Volume 21, No. 3 • October 2003CELEBRATING 100 YEARS OF FLYING and Georgia Archives WeekThis year, Georgia Archives Week was celebrated from October 5th through October 11th. The Troup County Archives will have several special activities during this time. Located at 136 Main Street, the Archives is the repository of Troup County’s governmental and community history. The building was originally constructed in 1917 as the LaGrange National Bank. In 1981, the Callaway Foundation Inc., renovated the building for use as an Archives and gave it to the Troup County Historical Society. The Archives opened in January 1983.Just in time for Georgia Archives Week, the Troup County Archives will be opening a new exhibit commemorating the 100 years of aviation since the Wright Brothers made the world’s first powered flight in December 1903. Focusing on the growth of aviation in Troup County and the development of the LaGrange - Callaway Airport, the exhibit will feature photographs and artifacts. On Saturday, October 11th, the Archives held an open house from 9:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. If you missed that date, come during our regular operating hours and learn what the Archives has for you and how to use its resources. How does the Troup County Archives make a difference in our daily lives? Government and court records of Troup County are stored in the Archives as are the records of the City of LaGrange and the Troup County Board of Education. The city and county governments use the Archives to store, maintain, and retrieve records for their use and for the general public as well. Some examples of the records maintained at the Archives are: 1828 Superior Court Records; 1930s student transcripts; 1900s marriage applications, and building and tax records. One of the most requested services by visitors to the Archives is that of providing them copies of their public school student transcripts. The collection at the Archives includes a large cross section of LaGrange and Troup County’s community history as well. The Archives maintains manuscript collections that include letters, diaries, plantation ledgers, church and club records, photographs, books, and pamphlets that relate to this area. These collections include the Maddox and the Johnson Genealogy Records, Cason Callaway and Callaway Gardens, LaGrange High School, and LaGrange College Archives. You can find descriptions of these collections at the research desk and at the Archives website: www.trouparchives.org. Genealogists will find a treasure trove of information at the Archives. The local history library, at the Archives, contains books relating to the families of Troup and many other Georgia counties in addition to most of the southeastern states. There are also City directories, school yearbooks, microfilm of Georgia’s census records, and family histories available for your use. So please visit the Archives, see what is available to you. Hours are Monday: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., Wednesday-Friday 9-5, and Saturday 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. For more information call (706) 884-1828 or e-mail info@trouparchives.org.
VALENTINE’S DAY, 2004Please reserve February 14, 2004 to celebrate the coming of MoM, the Museum on Main. A black tie fundraising event will be held at Highland County Club. The Cavaliers Orchestra of Columbus will perform. They promise to be a great band to dance to and listen to all evening long. This promises to be a very special event! Please put it on your calendar now!CASON & VIRGINIA CALLAWAY HOME ON TOUROn October 18 and November 29, 2003, the Cason and Virginia Callaway Home at Blue Springs in Harris County will be open to the public for tours. Tours are at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. and cost $35. per person. Advanced reservations are required. Proceeds go to the nonprofit Ida Cason Callaway Foundation to support environmental education. For more information or to reserve a place on the tour, call 706-663-5154.This is a rare opportunity to see the place where Cason and Virginia Callaway raised their family and entertained dignitaries, including Franklin D. Roosevelt. The oldest part of the log home was designed for Fuller and Alice Callway in 1931 with significant additions being made between 1936 and 1938. Cason and Virginia began living in the home full-time in 1938 after he retired from Callaway Mills. The home, garage and outbuildings were designed by architects Ivey and Crook. The log home is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. CYRUS JENKINS DIARY ON THE INTERNETCyrus Jenkins grew up in Bass Crossroads in northern Troup County, the son of Cyrus R. Jenkins, a prominent farmer. At age twenty-four, he went off to fight for his homeland. He joined the Meriwether Volunteers, Company B, 13th Georgia Infantry Regiment. On May 12, 1864, he became one of the 401 soldiers from Troup County who died during the Civil War
Along with many other soldiers, he has been remembered by later generations of his family. Unlike other local casualties he left part of his heart and soul behind. He filled a diary between June 11, 1861 and April 1862. Jenkins describes daily life as a soldier, including food, transportation, and friendships, along with comments about battles. Jenkins probably filled a couple of others diaries as well but those have not survived. A descendant, Mrs. Wynette Dodson Cook, gave the diary to the Troup County Archives in 1987. The Jenkins diary has been available to researchers at the Archives since its donation and has been well used. Portions of the diary has among the primary documents featured in notebooks given to teachers participating in Heritage Education since 1995. In the fall of 2003, one hundred and forty years after it was written, the diary became available to a much larger audience. The Digital Library of Georgia, with support from the Troup County Archives, has made the diary available on its Galileo Website as part of Georgia HomePLACE. There is a link at http://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/jenkins/ Along with scans of each page of the diary and a full transcript of the contents, the website gives a chronicle of Jenkins’ time in the Civil War and has links to related sites, including a map from the Library of Congress of the Gauley Bridge in western Virginia (now West Virginia). The new webpage has been linked to the Troup County Archives website at www.trouparchives.org SEARCHING FOR DABNEY COSBYDabney Cosby lived in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. He was a builder, contractor, and brick mason. He was noted for his very fine brick walls. He worked with Thomas Jefferson at the University of Virginia and he did buildings and courthouses in Virginia and North Carolina. A researcher recently inquired if we knew the location of a portrait of Cosby. A printed source states that the only known portrait of Cosby is owned by descendants of LaGrange. The descendants have a different last name. The portrait is believed to be an oil portrait.If you know where the portrait is or where it might be, please call Kaye Minchew at the Troup County Archives at 706-884-1828 or e-mail at kaye@trouparchives.org.
CHRISTMAS GIFT IDEASFrom the Bookstore at the ArchivesTROUP COUNTY IN VINTAGE POSTCARDSPublished by Arcadia Publishing Company, 2002. This volume looks back at LaGrange, Hogansville, West Point, and the surrounding area through twentieth century postcards. Topics include textile mills, downtown scenes, churches and schools, cotton pickers, trains and depots, and much more. Authors were Chris Cleaveland, Clark Johnson, Kaye Lanning Minchew, and Stephen Johnson. 128 pages, 220 postcards, indexed. Price $19.99LAFAYETTE: AN ACTIVITY BOOKHighlights the Revolutionary War hero’s role in American and Troup County history. Price $2.00HISTORY OF TROUP COUNTYBy Clifford Smith, 1933. Reprinted with a new personal name and subject index. Price $45.00TREASURES OF TROUP COUNTY: A PICTORIAL HISTORYA 263 page volume filled with over 400 black and white and color photographs. This coffee-table book makes a handsome addition to any office or home. Both longtime residents and people just moving into the area are fascinated by the chapters on education, religion, industry, military, leisure, commercial, and modern day life. Authors Glenda Major and F. Clark Johnson, III, worked with a committee of Troup County residents to depict the history of Troup County through photographs, maps, and illustrations. Price $35.00TRAVELS THROUGH TROUP COUNTY: A GUIDE TO ITS ARCHITECTURE AND HISTORYby John Lawrence, Professor of Art at LaGrange College. The 138 page book features 100 photographs of historic houses and buildings located in LaGrange, West Point, Hogansville, and throughout Troup County. Lawrence used a large format camera to make the beautifully detailed photos. Each has a caption highlighting architectural details, the history of the structure and the community. Maps drawn by Randall Allen will help motorists tour the county and study the structures in person. The book also contains a short, but thorough, history of Troup County written by Julie Turner. Softbound Price $15.00FERRELL GARDENS: A GROWING HISTORYThis film produced by the Troup County Historical Society and Kinekom of LaGrange spotlights the 154-year-old gardens during all four seasons of the year and includes an interview with Mrs. Alice H. Callaway. Historical photos of the Gardens are also featured in the program. Price $15.00PAID IN KIND: THE HISTORY OF MEDICINE IN TROUP COUNTY, 1831-1930,Glenda Major, author. An important reference book about Troup County’s history. Documents the central role doctors and medicine have played in the county’s development. Over 300 pages, indexed, with photographs and medical illustrations. Price $12.50EARLY MARRIAGES, TROUP COUNTY, GEORGIA, 1828-1900,compiled by Merle Bruce. Listed alphabetically by groom and indexed with bride’s name. Reference given to marriage books in Probate Office. Price $30.00MY ANCESTORS’ RECORDSA 3-ring color-coded genealogy workbook for organizing family information. Price $25.00FROM THE BRUSH ARBOR TO THE TEMPLE BEAUTIFUL: A HISTORICAL COMPILATION OF AFRICAN-AMERICAN CHURCHES IN TROUP COUNTY, GAby Oliver N. Greene, Sr. Contains brief histories of all African-American Churches in the county. Price $25.00MEMORIES IN MARBLE: HILL VIEW AND HILL VIEW ANNEX CEMETERIESby F. C. Johnson, III. Hardbound volumes gives complete transcription of tombstones in the two adjoining cemeteries which was the principal burial place for LaGrange and surrounding Troup County from 1830 until the mid-20th century. Price $30.00PEOPLE OF ANTEBELLUM TROUP COUNTY, GA.by F.C. Johnson, III. Includes censuses of the county for 1830 through 1860 plus the 1850 & 1860 slave schedules and the 1850 mortality schedule. Additional lists include original land owners of Troup County and genealogical & historical abstracts from Troup County Court cases. Indexed. Price $38.50HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF HOGANSVILLE, 1830-1970by Jane Strain. A very informative pamphlet which traces the development of this northeastern Troup County town from its earliest days as the site of William Hogan’s plantation to its Centennial in 1970. Price $7.00ESTATE RECORDS OF TROUP COUNTY, GEORGIA, 1827-1850,compiled by Randall Allen and Danny Knight. 433 pages, hard cover, indexed. Iincludes abstracts of all entries recorded in Troup County Inferior Court’s will books and return books for the first twenty-three years of the county’s existence. Sources are listed so researchers can locate and examine original records. Price $35.00FAMILY, CHURCH, AND COMMUNITY CEMETERIES OF TROUP COUNTY, GEORGIA,compiled by Dorothy McClendon, Lillie Lambert, and Danny Knight. 502 pages, indexed, listed by locations. Includes descriptions of graves and inscriptions. Price $47.50ORACLE OF THE AGES, REFLECTIONS ON THE CURIOUS LIFE OF FORTUNE TELLER MAYHAYLEY LANCASTER by Dot Moore with Katie Lamar Smith. A fascinating review of the life of one of West Georgia’s most unforgettable characters. Price $23.95AND A VARIETY OF OTHER BOOKS, including ones published by the Historic Chattahoochee Commission and For Love of County, prepared by dr. Tom West. Come by the Archives to look at these books or pick up your gifts. To order and have books mailed to you, call the Archives at 706-884-1828 and charge to a credit card. RECENT ACCESSIONS AT THE ARCHIVESAdamson, Mary Carroll, LaGrange. People’s Bank memorabilia, Veteran’s Driver’s License, Troup County School Report Card, 1933.Bledsoe, Rudy, Columbus. Photographs of Pauline Nasworthy’s 25th Year Award, Callaway Mills. Bond, Bobby, TN. Photographs of LaGrange Theater, c. 1970s. Bradshaw, Vivian, Manchester. Information on Dolly Madison Inn of Manchester and Ethel Lords Gregg. Cannady, Irene, LaGrange. A Pictorial History of Emanuel County, Georgia. Davidson, William, West Point. Tap Roots: Journal of the Genealogical Society of East Alabama. 1965-2003. Dozier, Joe R., Montgomery. Dozier Family History. Dunson, Sanford A., Rome, GA. Photograph of LaGrange Light Guards and Troup Hussars at encamptment in Griffin, GA, 1892. Edwards-Pitman Enviornmental, Inc., Atlanta. Hamilton Road Historic Resources Survey Report. Evans, Roz, Mountville. Photographs of Butler H. Evans, Sr. Flanagan, Faye, LaGrange. Information on Walker-Gilbert families. French, Thomas L., Columbus. Covered Bridges of Georgia. Horvath, Louise C., LaGrange. History of The Eli Freeman Family. Jackson, Barry, LaGrange. Photographs of J. Harold Hardy, Jr., Wilbur Perkins, and Camp Meriwether, CCC Camp. Jones, Ida Florine Tarver, LaGrange. Information on Tri-County Area Albany State College Alumni Assocation and records for Troup Retired Educators Assocation. Kelly, Charles D. and LaGrange Callaway Airport. Photographs of airport, 1950s-2002. King, Stephen and Anne, LaGrange. Timmons-Jennings Collection, 1867. Court record, letter. Lupold, John, Columbus, GA. Photocopies of Warren Temple Methodist Church history. Knight, Thomas Daniel, LaGrange. 1950 era FM Radio, Spindle from Callaway Mills, Calumet Plant. Moore, Dot, Montgomery, AL. Alabama history research sites. Moore, George, LaGrange. Photographs of classes and staff of East Depot Street High School, 1966-67. Oubre, Jo, LaGrange. Copies of Wesleyan Christian Advocate, 1911-1921. Phillips, Shep, LaGrange. Copy of charter for Lafayette Chapter, Military Officers Association of America. Smrekar, Pam, LaGrange. LaGrange High School Granger Blues, school newspapers, 1986-1990 Tankersley, Joseph J., Appling, GA. Our Tankersely Ancestors. Thomas, Diana Irwin, LaGrange. Center School class photographs, 1949-1951. Tomlin, Dave, LaGrange. Burroughs adding machine used by Hutchinson-Traylor Insurance Company. Traylor, Elizabeth C., LaGrange. Kitchen utensils, washboards, darning block, butter mold, ice tongs, c. 1900s Welsch, Patricia, Orange Park, FL. Photocopied pages from the Bible of Jimmie Clark Harris, 1890. Westbrook, Tom and Mary Ellen, LaGrange. Prescription can from Jacob’s Pharmacy in West Point, 1941. MUSIC COLLECTIONThe Troup County Archives is starting a Troup County music collection and would appreciate donations to this collection. We would like to receive albums, cd-roms, sheet music, information about musicians, and other memorabilia.Under the guidance of Accessions Archivist Barry Jackson, the collection will include all kinds of music -- from gospel to folk to classical to rock to rap. Music has been made by professional musicians as well as many amateurs who sing and play solely for the love of music. The primary requirement to be part of the Troup County music collection is that the writer or performer must have a solid Troup County connection. The Archives already has several items in its Troup County Music Collection. Some of the items include a book about Sacred Harp or shape note singing. The first Sacred Harp singing took place in Long Cane in the 1840s. Another item in the collection is an album produced by the LaGrange Junior High band of 1963-64. We also have albums produced by Trepur and Ridgecrest recording labels. One of the recent donations to the Troup County Archives is a cd-rom featuring piano music by Julia Kellar. Mrs. Kellar has played the piano for the First Baptist Church of LaGrange for many years. She also taught music at LaGrange High School for twelve years. Her professionally produced cd-rom contains many traditional religious songs. We expect Archives’ researchers and visitors in ten years, and especially, in say fifty to one hundred years, will be thrilled to be able to listen to this music and compare music recorded in 2003 with what is being played at that time. For this collection to truly reflect music in Troup County and West Georgia, we need your help! If you have albums, cds, sheet music, or other memorabilia of Troup County musicians, please consider donating these items to the Troup County Archives where they can be shared with researchers for decades to come. Music is an important part of Troup County’s heritage and with your assistance, we can build a collection which truly represents this heritage.
DOCUMENT SPOTLIGHT:This 1912 map is a recent acquisition by the Troup County Archives. It was prepared by the U. S. Geological Survey and is a soil map of Troup County (only a portion is shown here). It is marked as property of U. S. Air Mail Service and shows a number of forgotten Troup County landmarks, including stores such as Dix Store shown here north of LaGrange and schools which have been out of existence for decades. The map is in color. If you would like to see the map, come to the Archives and ask at the reference desk.
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