The Savannah River is a major river which runs through Augusta. This river hosted a number of rice plantations in South Carolina and Georgia and played a major role in colonial expansion. Some of the first rice plantations in the area were owned by some of the wealthiest people in the Northern States. An example is Pierce Mease Butler who inherited his grandfather’s plantations in South Carolina and the Sea Islands of Georgia.
There are two counties in Georgia, moreso than any others, which require searching both of them for the ancestors; viz, Columbia and Richmond. That is because Augusta, Georgia was the county seat dating from 1777 at the time of the formation of St. Paul’s Parish. Augusta is particularly historical because some of its oldest churches are still standing.
Historically, it was a merging point for Indian traders throughout Georgia and Edgefield County, South Carolina (North Augusta) adjoining the region. Most of the settlers into South Carolina were English, Scottish, and Scotch-Irish and came into the region from Pennsylvania via the Great Wagon Road. The Quakers established a Meeting House in Wrightsboro. The early records showed this Meeting House in Columbia and Richmond County Records; however, after county divisions, it ended up in McDuffie County. One can follow the Quakers from one Meeting House to the next, beginning, say, in Pennsylvania. And if you have a quaker, this is the proper research method.
All industry seemed to converge at Augusta. For this reason, you will find your people in Richmond and Columbia Counties, Georgia as well as in Edgefield County, South Carolina. For this reason, it behooves the researcher to study all aspects of early settlements, discovering where they came from, and why. Religious groups had leaders, and some of the history books contain a list of the first settlers, which offers a foundation from where to start. Conditions were not always perfect, and these groups dispersed into other areas. Thus, learning the history is important. Suffice it to say the three counties mentioned here are vital resources.
Georgia Pioneers has combed through old newspapers to help locate estate records during the earliest years; dug out the oldest tax digests and the Wrightsboro Meeting House records. Columbia County Records on Georgia Pioneers and Richmond County Records on Georgia Pioneers