by John Stemmons (Author)
Georgia Petitions 1778-1784 contains 256 entries for a very early period in Georgia's history.While that may not seem like very many names, it was during the great upheaval of the Revolutionary War when the population was very small and the residence of people was hard to track. Even though a small percent of the heads of household of Georgia during this period is listed in Georgia Petitions 1778-1784, this book can be very helpful nonetheless. It even includes several petitions for Georgia parishes that existed before county designations were formed and for which almost no records exist other than those kept at Savannah.Of particular note is a petition for Burke County which suffered severe loss of its early records from a number of fires. This petition should be most helpful to those researching in Burke County.It is suggested that those using this book read through the section "List of Petitions" to obtain a flavor of the personal concerns of these people and what was important to them in this exciting historical time. Even at this time of great distress and hardship life had to go on. These petitions are almost like an open window into the lives of these people. Sometimes additional information on individual petitions will be included in this section.Georgia State Motto: "Wisdom, Justice, Moderation"