1864 Census for Re-Organizing the Georgia Militia

©  Kathy Duncan, 2022

I went by the Mesquite Library this afternoon to pick up a book that was on hold for me and decided that I had time for a minute of research. After wandering into the genealogy section, I ended up in the section on Georgia, and a title caught my eye: 1864 Census for Re-Organizing the Georgia Militia by Nancy J. Cornell. I pulled it off the shelf even though I knew that my ancestors who were still living in Georgia were probably too old to serve, but maybe young enough to be included in this census.

Both of my ancestors were included in this census. They were both living in the 24th Senatorial District - 808th Militia District of Marion County, Georgia:

Chapman, Ambros, 59 yrs. 4 mos, Farmer, b. GA

Meadows, Vincen, 59 yrs., Farmer, b. GA

and Vincent's son Leonidus 16 yrs, 11 mos, b. GA 

It makes sense for them to be in the same area of Marion County since their children, Abner Chapman and Martha Frances Meadows, married each other.

When I got home I googled this census to learn more about why it was taken and with the slim hope that I might find it online. My search led me to the Georgia Archives Virtual Vault where the images for this census are online. Researchers should be warned, though, that these records are arranged by county, senatorial district, and militia district, so using Cornell's book first makes using this collection much easier.

On 14 December 1863, the Georgia Assembly passed an Act to re-organize the state militia. They were in need of soldiers to replenish the army and to protect the home front. Every senatorial district was to become a separate military district although the 24th senatorial district was composed of more than one militia district. All free, white men between 16 and 60 who were not already serving in the Confederate army were to be enrolled on these militia lists. The original lists also included information on the kind of gun each man owned, its condition, and whether he had a horse, saddle, or bridle. Looking at the original image was going to give me more information than Cornell's book! Many of the men on this list served for six months after the census was taken. 

There are, however, significant differences between Cornell's book and the original images. Cornell stated in her introduction that her lists were first "abstracted from the typed lists prepared by the Georgia Pension and Record Department. They were then checked against the handwritten original lists for additional genealogical information and reasons for exemptions." The most obvious, glaring difference between Cornell's list and the original list is that Cornell's list includes given names while the original includes mostly just an initial. Cornell did not pull these given names out of a hat. The typed list prepared by the Pension and Record Department must contain the given names, and since it is typed, it is not a period document. Somewhere there is another level of document that needs to be consulted.

From the original record:

Ambrose Chapman appears as A. Chapman, age 59 years and 4 months, born in S Carolina instead of Georgia. "DBS" seems to stand for a double-barrel shotgun in bad condition. He did not have a horse, saddle, or bridle. 

Click on Images to Enlarge

Vincent Meadows appears as V. Meadows, age 59, born in Georgia, with a single-barrel shotgun in good condition while his son Leonidus Meadows, age 16 years 11 months, born in Georgia, also has a single-barrel shotgun in good condition. Neither of them had a horse, saddle, or bridle. 

Click on Image to Enlarge

Next, I need to figure out if there are any additional documents in the Georgia Pension and Record Department. 

William Dollarhide's Finding 1861 - 1869 Names of Residents & Civil War Soldiers