay, so the description was usually lacking. That is because it was a land grant or parcel which did not adjoin neighboring farms, etc. No problem. Visit the tax office of local court house and acquire a district map denoting the land lots. The land lot number is important because you will find it on deeds. Also, more importantly, on tax digests. An examination of each district in the tax digest will locate the ancestor, plus all the names of his neighbors for that year. Many of the old wills and estate records did not survive, however, if you can locate a tax digest, you have found gold! In Georgia, the pre-1820 census records did not survive. That makes the tax digest a valuable research tool. One should pay particular attention to the acreage, county and adj. neighbors, if listed. 284-1/2 acres denotes a land grant for service in the Revolutionary War. 202-1/2 acres denotes that the land was drawn in a land lottery. Find out which land lottery, and research those counties as well.