Paul K. Graham

Atlas of East and Coastal Georgia Watercourses and Militia Districts Paul K. Graham

Land descriptions in Georgia's headright area refer to watercourses and adjoining land owners to identify boundaries. Tax, census, and other government records are arranged by militia district. Many tax digests also include references to watercourses. Because of their use in legal documents, watercourses and militia districts are the two most important features for locating land and the places people lived in the headright area of Georgia. This book is meant to provide a map reference to those features. Each county is presented on a single page, giving researchers a quick reference that can easily be copied and used for note taking.

The names of major watercourses are the same today as they were during the earliest periods of settlement. Minor creeks and branches often went unnamed for decades, many only becoming named in the 20th Century. Until the 1840s and 1850s, militia districts were generally named after the captain. Each time a new captain was voted into command, the district name changed. Just before the Civil War, this practice went out of favor and militia district names became permanent. Some retained the name of a captain but most took names of features in the area, like rivers or communities. Because militia districts are minor civil divisions their boundaries have changed regularly over time, with new districts being created and old ones abolished. In this way, they are similar to counties. Unfortunately, limited historical details of militia district boundaries have been kept, it only being in the late 19th Century that boundary descriptions began to be maintained by the state. Researchers can assume that districts with higher numbers were cut from nearby districts with lower numbers. Those interested in researching boundary changes over time should first consult Petitions Concerning Militia Districts at the Georgia Archives (RG 3-1-60).