Newspapers Published in Eastern Alabama in the Civil War Period

I am interested in the lives of my Alabama ancestors during the 1861—1865 Civil War. As Vicki Betts, Librarian at the University of Texas at Tyler has said,

"Newspapers remain one of the most underutilized resources available to the historian, and with good cause. Relatively few full runs of Southern newspapers survived the Civil War and the years of storms, fires, and business failures that preceded the advent of microfilm … [R]esearchers are … encouraged to approach the "truth" in historic newspapers cautiously. Even more so than now, nineteenth century newspapers often expressed extremely partisan positions. Editors gathered reports and rumors from correspondents, travelers, and other newspapers, usually with little or no verification. At the same time, these papers do reflect what people of the period were reading and perhaps believing. As such, they remain a valuable source, used wisely."

I have therefore tried to conduct a brief survey of the newspapers published in Eastern Alabama that may have been read by my ancestors and their families in the years prior to, during, and following the War Between the States.

Click images to enlarge.

While I am interested in what everyday life was like, I am particularly interested in understanding the state of mind that it would take to

• Take up arms against one’s own country, and
• Own slaves and/or defend the "property rights" of those who did.

I am proud of my ancestors and I insist that they were good people, but I am frankly unable to imagine today in 2014 how either is possible. I want to understand the circumstances that brought my ancestors to the point where they found it possible to do so. The Republican party was, during the election year of 1860, apparently widely hated in the South. Based on my reading of the first few issues of the Jacksonville Republican newspaper published in Jacksonville, Alabama in January of 1860, they were dubbed the “Black Republicans” and the paper strongly advocated secession from the Union — by violent means if necessary — in the event that any Republican candidate, presumed in advance to be an abolitionist — a very hated person in this part of the country — were to be elected president that autumn. Several of my direct ancestors and many members of their families enlisted in the Confederate Army after Alabama seceded from the Union in January 1861 so it is likely they agreed with that sentiment. Alternatively, their reasons may have included the wish to defend their homes from any military invasion from the north, regardless of why such an invasion might occur.

So far in this blog I have discussed two of my ancestors from Alabama who enlisted in the Confederate Army.

• John O. Jackson (1834-1861), who died of disease at a Confederate Army camp in Hunstville, Alabama before seeing any combat. He lived in the vicinity of Kirk’s Grove, Alabama in the 1860 US Census.
• David Franklin Averett (1837-1927), who survived his wounds at the Battle of the Wilderness in 1864 and was with Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia at the surrender at Appomattox Court House in 1865. He lived somewhere in the vicinity of Reeltown and Tallassee, Alabama, based on information from the 1860 US Census and the Muster Roll of his Regiment in the Confederate Army in 1861.

There may be others. There are certainly others if one considers the war service of brothers, fathers, and sons of my direct ancestors.

I have started my search for newspapers at Kirk's Grove and at the Reeltown/Tallassee areas. Towns were connected by roads of some kind, but also by railroad, stagecoach, etc. I want to find the newspapers mostly likely to have been read by Averett and Jackson and their families. Common sense seems to indicate that the papers published in the closest locations would be the mostly likely candidates. But if one allows several days for the papers to be distributed, it also seems possible that the liveliest newspapers, in terms of size, amount of information printed, controversy, would also be read. How easily were they distributed? How long did it take to receive a newspaper from another town?

I have already found many examples of articles published in newspapers printed considerable distances republished in a local paper. Samuel Morse patented his telegraph in 1837 so it was in fairly extensive use by 1860, adding considerably to the available information and opinion that ordinary people such as my ancestors would have had available. It seems likely that information appearing in newspapers, particularly pro-slavery newspapers, would be disseminated among other pro-slavery newspapers. Surely many of these articles would be eventually read by the families of David Averett and John Jackson.

I want to read them too. So, where to look?

My first readings of one newspaper, the Jacksonville Republican, give a clue. I have noticed that out-of-town businesses from, for example, Rome, GA advertised in the Jacksonville Republican in 1860, in spite of the two towns being about forty-five miles apart. The first example is a drug store ad from 12 January, obviously advertising for customers living in Jacksonville.

And here is another ad in the same issue, placed by a general store in Selma, Alabama — 156 miles away!

Even more significant, however, is an advertisement in the Jacksonville Republican for subscriptions to a newspaper published in Rome, GA.

Subject to the availability of regular transportation such as railroad, stage coach, rivers, etc., it seems reasonable to assume that inhabitants of Kirk’s Grove, AL saw newspapers in a fairly timely manner, even if they were printed forty-five miles away. The US Postal Service functioned well and, I assume, so did the Confederate States Postal Service. Alabama counties touched by a circle centered at Kirk’s Grove having a radius of 45 miles include:

• Calhoun
• Cherokee
• Cleburne
• DeKalb
• Etowah
• Jackson
• Marshall
• St Clair

They are highlighted in green.

Similarly, such a circle centered between Reeltown and Tallassee would touch the following Alabama Counties:

• Autauga
• Barbour
• Bullock
• Chambers
• Chilton
• Clay
• Coosa
• Elmore
• Lee
• Lowndes
• Montgomery
• Pike
• Randolph
• Russell
• Talladega
• Tallapoosa

They are highlighted in yellow.

For the time being, I am concentrating on newspapers published during the years 1859--1866, to which I refer as "the Civil War period" below.

According to the Chronicling America web site at the Library of Congress, the following newspapers were published or may have been published during the Civil War period. For each title, the first set of years shown are the years in which the Library of Congress believes or estimates the papers were published. The information after that provides information about which specific issues are still in existence today. Most are on microfilm and the rest are apparently originals[!] Some are available in digital format online and can be downloaded. I have struck the titles for which no extant issues from the Civil War period are listed. Of course, some of the struck titles may later turn out to have issues found in forgotten archives in the future. This is why I have kept them on what has turned out to be a very long list of titles.

• Titles in Autauga County, Alabama
• The Autauga Citizen (Prattville, AL; 1853-1882) (issues available for 1859–1866)
• Southern Statesman (Prattville, AL; 1854-186?) (single issue from 1859 and a single issue from 1860)
• Titles in Barbour County, Alabama
• Clayton Banner (Clayton, AL; 1852–1869) (several issues from 1860–1862 and single issue from 1864)
• The Eufaula Daily News (Eufaula, AL; 1865–18??) (two issues available from late 1865)      
• Eufaula Express (Eufaula, AL; 1858–186?) (some issues available from 1859 and 1861)
• Eufaula News (Eufaula, AL; 1866–18??) (no issues available from Civil War period) 
• Eufaula Weekly News (Eufaula, AL; 18??—18??) (no issues available from Civil War period)
• Eufaula Weekly Times (Eufaula, AL; 18??—187?) (no issues available from Civil War period)
• Southern Native (Eufaula, AL; 185?—18??) (single issue available from 1858)
• Spirit of the South (Eufaula, AL; 1850–1865) (issues available from 1859–1863)
• The Times & News (Eufaula, AL; 18??—1906) (no issues available from Civil War period)
• Titles in Bullock County, Alabama
• The Southern Home Journal (Union Springs, AL; 186?-18??) (one issue available from 1861)
• Union Springs Gazette (Union Springs, AL; 185?-18??) (one issue available from 1860)
• The Union Springs Journal (Union Springs, AL; 18??-1???) (one issue available from 1882)
• Titles in Calhoun County, Alabama
• The Alabama Weekly Inquirer (Anniston, AL; 18??-1???) (issues available from 1898) 
• Jacksonville Republican (Jacksonville, AL; 1837-1895) (many issues from 1837-1895; most issues from 1859-1866)
• Titles in Chambers County, Alabama
• The Chambers Tribune (La Fayette, AL; 1849-186?) (one issue from 1861 and two issues from 1863)
• The East-Alabamian (La Fayette, AL; 184?-1?a??) (issues available from the second half of 1843)
• The People’s Journal (La Fayette, AL; 18??-1???) (one issue available from 1892)
• Southern Sentinel (La Fayette, AL; 18??-1???) (one issue from January 1860)
• Titles in Cherokee County, Alabama
• Cherokee Advertiser (Centre, AL; 1866-1892)
• Coosa River Argus (Centre, AL; 1854-18??) (one issue from 1854, two from 1860) 
• Gladiator (Cedar Bluff, AL; 1843-18??) (one issue from 1843, one from 1844)
• Titles in Chilton County, Alabama
• (no titles listed for the Civil War period)
• Titles in Clay County, Alabama
• (no titles listed for the Civil War period)
• Titles in Cleburne County, Alabama
• The Fruithurst Times (Fruithurst, AL; 1???-190?) (issues available from 1903)
• The Standard-Democrat (Edwardsville, AL; 18??-1???) (issues available from 1896) 
• Titles in Coosa County, Alabama
• (none during the Civil War period)
• Titles in DeKalb County, Alabama
• The Collinsville Courier (Collinsville, AL; 1???-1927) (no issues from the Civil War period))
• The Fort Payne Journal (Fort Payne, AL; 18??-1958) (none from the Civil War period are available)
• The Wills Valley Post (Collinsville, AL; 1854-18??) (one issue from 1879 is available)
• Titles in Elmore County, Alabama
• The Alabama Times (Wetumpka, AL; 1840-18??) (few issues available only from 1840-1841)
• Daily State Guard (Wetumpka, AL; 1849-18??) (few issues available only from 1849) 
• Dorsey’s Dispatch (Wetumpka, AL; 185?-1857) (few issues available only from 1856-1857)
• The Elmore Standard (Wetumpka; AL; 1865-1868) (few issues available only from 1867-1868)
• Harry of the West (Wetumpka, AL; 1844-18??) (single issue available from 1849)
• The Southern Crisis (Wetumpka, AL; 1840-1840)
• The Southern Dial and African Monitor (Wetumpka, AL; 185?-18??) (single issue available from 1858)
• The State Guard (Wetumpka, AL; 1847-18??) (few issues available from 1847 and 1852)      
• Weekly State Guard (Wetumpka, AL; 184?-????) (single issue available from 1851) 
• Wetumpka Dispatch (Wetumpka, AL; 1857-18??) (issues available only from 1857) 
• Wetumpka Spectator (Wetumpka, AL; 185?-186?) (some issues available from 1856-1857, 1859, and 1861)
• The Wetumpka Whig (Wetumpka, AL; 1844-18??) (single issue available from 1844, 1846, and 1847)
• Titles in Etowah County, Alabama
• The Camp Fire (Gadsden, AL; 18??-????) (one issue from 1895 and one from 1896 are available)
• The Gadsden Weekly Times (Gadsden, AL; 18??-1887) (several issues from 1885 are available)
• Titles in Jackson County, Alabama
• Bellefonte Courier and Jackson County Republican (Bellefonte, AL; 183?—????) (single issue from 1839)
• Camp Illuminator (Bridgeport, AL; 1864–1865) (several issues available from 1864–1865)
• Era and Star (Scottsboro, AL; 18??—1???) (no issues available from Civil War period) 
• Jackson County News (Stevenson, AL; 1865—????) (single issue available from 1865) 
• The Progressive Age (Scottsboro, AL; 18??—1962) (no issues available from Civil War period)
• The Stevenson New Era (Stevenson, AL; 186?—1???) (all available issues from 1869) 
• Titles in Lee County, Alabama
• East Alabama Monitor (Opelika, AL; 186?-1869) (some issues from 1868-1869)
• The Opelika Recorder (Opelika, AL; 186?-187?) (one issue from 1866)
• The Opelika Tri-Weekly Locomotive (Opelika, AL; 186?-18??) (some issues from 1869-1870)
• Opelika Union (Opelika, AL; 1865-????) (at least one issue available form 1865)
• The Opelika Weekly Locomotive (Opelika, AL; 18??-1871) (at least one issue available from 1871)
• The Progressive Age (Opelika, AL; 18??-1872) (a few issues from 1872)
• The Sketch Book (Auburn, AL; 1860-18??) (a few issues from late 1860)
• The Southern Era (Opelika, AL; 1860-1860) (some issues available from 1859-1860) 
• The Southern Republic (Opelika, AL; 1861-186?) (issues available from 1861-1862) 
• The Weekly Southern Era (Opelika; 185?-1860) (issues available from Nov 1859 — Feb 1860)
• Titles in Lowndes County, Alabama
• The Chronicle (Hayneville, AL; 18??—1860) (issues available from 1860)
• The Citizen-Examiner (Hayneville, AL; 18??-192?) (no issues available from Civil War period)
• Hayneville Chronicle (Hayneville, AL; 1860–186?) (issues available from 1860)
• The Lowndes County Chronicle (Hayneville, AL; 183?—18??) (no issues available from Civil War period)
• Lowndes County Observer and Spirit of the Times (Hayneville, AL; 183?—1???) (no issues available from Civil War period)
• The Watchman (Hayneville, AL; 185?—186?) (issues available from 1860)
• The Weekly Herald (Benton, AL; 185?—186?) (issues available from 1859–1
• Titles in Macon County, Alabama
• The Confederate States (Tuskegee, AL; 1861-18??) (one issue from April 1861)
• The News (Tuskegee, AL; 1865-????) (one issue from 1873 and one from 1887)
• South Western Baptist (Marion, AL; 1850-1865) (scattered issues on microfilm for 1850-1865)
• The True Union (Tuskegee, AL; 185?-18??) (one issue from 1857)
• The Tuskegee News (Tuskegee, AL; 1865-18??) (issues from 1866)
• Tuskegee Republican (Tuskegee, AL; 1856-18??) (issues from 1856-1858)
• The Universalist Herald (Notasulga, AL; 184?-19??) (a few issues from 1859-1861) 
• Titles in Marshall County, Alabama
• The Columbus City Journal (Columbus City, AL; 18??—????) (no issues at all available)      
• The Marshall County News (Guntersville, AL; 185?—18??) (single issue available from 1858)
• The Marshall Eagle (Guntersville, AL; 185?—18??) (no issues available from Civil War period)
• The Tennessee Valley (Guntersville, AL; 185?—18??) (two issues available from 1856)
• Titles in Montgomery County, Alabama
• Alabama State Gazette (Montgomery, AL; 184?-????) (single issue available from 1849)
• Alabama State Sentinel (Montgomery, AL; 1860-186?) (few issues available from 1867-1868)
• The Atlas (Montgomery, AL; 1849-185?) (three issues available from 1850-1851)
• Capital City Record (Montgomery, AL; 186?-18??) (single issue available from 1869) 
• The Church Register (Montgomery, AL; 186?-????) (large number of issues available from 1869-1870)
• The Daily Advertiser (Montgomery, AL; 18??-18??) (issues available for April-July 1863 and a single issue from 1865)
• Daily Alabama Journal (Montgomery, AL; 1847-18??) (issues available from 1847-1856)
• The Daily Confederation (Montgomery, AL; 1858-186?) (issues available for 1860-1861)
• Daily Montgomery Ledger (Montgomery, AL; 1865-1866) (issues available for August — November 1865)
• Daily State Sentinel (Montgomery, AL; 1863-186?) (some issues available from 1867)
• Titles in Pike County, Alabama
• Advocate and American (Troy, AL; 1861–186?) (issues available from 1861–1862)
• Independent American (Troy, AL; 1855–1861) (issues available for 1855–1861)
• Southern Advertiser (Troy, AL; 1859–1868) (issues available for 1860–1866)
• Southern Messenger (Troy, AL; 1866–1868) (issues available from 1866–1867)
• States Rights Advocate (Troy, AL; 1860–1861) (a few issues available from 1861–1862)
• Troy Messenger (Troy, AL; 1???—19??) (a few issues available from 1912)
• Titles in Randolph County, Alabama
• The Randolph County Democrat (Wedowee, AL; 1860-????) (none available)
• The Roanoke Herald (Roanoke, AL; 18??-1???) (issues available from 1896-1899)
• Southern Mercury (Wedowee, AL; 18??-1860) (one issue from 1859 and one from 1860 are available)
• Titles in Russell County, Alabama
• Alabama State Register and Girard and Columbus Advertiser (Girard, AL; 1840-18??) (two issues from 1840)
• East Alabama Messenger (Girard, AL), 1???-19??) (one issue from 1904)
• East Alabamian (Girard, AL; 185?-18??) (two issues from 1852-1853)
• Titles in St Clair County, Alabama
• (No titles listed for the Civil War period)
• Titles in Talladega County, Alabama
• The Alabama Reporter (Talladega, AL; 1843-1875) (issues available for 1860, 1862, 1864, 1866)
• The Democratic Watchtower (Talladega, AL; 1840-1867) (issues available for 1859-1866, and other years)
• The Humorist (Talladega, AL; 1838-1???) (one issue from 1838)
• Our Mountain Home (18??-1???) (issues available from 1872, 1875-1882, 1886, 1888, 1891, 1893-1897, and later)
• The Patriot (Talladega, AL; 1839-18??) (four issues available from 1840-1841)
• Southern Register (Talladega, AL; 183?-18??) (one issue from 1839)
• Titles in Tallapoosa County, Alabama
• The Dadeville Banner & Times (Dadeville, AL; 18??-18??) (a couple of issues from 1864 are available)
• Formed from the merger of The Dadeville Banner and the Tallapoosa Times
• The Dadeville Banner (Dadeville, AL; 18??-186?) (several issues from 1861)
• Merged with the Tallapoosa Times to form The Dadeville Banner & Times
• Dadeville Democrat (Dadeville, AL; 18??-????) Issues available only from 1885 
• Messenger (Dadeville, AL; 1866-18??) Single issue available from 1867
• The Tallapoosa Gazette (Dadeville, AL; 18??-1???) (few issues available only from 1879-1880)
• Tallapoosa News (Dadeville, AL; 186?-187?) (few issues available only from 1870-1872)
• Tallapoosa Times (Dadeville, AL; 185?-18??) (a few issues from 1860 — 1861 are available)
• Merged with The Dadeville Banner to form The Dadeville Banner & Times
• The Tallapoosian (Dadeville, AL; 186?-1???) (few issues available only from 1867-1868)

I have highlighted the titles that seem to provide the most complete information over the duration of the Civil War period. I believe the Jacksonville Republican from Calhoun County appears to be the most complete available, with The Autauga Citizen from Prattville, and The Alabama Reporter and The Democratic Watchtower from Talladega also being strong candidates. They should provide the best opportunity to observe the evolution of a pro-slavery newspaper from a year or two prior to the war, through the war, and for a year or two afterward.

Based on geography instead of completeness, the Jacksonville Republican is the most likely candidate for John O. Jackson. For David Averett, The Dadeville Banner, the Tallapoosa Times, and The Dadeville Banner & Times are the most likely candidates.

I was fortunate to find a fairly complete set of The Jacksonville Republican newspaper issues in digital form for those years. In fact, the collection actually extends from 1837 to 1895 and are available, free to download in PDF format, from a site at Jacksonville State University. The results of the search from the geographic point of view of David Averett are not as promising: only a few issues are available from 1860-1861 and 1864.

My plan is to begin with the most accessible of the titles, the Jacksonville Republican and see where that leads.

How to Create Alabama County KML Files for Google Earth

For the purposes of my genealogy, I want to be able to highlight certain counties in eastern Alabama in Google Earth. Google Earth has county boundaries and names but there is no option to color the area covering specific counties. And, if you zoom out far enough, the county lines and labels disappear. There is data available on line to generate such county coverings but what I found needs to be processed first. First, go to the “Alabama Counties - Google Fusion Tables” web page.

(Click on the images to enlarge them.)

Click on the blue “Filter” button near the upper left-hand corner of the table.

Choose the “County Name” option. In this example, I am interested in Cherokee County.

Under the “File” menu, choose “Download”.

Alas, the “KML” options are grayed-out so we will have to choose the “Filtered Rows” content and the “CSV” format. Click on the blue “Download” button.

This will cause a “csv” (“comma-separated values”) file to be downloaded, named "Alabama Counties-filtered.csv” or some variation of that. Use your preferred text editor to open the file. When I opened it in Vim, it looked like this:

[EDIT:  Make sure there are no spaces between the comma-separated values and that there are spaces or carriage returns separating data pairs or triples. Otherwise, Google Earth has trouble.  Why?  I don't know.] I now follow the instructions found on the dagik.org web site: Delete all text at the top and bottom, except the (longitude, latitude) data. Add the following lines to the top of the file:

  <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> <kml xmlns="http://earth.google.com/kml/2.0"> <document> <placemark> <polygon> <outerboundaryis> <linearring> <coordinates>

 and then add the following lines to the bottom of the file:

  </coordinates> </LinearRing> </outerBoundaryIs> </Polygon> <style> <polystyle> <color>#a00000ff</color> <outline>0</outline> </PolyStyle> </Style> </Placemark> </Document> </kml>

The result should look like the following.

You can massage the data so that it’s in two nice, neat columns, but it isn’t necessary for it to work in Google Earth.

NOTE: The order of the latitude and longitude points is reversed from what you are probably used to! If you look carefully at each comma-separated ordered pair, you note that the first coordinate is the longitude and the second coordinate is the latitude. This is due to the fact that Google Earth uses them that way, which is just the opposite of what I’ve ever done with any other software. Now write the result to a new file with a “.kml” file name extension.

Drag this new KML file to the Google Earth map window and drop it there. You should see the county area highlighted.

If you zoom in a little bit you can see the outline is not perfect, but it’s pretty close. Certainly it is useful for my purposes.

Grave Site of John O. Jackson (1834-1861)

I recently visited the grave of my great-great-great (“3rd great”) grandfather, John O. Jackson (1834-1861). At the time of his death, he was a Private in the 19th Alabama Infantry Regiment, Company E, Confederate States Army. He is from my maternal grandfather's (William Obeyn Jackson, 1909-1988) line.

"JOHN O JACKSON, PVT CO E 19 ALA INFANTRY, CONFEDERATE STATES ARMY, OCT 16 1861" (Photo by Robert Luke - click images to enlarge)

It is located in a section (34.734380N -86.573223E) of the Maple Hill Cemetery (34.733168N -86.574609E) in Huntsville, Alabama set aside for graves of (apparently then) unknown Confederate soldiers. The Maple Hill Cemetery is located at 202 Maple Hill Street SE, Huntsville, Alabama 35801.

"MAPLE HILL CEMETERY, ESTABLISHED 1818, OLDEST AND LARGEST MUNICIPAL CEMETERY IN CONTINUOUS OPERATION IN THE SOUTH. COLONEL WALTER ASTON CHAPTER XVII CENTURY, HUNTSVILLE, ALABAMA, 2006." (Photo by Robert Luke)

The following is a diagram provided to me by the cemetery staff at the main entrance office that day.

In that section of the Maple Hill Cemetery I counted 193 simple white grave stones that said only "Unknown Soldier C.S.A." It was cold and blustery that day, 27 deg F; since I had only a light jacket, I kept needing to blow on my hands and my count may not be completely accurate.

"UNKNOWN, SOLDIER, CSA" (Photo by Robert Luke)

There are also about 62 name plaques mounted on the fence that surrounds this section, one of which is for my grandfather. A close-up picture is shown above and it is mounted on the lower left on the fence in the following photo. These individual plaques are about 5 inches by 8 inches in size.

(Photo by Robert Luke)

According to the 1860 US Census, John O. Jackson was a farmer in Cherokee County, Alabama and preacher. He was probably a Baptist minister, as I think several other of my ancestors in that area were Baptists. One of his sons, John William Jackson (1856-1926), was my second great (“great-great”) grandfather.

According to a 29 September 1984 interview of Carrie Maude “Jackie” JACKSON Grote (1911-1998), a great-granddaughter of John O. Jackson, by my mother (1938-1992), a second-great grand daughter of John O. and also Jackie’s niece:

“[John O. Jackson] went to the Army during the War and they never heard from him again. The day he left, Grandpa [John William Jackson] (he was real small) tried to go with him. His dad took him back and the second time he tried to follow, his dad spanked him."

It is my impression from this interview - and from the lack of any information that I inherited from my mother’s genealogy research materials - that the family as a whole simply didn't know what became of John O. Jackson. I didn't know either, until I happened to find his name at the findagrave.com memorial web page maintained by Sarah Johnson (a great-great granddaughter of John O. Jackson) and created by Leah Brannon in 2009. The fact that he was identified as being in this particular section of this particular cemetery means records of some kind were kept that were not generally available until some time after 1901, as explained below. I need to research this further but the family may never have been notified. I have read in various sources in the past that unfortunately, but perhaps inevitably, this happened to many families on both sides in the War Between the States. 

Probably the same Sarah Johnson wrote in the Military History Online - Civil War Genealogy Database indicates that John died of disease:

"Name:  John O. Jackson, Rank: Private, Company: E; John O. Jackson enlisted in Co. E, 19th Alabama Infantry on August 12, 1861. He died from disease in a CSA camp in Hunstville, AL on October 16, 1861. He was born on December 17, 1834 to Solomon H. Jackson and Eunice 'Eunicy' Clements Jackson. John was married to Atharilla Elizabeth Roberts Jackson in 1855 and they had four children. John was my great, great grandfather." (by Sarah Johnson). Date added: 12/7/2010."

John O. Jackson enlisted on 12 August 1861 in the 19th Alabama Infantry Regiment being raised in Huntsville, Alabama. His death from disease in the camp was a common fate on both sides. There are estimates that two out of three deaths in the Civil War were due to disease (WGBH American Experience web site), out of a total of between 650,000 and 850,000 deaths due to all causes (J. David Hacker, Binghamton University, New York, as reported in 2 April 2012 NY Times). I suspect there was an epidemic in the camp because a number of the name plaques show men from the 19th Infantry Regiment who died within just a few days of the date when John O. passed away -- 16 October 1861.

From a Regiment’s chronology shown below, the 19th Regiment was located at Camp Bradford in Huntsville at the time of his death, before moving out to Mobile, Alabama in November. Among many other battles and skirmishes, the Regiment eventually fought at Shiloh (1862); Murfreesboro, Chickamauga, and Missionary Ridge (1863); and Kennesaw Mountain and others defending Atlanta against Union Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman in 1864.

"In Memory of THESE CONFEDERATE UNKNOWN, BG JOHN HUNT MORGAN #2541, UNITED DAUGHTERS OF THE CONFEDERACY" (Photo by Robert Luke)

The fenced area for graves of what were then unknown Confederate soldiers appears to have been improved by the United Daughters of the Confederacy and perhaps others. It is separated from the rest of the cemetery by what appears to be a black wrought iron fence with a gate on each of two sides. The original monument for the area was placed in 1901.

C.S.A., The Lost Cause, "Furl that Banner, for 'tis weary.", July 21, 1901 (Photo by Robert Luke)

The quote is likely from the poem, “The Conquered Banner” by Abram Joseph Ryan (1838-1886), a chaplain in the Confederate Army and dubbed “The Poet-Priest of the Confederacy”.

"UNKNOWN CONFEDERATE DEAD" (probably 1901?) (Photo by Robert Luke)

It looks to me as if there are both older and newer gravestones present. The newer gravestones, about one foot wide and having about two feet exposed above the ground, are largely clean and are certainly readable and they are likely more recent than 1901. Based on the presence of a few thinner stones that remain, overgrown by the roots of trees among them, the newer stones have been placed more recently. I did not find any examples of the older, thinner gravestones that had a visible inscription. In fact, none of them had enough of their faces exposed so that any inscription would have been visible.

(Photo by Robert Luke)

Based on the inscription on the bench shown above and again just below from a different point of view, I suspect these plaques may have been placed by the UDC in 2009.

(Photo by Robert Luke)

(Photo by Robert Luke)

My working hypothesis is that lost burial records found between 1901 and 2009 identified the remains of a portion of the men buried here. But, again, I need to research this further.

"IN GRATEFUL REMEMBRANCE OF OUR CONFEDERATE DEAD, 1861-1865" (Photo by Robert Luke)

Finally, here is a diagram of the relationship between my 3rd great grandfather, John O. Jackson (1834-1861), and my maternal grandfather, William Obeyn Jackson (1909-1988).

W.O. Jackson Training at Citizens' Military Training Camps in 1927 and 1928

My maternal grandfather, William Obeyn Jackson (1909-1988), said on 4 July 1985 that he

"went to the CCC [Civilian Conservation Corps?] Camps near Anniston, Alabama and in Pensacola, Florida. Government paid all expenses -- 30 days of military training. He went four years in all. There are relatives in Anniston, Alabama area but Obeyn didn't know them."

The following images (front and back) show two certificates he earned at "Citizens' Military Training Camps" in the summers of 1927 and 1928 at Fort Barrancas, Florida. According to the Wikipedia article on Citizens' Military Training Camps, viewed 27 December 2011,

"The Citizens' Military Training Camps (CMTC) were military training programs … held annually each summer during the years 1921 to 1940 … [Their purpose was to allow] male citizens to obtain basic military training without an obligation to to call-up for active duty … CMTC camps were a month in length and held at about fifty Army bases nationally. At their peak in 1928 and 1929, about 40,000 men received training … The program established that participants could receive a reserve commission as a second lieutenant by completing four successive summer courses (titled Basic, Red, White, and Blue)." 

I have his certificates for the completion of the "Red" and "White" courses. Presumably, he also completed the Basic course. I do not currently know if he completed the Blue course. But when he enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1943, he entered the service as a private so it appears unlikely that he attended/completed the fourth course. In fact, the Wikipedia article states that,

"Only 5,000 [2nd lieutenant] commissions were awarded over the 20-year history of the CMTC. Apparently, no records exist that document total participation, but it is estimated that 400,000 men had at least one summer of training."

I have not located any information about his attendance at CCC or CMTC camps at Anniston yet.

"Red" Course of Instruction, Coast Artillery Branch, 1927

(Click images to enlarge.)

1927 Certificate, Side 1 of 2

Transcription of side 1 of 2: 

MILITARY TRAINING CERTIFICATE
Citizens' Military Training Camps

TO ALL WHO SHALL SEE THESE PRESENTS, GREETING:

KNOW YE, THAT William O. Jackson, HAS ATTENDED THE Red COURSE OF INSTRUCTION, Coast Artillery BRANCH, AT THE CITIZENS' MILITARY TRAINING CAMP HELD UNDER THE AUSPICES OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT OF THE UNITED STATES AT Fort Barrancas, Florida, FROM June 15, TO July 14, ONE THOUSAND NINE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-SEVEN.

GIVEN AT Fort Barrancas, Florida, THIS 14th DAY OF July, IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD ONE THOUSAND NINE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-SEVEN.

REMARKS: [left blank]

(signed) R.W. COLLINS,
Lt. Colonel, 13th C.A. [Coast Artillery],
COMMANDING

1927 Certificate, Side 2 of 2

Transcription of side 2 of 2:

Keep this Certificate and present it whenever you seek employment. It is valuable as a personal record and is evidence of your Military and Citizenship Training. In case you join any of the Military forces of the United States show it to each Commanding Officer who may be placed over you.

CERTIFICATE OF TRAINING

I hereby certify that the candidate whose name appears on this certificate has been given training and instruction in the Red Course, CAC Branch at this camp and has completed the course.

He is recommended further training in White Course (Show recommendations in accordance with par. 17, AR 350-2200)

Remarks [left blank] (Show Organization of the Army of the United States or Reserve Officers' Training Corps. Show marksmanship and other qualifications, if any. Show property loss, if any)

[signed] H.B. Kraft
1st Lieut. 13 CA. [Coast Artillery],
Commanding.

Only young men in good physical condition and of good moral character are accepted for attendance at Citizens' Military Training Camps.

Those who complete the course have received the typhoid-paratyphoid inoculation and smallpox vaccination.

A young man who attends a Citizens' Military Training Camp renders voluntary service to the United States Government and this certificate is evidence of his patriotism and loyalty.

Graduates of the Red, White, and Blue Courses are entitled to wear the insignia for service.

Citizens' Military Training Camps are conducted by the War Department under the National Defense Act. This is the basic law which governs all military training. The Government pays the expenses of those attending, consisting of transportation to and from camp, uniforms, food, and medical attendance.

The object of these camps is to bring together young men of high type from all sections of the country on a common basis of equality and under the most favorable conditions of outdoor life; to stimulate and promote citizenship, patriotism, and Americanism; and, through expert physical direction, athletic coaching, and military training, to benefit the young men individually, and bring them to realize their obligations to their country.

There are four (4) courses of instruction: BASIC, RED, WHITE and BLUE. Each course lasts 30 days and only one course can be taken in any calendar year.

Following are descriptions of the different courses:

1. The BASIC COURSE. -- For physically fit male citizens of the United States, 17 to 24 years of age. Previous military training not required. Applicants must possess average general intelligence, be able to read and write english, and be of good moral character.

This course provides preliminary military training, including physical development, athletics, school of the soldier, squad and company drill, rifle marksmanship, first aid, camp sanitation, personal hygienic, military courtesy, meaning of discipline, and studies in citizenship. Those taking this course will be given an opportunity to qualify for the next higher, or Red Course. Attendance at this course does not constitute any present or future contract of enlistment in the Army of the United States.

2. The RED COURSE. -- For physically fit male citizens of the United States, 17 to 25 years of age. Applicants must be graduate of the Basic Course or have had military training equivalent thereto, must possess average intelligence, be able to read and write English, and be of good moral character.

This course provides training in different branches of the Army: Infantry, Field Artillery, Cavalry, Coast Artillery, Corps of Engineers, and Signal Corps. Advanced instruction in the subjects covered in the Basic Course is included.

Those who take this course will be given the opportunity to qualify in the same branch for the next higher, or White Course. Attendance at this course does not constitute any present or future contract of enlistment in the Army of the United States.

3. The WHITE COURSE. -- For physically fit male citizens of the United States, 18 to 28 years of age and enlisted men of the Army of the United States. Applicants must have a grammar-school education or its equivalent, possess qualities of leadership, and be of good moral character.

This course provides training in different branches of the Army: Infantry, Field Artillery, Cavalry, Coast Artillery, Corps of Engineers, and Signal Corps for the purpose of qualifying candidates as specialists and noncommissioned leaders. This course is open to candidates who have completed the Red Course and who have been recommended to pursue the White Course, to selected citizens who have had military training equivalent to the Red Course, and to selected enlisted men of the Army of the United States.

Those who attend will be given the further opportunity to qualify in the same branch for the next higher, or Blue Course, but it will be required that they possess, or show that they later will possess, the mental and physical qualifications to become officers in the Officers' Reserve Corps. This requirement will be fully explained to all candidates before or during the White Course. Attendance at this course does not constitute any present or future contract of enlistment in the Army of the United States.

4. The BLUE COURSE. -- Age limits, 19 to 31. Qualifications for admission are as follows:

Applicants must be warrant officers or enlisted men or selected civilians who are physically fit.

Applicants must have not less than a completed high-school education or its equivalent, and must possess the personality, appearance, tact, bearing, and general adaptability which will fit them, after further training in the Blue Course, to take the necessary mental and physical examination to be officers of the Officers' Reserve Corps.

Applications from warrant officers and enlisted men must receive the approval of immediate commanding officers.

NOTE. -- Graduation from the Blue Course does not of itself confer legal eligibility for appointment in the Officers' Reserve Corps.

The applicants' preference for branch training in Infantry, Field Artillery, Cavalry, Coast Artillery, Corps of Engineers, and Signal Corps will be granted when such training is available and practicable from an economic and military point of view.

"White" Course of Instruction, Coast Artillery Branch, 1928

1928 Certificate, Side 1 of 2

Transcription of side 1 of 2:

MILITARY TRAINING CERTIFICATE
Citizens' Military Training Camps

TO ALL WHO SHALL SEE THESE PRESENTS, GREETING:

KNOW YE, THAT WILLIAM OBEYN JACKSON, HAS ATTENDED THE WHITE COURSE OF INSTRUCTION, COAST ARTILLERY BRANCH, AT THE CITIZENS' MILITARY TRAINING CAMP HELD UNDER THE AUSPICES OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT OF THE UNITED STATES AT Fort Barrancas, Florida, FROM June 17 TO July 16, ONE THOUSAND NINE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-eight.

GIVEN AT Fort Barrancas, Florida, THIS 16th DAY OF July, IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD ONE THOUSAND NINE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-eight.

REMARKS: [left blank]

(signed) H.L. BUTLER
Lt. Colonel, 13th Coast Artillery,
COMMANDING

1928 Certificate, Side 2 of 2

Transcription of side 2 of 2:

Keep this Certificate and present it whenever you seek employment. It is valuable as a personal record and is evidence of your Military and Citizenship Training. In case you join any of the Military forces of the United States show it to each Commanding Officer who may be placed over you.

CERTIFICATE OF TRAINING

I hereby certify that the candidate whose name appears on this certificate has been given training and instruction in the [left blank] Course, [left blank] Branch at this camp and has completed the course.

He is recommended For training in the blue course (Show recommendations in accordance with par. 17, AR 350-2200)

Remarks Property loss [handwritten] none (Show Organization of the Army of the United States or Reserve Officers' Training Corps. Show marksmanship and other qualifications, if any. Show property loss, if any)

[signed] H.K. Diles
Commanding.

Photos of W.O. Jackson at CCC or CMTC Camp(s)

The following photos of W.O. Jackson were taken while he was participating at either the CMTC Camp or at a Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Camp. The following photos were marked later as taken at a "CCC" camp in "1925" but that may not be correct, based on the dates on the Pensacola, Florida (Fort Barrancas) certificates above. W.O. Jackson graduated from high school in 1925 at the age of 16 years and he would have had to have been 17 years of age to take the CMTC "Basic Course" that year.

The photos that show artillery pieces in the background are more likely to have been taken at Fort Barrancas, as opposed to Anniston, Alabama but I can't be sure of that at this point.

(Click images to enlarge.)

W.O. Jackson (1909-1988)

W.O. Jackson is on the left.

I am not certain this is W.O. Jackson but the facial features in the blurry photograph seem at least similar to his. (There are other photos that he apparently took of the camp, his fellow trainees, and officers.)

I am more certain that this is W.O. Jackson. He looks pretty "green" so it may be that this one was taken at his first camp, possibly the "Basic Course".

Posing with an artillery piece, he looks considerably less "green" in this photo.

This is probably W.O. Jackson.

I suspect the man in the right foreground is W.O. Jackson.

I have not (yet) located any documentation to support his attending a CCC or CMTC Camp in Anniston, Alabama.

W.O. Jackson notes in Europe during WWII

I'm going through my maternal grandfather's papers and in a tiny, deteriorating 1943-1944 calendar/address book, he wrote where he was and when after shipping out to Europe. Gives the name of the ship that transported him to England and the name of the boat that transported his unit to France. It's only a few lines but because the letters he wrote to my grandmother were censored, he could never say exactly where he was (only "France", "Luxembourg", "Germany", etc.) or what he was doing. He couldn't even say where he was wounded (St. Malo, France on 12 August 1944 a bit after the great breakout from the Normandy area). This info fills in some of the gaps in what I've been able to piece together from their letters. It wasn't until a month or two after VE day that censorship was discontinued the first time. It appears he was writing this stuff down some time after that in order to remember as many details as he could.

More info to come as I transcribe the info and organize it. Even more will follow after I transcribe the letters, which will take quite a while. Right now, all I have done is to scan this material and save as image files.

Fun Link: Genealogy for Geeks

Here is an interesting article from Wired magazine that might explain some of the addiction phenomenon of genealogy: http://www.wired.com/geekdad/2011/04/genealogy-for-geeks-part-1/ 

"Some might argue that all genealogy is for geeks. It’s designed for us. Where else do you get to dive into the facts and daily lives of thousands of ancestors? Follow one branch, and that leads to another, and another, but wait, backtrack and take care of that other branch, and then the one on your mother’s side… It’s an information addict’s delight."

1840 Census - John and Mary Averett Family

This post is intended to tentatively establish that my GGG-grandfather, David Franklin Averett (1837-1927), lived in Muscogee County, Georgia with his parents and siblings at the time of the 1840 U.S. Federal Census. His parents were John Averett (1809 - unknown) and Mary LEDBETTER Averett (1815 - unknown). This is based on comparison with the 14 September 1850 US Census (which I documented in my blog post 1850 US Census - John and Mary Averett Family) on 19 November 2011 and on a process of elimination over about 154 candidates families provided by a search on Ancestry.com.

The 1840 US Census was in some ways not nearly as informative as those that followed. For example, only the name of the head of the family was supplied, along with "binned" ages for all members of the family, free blacks, and slaves, if any. The head of the family seems to have been always male, if living, based on what I've seen so far.

In the 1850 US Census, the John and Mary Averett family, residing in Putnam County, Georgia, did not own any slaves, included:

• Line 22: John Averett; Age = 41 
• Line 23: Mary Averett; Age = 35 
• Line 24: Harris Averett; Age = 19 
• Line 25: Mary Averett; Age = 15[?] 
• Line 26: Catherine Averett; Age = 14 
• Line 27: David F. Averett; Age = 12 
• Line 28: Sarah M. Averett; Age = 9 
• Line 29: I.J.L. Averett; Age = 7 
• Line 30: Alvus Averett; Age = 5 
• Line 31: Nancy Averett; Age = 3

So in 1840,

• John Averett would have been about 31 years old,
• Mary Averett would have been about 25 years old,
• Harris would have been about 9 years old,
• Mary would have been about 5 years,
• Catherine would have been 4 years old, and
• David would have been 2 years old.

John and Mary married on 24 Feb 1830 so it is reasonable to assume that Harris was the oldest child, probably being born in late 1830 or before 14 September 1831. In the 1840 US Census the pattern we're looking for will be at least similar to:  A family of six free white people (and an unknown number of slaves, hopefully zero) distributed as shown among the following age "bins":

• 1 male (0 - 5 years old)
• 1 male (5 - 9 years old)
• 1 male (30 - 39 years old)
• 1 female (0 - 5 years old)
• 1 female (5 - 9 years old)
• 1 female (20 - 29 years old)

This will be exact if we know about all living children in 1840. That is, there would have been no children living in 1840 who subsequently died and would therefore not have been enumerated in the 1850 US Census.

Begin by searching for John Averett in any census taken in the 1840s on Ancestry.com.  The result looks like the following:

The Ancestry.com search algorithm provides two results that it thinks are especially likely possible matches, along with 152 lesser candidates. For the first, the John Averett family living in Columbus Ward 4, Muscogee County, Georgia, here is a copy of the 1840 Census enumeration sheet: (click to enlarge)

The family of this particular John Averett has two free white males under five years of age, one free white male of age 20 - 29 years, one free white male of age 30 - 39 years, one free white female under five years of age, one free white female of age 29 - 39 years, no free blacks, and no slaves (which are shown on the facing page in the census book, not shown here).

For the second John Averett, the one living in District 724 in the same county, here is a copy of the enumeration sheet.

The family of this particular John Averett has one free white male of age under five years, one free white male of age 5 - 9 years, one free white male of age 30 - 39 years, one free white female of age under five years, one free white female of age 5 - 9 years, and one free white female of age 20 - 39 years. Interestingly, this is exactly the pattern we are looking for.

Since we want to account for the cases in which children (or parents living with the family) have died during the decade of 1840 - 1850, we should look for families that have:

1. At least 1 free white male of age under 5 years,
2. at least 1 free white male of age 5 - 9 years 3,
3. at least 0 free white males of age 10 - 14 years,
4. at least 0 free white males of age 15 - 19 years,
5. at least 0 free white males of age 20 - 29 years,
6. at least 1 free white male of age 30 - 39 years,
7. at least 0 free white males of age 40 - 49 years,
8. at least 0 free white males of age 50 - 59 years,
9. at least 0 free white males of age 60 - 69 years,
10. at least 0 free white males of age 70 - 79 years,
11. at least 0 free white males of age 80 - 89 years,
12. at least 0 free white males of age 90 - 99 years,
13. at least 0 free white males of age 100+ years,
14. at least 1 free white female of age under 5 years,
15. at least 0 free white females of age 5 - 9 years,
16. at least 0 free white females of age 10 - 14 years,
17. at least 0 free white females of age 15 - 19 years,
18. at least 1 free white female of age 20 - 29 years,
19. at least 0 free white females of age 30 - 39 years,
20. at least 0 free white females of age 40 - 49 years,
21. at least 0 free white females of age 50 - 59 years,
22. at least 0 free white females of age 60 - 69 years,
23. at least 0 free white females of age 70 - 79 years,
24. at least 0 free white females of age 80 - 89 years,
25. at least 0 free white females of age 90 - 99 years, and
26. at least 0 free white females of age 100+ years.

Equivalently, we can rule out all families that have fewer than:

1. 1 free white male of age under 5 years,
2. 1 free white male of age 5 - 9 years,
3. 1 free white male of age 30 - 39 years,
4. 1 free white female of age under 5 years, and 
5. 1 free white female of age 20 - 29 years.

It should be easier to check five conditions for each family instead of twenty-six conditions for each family. The John Averett family in District 724 of Muscogee County (includes the city of Columbus, Georgia) looks promising but we need to find out how many John Averett families there were in Georgia and maybe in nearby states. Possible variations on the name include "John Averett", "John Everett", "J. Averett", "J. Everett", "Averett", "Everett", etc.

We have a list of 154 families that the Ancestry.com search algorithm has determined are similar to, or are somewhat similar to, our ideal match. I constructed a spreadsheet that summarizes the reported age distributions of each family, summarizing one family for each line in the spreadsheet. Click to enlarge:

All lines that did not satisfy the constraints were then discarded by graying them out. For example, excluding all families that did not have at least one free white male child under the age of 5 years allows us to immediately discard 97 candidate families. This leaves 57 families, some of which will also be discarded after applying the other four conditions. Click to enlarge.

At the end of the process we are left with only six families:

• John Averett family in District 724, Muscogee County, Georgia
• Allen Arentt family in Stewart County, Georgia
• Soloman Averett family in District 787, Muscogee County, Georgia
• John Everett family in Yazoo County, Mississippi
• Wilie H.H. Everett in Davidson's District 290, Jasper County, Georgia
• Jas. Everett in District 952, Chatooga County, Georgia

Keep in mind that these names are what the human transcribers wrote and are the names used by the Ancestry.com computer search algorithm. Most of the time, the accuracy of the transcribers is not bad, but sometimes they are. Inspection of the handwriting on the actual census forms shows only one difference between what I read and what the transcribers read in the names of the heads of these families:

• John Averett family in District 724, Muscogee County, Georgia
• Allen Averett family in Stewart County, Georgia
• Soloman Averett family in District 787, Muscogee County, Georgia
• John Everett family in Yazoo County, Mississippi
• Wilie H.H. Everett in Davidson's District 290, Jasper County, Georgia
• Jas. Everette in District 952, Chatooga County, Georgia

Sometimes the difference is startling so it is worth your while to see if you, being familiar with the names in question, can come up with a better transcription than what is supplied.  Examples:  "Drury Avent" should read "Drury Averett", "Thos. Avoritt" should be "Thos [or Thomas] Averett", and (worst of all):  "Philip Hockenburg" was mis-transcribed/incorrectly "corrected" by another genealogy researcher as "John Everitt". (!!!)

Since we are fairly certain that the given name of the head of the family was, in fact, "John", we can discard all but the following two families:

• John Averett family in District 724, Muscogee County, Georgia
• John Everett family in Yazoo County, Mississippi

If we had been left with no names, it would have been necessary to go back and think of another strategy to narrow the results. This is why I kept and copied so much data into my spreadsheet. I don't have enough experience yet to know whether this is going to be necessary all the time or not.

The results of the Ancestry.com search indicate that the family in Muscogee County, Georgia (3.5 stars) is much more likely than the family in Yazoo County, Mississippi (1.5 stars) to be our John and Mary Averette family. Is this only because the spelling of the surname "Averett" is exactly what we're looking for, as opposed to "Everett"? (Although"Everett" is said to be a known variant of Averett according to other research on this family.)

How try this:  sort the spreadsheet to find all candidate families in Muscogee County, Georgia. Click to enlarge the result:

We find five families, all named "Averett" and all spelled that same way, each residing in Muscogee County, Georgia. After looking for candidate families in Yazoo County, Mississippi, I found only the one "John Everett".  This doesn't prove that our John Averett is the one in Muscogee County, of course, but I have a feeling that at least some of these Averett families in the county are relatives of our John Averett. Similary, the fact that we found only one "Everett" in Yazoo County does not prove that he isn't my ancestor. But the difference in spelling, unsurprising as it might be, tends to make me think that Muscogee County is the one we want.

Tentative conclusion: It seem more likely that the John Averett family in District 724, Muscogee County, Georgia is the John and Mary Averett family to which my ggg-grandfather David Franklin Averett (1837-1927) belonged in 1840. But I would feel MUCH better if I could find some corroborating evidence to further support this conclusion.

The next step is to extract as much information as possible from the 1840 US Census for this family.

Here are the two images (facing pages, apparently) that report on this family:

1840 John Averett Family - 1840 US Census (page 1 of 2)

1840 John Averett Family - 1840 US Census (page 1 of 2)

Using a blank 1840 US Census template supplied by Ancestry.com, the column headers for the two facing pages are as follows.

Column Headers for Page 1 of 2

• Name of the county, city, ward, town, township, parish, precinct, hundred, or district
• Names of heads of families
• Free white persons (including heads of families)
• Males
• Under 5
• 5 & under 10
• 10 & under 15
• 15 & under 20
• 20 & under 30
• 30 & under 40
• 40 & under 50
• 50 & under 60
• 60 & under 70
• 70 & under 80
• 80 & under 90
• 90 & under 100
• 100+ 
• Females
• Under 5
• 5 & under 10
• 10 & under 15
• 15 & under 20
• 20 & under 30
• 30 & under 40
• 40& under 50
• 50 & under 60
• 60 & under 70
• 70 & under 80
• 80 & under 90
• 90 & under 100
• 100+
• Free colored persons
• Males
• Under 10
• 10 & under 24
• 24 & under 35
• 36 & under 55
• 56 & under 100
• 100 & upwards
• Females
• Under 10
• 10 & under 24
• 24 & under 35
• 36 & under 55
• 56 & under 100
• 100 & upwards

Column Headers for Page 2 of 2

• Slaves
• Males
• Females
• Total
• Number of persons in each family employed in
• Mining
• Agriculture
• Commerce
• Manufacture and trade
• Navigation of the ocean
• Navigation of canals, lakes, rivers
• Learned professional engineers
• Pensioners for Revolutionary or military services, included in the foregoing
• Names
• Ages
• Deaf and Dumb, Blind, and Insane White Persons, Included in the foregoing
• Deaf and Dumb
• Under 14
• 14 and under 25
• 25 and upwards
• Blind and Insane
• Blind
• Insane and idiots at public charge
• Insane and idiots at private charge
• Deaf and Dumb, Blind, and Insane Colored Persons, Included in the foregoing
• Deaf, Dumb, and Blind
• Deaf and Dumb
• Blind
• Insane and Idiots
• Insane and idiots at private charge
• Insane and idiots at public charge
• Schools & c.
• Universities or college
• Number of students
• Academies & Grammar Schools
• No. of Scholars
• Primary and Common Schools
• No. of Scholars at Public charge
• No. of white persons over 20 years of age in each family who cannot read and write

Finally, here is a transcription of the 1840 US Census form tentatively associated with my ancestors, John Averett (1809 - unknown) and his wife, Mary Averett (1815 - unknown):

(No. 4) 
SCHEDULE of the whole number of persons within the division allotted to Michael Helaske (difficult to read handwritten name) by the Marshal of the District (or Territory) of Georgia. 


Page 1 of 2 (line 25)

• location = 724th District [difficult-to-read handwriting: G M?]
• name = John Averett
• Free white males under 5 years of age = 1 [probably David Franklin Averett]
• Free white males of age 5 to 9 years = 1 [probably Harris Averett]
• Free white males of age 30 to 39 years = 1 [husband/father John Averett]
• Free white females under 5 years of age = 1 [probably Catherine Averett]
• Free white females of age 5 to 9 years = 1 [probably Mary Averett]
• Free white females of age 20 to 29 years = 1 [probably wife/mother Mary Averett]
• Free colored persons = 0
• Slaves = 0

Page 2 of 2 (line 25)

• total number of persons = 6
• no marks under any other headings, including the type of employment

I am relieved that this family owned no slaves but I am disappointed that the occupation of the husband/father John Averett was not marked. I suspect that it was an oversight and that, had it been marked, it would have indicated that he was employed in "Agriculture" because the 1850 US Census and the 1860 US Census both indicate that he was a farmer in those years.

Since this is the first time I've discussed this location in this particular blog, I have included a Wikipedia map showing the location of Muscogee County with respect to the rest of the state of Georgia. Material on Wikipedia is copyrighted under Creative Commons, which I believe gives me permission to use it here, since I have specified where it came from. Click the image to see the full Wikipedia entry for Muscogee County.