Good News, Bad News, or Would You Rather Not Have Known?

Edward P. Jones is getting some unusual exposure for his 2004 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, The Known World. In every episode of the new FOX sitcom Stacked, which stars Pamela Anderson as a, um, er, well-endowed bookstore clerk, a poster of the cover of Jones’ novel appears clearly on one of the walls of the set.

I highly recommend The Known World to genealogists and all others who like good historical fiction. As for Stacked, the less said, the better . . . .

African-American Civil War Memorial

Don’t remember if I mentioned this before, but an important though under-recognized icon is the African-American Civil War Memorial and Museum in Washington, D.C. Its Wall of Honor lists the names of more than 209,000 members of the United States Colored Troops. The Memorial, a unit of the National Park Service, opened on October 27, 2004. The Museum is a project of a nonprofit foundation, The African-American Civil War Memorial Freedom Foundation. The site is located at Vermont and U streets NW in Washington’s historic Shaw neighborhood.

Arlington National Cemetery

There are two websites for Arlington National Cemetery. The official site, arlingtoncemetery.org, is run by the United States Army and is filled with visitor information and historical data. Another great site, arlingtoncemetery.net, is privately owned, and contains an equally rich abundance of data.

Finding Graves at National Cemeteries

I know I mentioned this before, but now is an appropriate time to repeat it. To find a grave in a national cemetery, go to the Department of Veterans Affairs National Cemeteries page and click on the Gravesite Locator link.

. . . I had a great trip to Upson County, Georgia. I really enjoyed meeting Penny Cliff and the folks at the Thomaston-Upson Archives. And the fact that I found so little was in itself a discovery of importance.

Here’s what I learned: there is no real obituary for George Preston Birdsong in the Thomaston Times, although the paper did run a memorial written by a committee of the local militia camp. There is no surviving mention of why he orhis brother Albert went to Texas in 1884 or why they returned about twenty years later. There is no accounting for their property, or for that matter, their share of their parents’ property. In essence, these two Birdsong heirs disappear for twenty years and re-appear to die and be buried in Upson County.

Was their disappearance encouraged by their family? Were the family records expunged? Why is so little known about the eldest son of one of the most prominent citizens of Upson County?
For some answers, we’ll go to Texas [electronically, that is], and perhaps also, we’ll ask David E. Paterson, one of the most knowledgeable Upson County historians.

Thomaston, Georgia–Penny Cliff and staff at the Thomaston-Upson County Archives have already pulled several useful records by the time I arrive about noon. I tell Ms. Cliff my hypothesis (see (see She’s Spanish, BREAKING NEWS, and BREAKING NEWS Part II). She seems fascinated in the issue presented: Was George Preston Birdsong the father of Matilda Manson’s son Otis?

We know that George Preston Birdsong was the oldest son of George Lawrence Forsyth Birdsong ["Larry"] and Susan Francis Thweatt Birdsong. Records in the Archives show that Larry Birdsong’s family was well-off and well-known in Upson County. Larry had a plantation known as Fernside about 10 miles southeast of Thomaston. He served as sheriff of Upson County and briefly, was captain of the Upson militia company that was later mustered into Confederate service. The Birdsongs had about 45 slaves, according to papers found in the family Bible, available at the Archives. Larry Birdsong was a noted sportsman and author.

Larry Birdsong died in 1869. The 1870 census shows Susan Birdsong as the head of household, with all of her children, including 29 year-old George Preston, living with her. But by 1880, Susan and most of the rest of the family lives in the Blackankle District, apart from George Preston, who lives in the Hootenville District, next door to Matilda Manson. Fernside was in the Hootenville District. The evidence suggests that George Preston Birdsong, his brother, Albert Hamill Birdsong, and Matilda Manson and her son Otis, all left Upson County in 1884 for Milam County, Texas. They all show up in the 1900 census for Milam County.

We know that George Preston Birdsong died on June 19, 1905, and was buried in Upson County.

Penny Cliff suggested that there might be a will or a deed of property that would refer to Matilda Manson. And she helped me look in both the Archives and the Probate Judge’s office. No luck. There’s no evidence of any testamentary disposition–with or without a will. There is no appointment of an administrator, no inventory or appraisal. So what happened to George Preston Birdsong’s property in Georgia when died? Did he even have any property in Georgia when he died or had he disposed of it when he left for Texas? If he had previously disposed of it, where’s the evidence?

It occurred to me that perhaps there was some correspondence between this scion and his prominent relatives. Penny Cliff thought this likely, but said the Archives had none. She picked up the telephone and rang a Birdsong relative who lives in Thomaston [as a number do]. She asked if the relative knew of any letters to or from George Preston. The answer was no.

We looked for other records, but found none. So the situation is that the oldest son of one of the most prominent families in the county removes himself to a remote location in Texas [where he works as a night watchman, living in rented accomodations], and there is virtually no contemporaneous record that survives. At this point, it occurred to me that the deafening silence of the evidentiary record might be no accident . . . .

This largely rural county is about 65 miles south of Atlanta–close enough to be tugged out of its agrarian orbit by the gravitational pull of the metro area’s outer suburbs. I think in about 10 years, it’ll be captured by the urban galaxy, just as nearby Clayton and Henry counties already have been. As close as it is to Atlanta, the drive down U.S. 19 takes forever because of the traffic lights about every mile through the outer suburbs.

Today, it’s oppressively hot, but thankfully, only mildly (65%) humid. Crossing from Pike County, I was struck first by the number of churches. Every variety of Christian church and Upson County’s got two of ‘em. A number of the names of the churches I recognize from my research. The county has a population of just over 27,500, with a median household income of about $31,000, far below the national average of $42,000, according to 2000 federal census data. Thomaston is the county seat, population about 9,500.

I head first to the Thomaston-Upson Archives, near downtown Thomaston. The Archives is located in an historic building across from the Government Complex. The archives is a joint project of the city and county governments and the Upson County Historical Society. The place is under the direction of an historian-archivist named Penny Cliff, assisted by a small cohort of staff [two] and volunteers [seems like everybody else in town]. Cliff is a highly knowledgeable, professionally demeanored but exceedingly enthusiastic director, who is English by birth. She greets visitors warmly and the locals appear to have developed a strong affection for her.

The Archives seem to have everything there is to know about Upson County history. But sometimes, it’s what you don’t find that speaks volumes.

Next: Silence Is Golden

Headed off today for Thomaston, Upson County, Georgia, in search of the Birdsong-Manson connection (see She’s Spanish, BREAKING NEWS, and BREAKING NEWS Part II). I hope to shed light on the circumstantial evidence described in the blog pieces highlighted here. Probably will spend two days in Georgia at the Thomaston-Upson Archives and the Georgia State Archives in Morrow. We’ll update as soon as possible!

Other Upson County Links

Upson County USGenWeb Archives

African-American Research in Upson County

I think I mentioned at the outset that some people get into genealogy for family medical reasons . . . that is, to find the genetic root of some disease or condition. That’s not why I’m in genealogy. But I did get into this knowing I have a condition that might have some genealogical clues as to its origin.

A little over three years ago, I received the shocking diagnosis of Parkinson’s Disease (PD), a condition for which there is presently no cure. [Please click on the link. It's important to get the whole story]. I was just a few months past my forty-seventh birthday and had successfully [though quite painfully] completed my twenty-fifth Air National Guard physical fitness test. But for several months, my right leg had been dragging slightly when I walked and for some reason, writing with a pen or pencil was becoming an aggravating annoyance.

Over the last three years, I’ve been treated by excellent neurologists prescribing the appropriate state-of-the-art treatments. But this is a progressive disease. The symptoms have gone from mere aggravation to significant life issues. Today, I cannot walk unaided and I do not use handwriting at all unless legally necessary to sign my name [and that's totally unlike my historic signature].

I take numerous medications to control my tremors and try to slow the progression of the deterioration of my brain cells. It takes hours to get dressed some days and if my job would allow it, I’d stay away from public events as much as possible. Sometimes typing is too much of a pain; hence, the recent hiatus turned out to be much longer than intended.

Last month, my doctor told me that I probably actually have a so-called “Parkinson’s-plus” condition known as “corticobasal degeneration,” or CBD. In this condition, the symptoms progress quite a bit more rapidly than with PD itself. It’s very difficult to make a diagnosis of CBD separate from PD, I’m told.

Most PD is not thought to be genetic, though the causes are not known. But in ancient records when some is described as having “palsy,” it sometimes may have been PD or a PD-esque condition.

So now I belong to a club I really would’ve declined if given a choice. Michael J. Fox, Muhammad Ali, the late Pope John Paul II, and Janet Reno are some of the better-known members of the club.

Me? Thanks for asking. Mostly, I’m okay for now. Life must go on.

Parkinsons Links

National Parkinson Foundation

American Parkinson Disease Association, Inc.

Dr. Abe Lieberman’s PD Forum

Well, I’m back. Sorry about that, but it was unavoidable. While I was away, I moved from one dwelling to another (leasee was up) and did some reflecting on the meaning of life. (Really). Also gained some genealogical insights which I will share here soon. Don’t plan to bail out for that long a time ever again. Coming next: a personal catharsis.