Preface

[ Up ]

Preface

PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The genesis of this history was a handwritten compilation of the children, grandchildren and a few great-grandchildren of George Ashley Youngblood and Sarah Phillips. The compilation was done several years ago by Jean (Strange) Martin for an unrelated project on the Boiling Springs Cemetery being undertaken by another person. During one of my wife's and my annual winter stays in Georgia in the spring of 1991, my sister-in-law, Betty (Becton) Bargeron, gave me a copy of the compilation and we began to try to "fill in the blanks" as best we could. Upon our return to Wisconsin, I wrote to Sypper (Youmans) Youngblood just to request data on her family. She not only provided that, but also suggested some additional names and addresses of other descendants to contact for more family information. From there, the whole project just mushroomed. The more information I got, the more I needed and what started out as a very modest effort to collect some family information, soon turned into an all-consuming effort to obtain more.

The first indication I had that anyone had information on the ancestors of George Ashley Youngblood and Sarah Phillips, other than their parents, was in a letter from Ruby (Hall) Durden, and this sent me off on a whole new search. This included several visits to the archives of the Wisconsin Historical Society in Madison, where I found not only a plethora of general Youngblood history, but also specifics on some members of this Youngblood family. I also visited the branch genealogical library of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints near Milwaukee and found interesting information on "great aunt" Rosa (Youngblood) Nunez, sister of George Ashley Youngblood. Jean and Nan (Waters) Hall helped bring the history to life by providing most of the photographs that are included. Nan also provided me much information on the entire Ulyses Hall family. Jean provided copies of many documents and she was very helpful in encouraging some kin to submit their family information for inclusion in this history.

I am most grateful to Jean, Betty, Sypper, Ruby, and Nan for, in essence, turning this into a comprehensive family history. Along the way, H. Reginald Thompson, familiar as he is with the Emanuel County Courthouse, searched out information for me that I couldn't have gotten any other way. He and Jean Martin have also provided me with much ancillary information; some of the documents they provided me have either been cited or have been reproduced and are included in this history. Brooks W. Lovelace, Jr., who had already gathered much information on the Youngbloods, but particularly on the largest branch, that of George Wyatt Youngblood, and who had it computerized, was instrumental in providing me with a vast amount of data that substantially reduced the number of people I had to contact. If it hadn't been for the data he provided, the information on this branch of the family wouldn't be nearly as complete as it is.

Special thanks go to Jewell (Youngblood) Strange and Royce Hall for sharing their early memories. Such reminiscences give a personal touch to the history that would not be possible any other way.

My daughter, Kim, helped with the editing and, being as proficient as she is with computers and word processing, she became my savior on more than one occasion after I started computerizing all the data. My wife, Dotty, provided much assistance with research, editing, proofreading and helping me keep all the kin straight. My brother, Bill, kindly agreed to run the master copy on his laser printer, thus greatly enhancing the quality of the printing and my son, Geoff, did the binding of the individual books, thereby helping us to economize on the production.

My appreciation also goes to all the contributors who are listed starting on page 103, because without their time and willing help, this history would not have been possible. I have enjoyed putting this history together, but I have especially enjoyed getting to know many kin through our correspondence and, in some cases, personal visits.

Appreciation must also be expressed to the staffs of the libraries and courthouses which we visited in Swainsboro, GA, Dublin, GA, Barnwell, SC, and Edgefield, SC and the library at East Georgia College, Swainsboro. Almost without exception the personnel were very courteous and went that little bit extra to help us in our research. Special mention must be made of the John E. Ladson, Jr. Genealogical and Historical Foundation Library and its manager, Emilie K. Hartz. Located in Vidalia, GA and started as a private collection and still funded primarily by the founder, it is now a branch of the Ohoopee Regional Library and contains one of the finest primarily regional genealogical collections in existence. Ms. Hartz is extremely knowledgeable and helpful; she answered all of our questions and in many cases, pointed us in new directions, suggesting additional sources to check out.

I also visited the Georgia Department of Archives and History in Atlanta and it was here that I discovered that the putative patriarch of this family, Spencer Youngblood, was a widower at the time of his marriage to Martha Martin.

A few words about the organization of the book. It is essentially divided into two sections which are separated by the photographs. The first section contains the general histories and historical anecdotes related to the community of Kemp. The second section contains the individual biographies, non-Youngblood and related Youngblood lines, a Youngblood generational listing, copies of various documents, and the index.

The biographies are organized in a manner that is very common in genealogies. Each descendant of George Ashley Youngblood and Sarah Phillips has been assigned a number (always in order of birth within a family, from oldest to youngest). To follow each family line and to find information on a particular descendant, one only needs to turn the pages until a separate listing is found for that person. For example, Vera Mae is number 9 under George Ashley and Sarah. To find her biography, look for separate listing number 9 on page 40. Then, to find information on any one of her children, look for that person's assigned number on a subsequent page. Continue this process for succeeding generations. Conversely, a person's ancestors can be traced back in the same manner. After the initial appearance of a person, he or she may later be skipped either because (1) the person died at an early age, or (2) no further information was available. Spouses appear with their respective descendant, as do the few step-, half-, and adopted kin who are included.

The following abbreviations are used in the biographies:

b. date of birth; place of birth

d. date of death

i. place of interment

m. date of marriage; place of marriage

o. occupation

r. current residence (shown only once, unless spouses live at separate residences)

NOTE: Additions and corrections made since the book was first published in 1992 are denoted by F or E at the beginning or end of the line. Also, instead of being assigned a number, persons born since 1992 are denoted "NEW".

[ Up ] [ Next ]