Towns County, Georgia




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In March and April, 1996, a group of genealogists organized the Georgia Comprehensive Genealogy Database. The idea was to provide a single entry point for all counties in Georgia, where collected databases would be stored. In addition, the databases would be indexed and cross-linked, so that even if an individual were found in more than one county, they could be located in the index.

At the same time, volunteers were found who were willing to coordinate the collection of databases and generally oversee the contents of the web pages.

My name is Tim Seawolf-Self. I'm responsible for Towns County. If you would like to contribute your information to this page, please let me know.

Assistant:  Linda Garrett, Archivist

Georgia State Coordinator: Linda Blum Barton
Assistant State Coordinator: [vacant]
Northeast Regional Assistant:  Liz Nash


If you would like to participate in The Georgia GenWeb Project
 by hosting a county or volunteer to help in the project,
please contact
Linda Blum Barton

GAGenWeb County Selection Table

USGenWeb

Towns County, Georgia History

Towns County, the 117th county formed in Georgia, was created in 1856 from parts of Union and Rabun counties. It was named for George Washington Bonaparte Towns, who was governor of Georgia from 1847 to 1851. Towns County is in the scenic mountains of Northern Georgia.

Chatuge Lake is located in the northern part of the county and reaches into North Carolina. It is a storage facility for the Tennessee Valley Authority and is also a public preserve. Hiawassee, the county seat, and the lake area have long been popular tourist areas. In the 1800s through the 1930s, wealthy families from the lowlands would "summer in the mountains" to escape the heat and disease more prevalent in the more populated areas.

Senator Zell Bryan Miller, a former governor of Georgia, was raised in Young Harris, Towns County. In the early 1960s he and his wife were publishers and editors of the Towns County Herald, a weekly newspaper based in the county seat of Hiawassee. Young Harris is also home to
Young Harris College
.




SPECIAL NOTE:

I would like to find someone from Towns County who is

interested in the Native American history of Georgia and who lives in Towns
County.  Our organization is working with others to bring the beginning of the
Trail of Tears history into Georgia where it belongs.  Georgia was the last
location of the Cherokee Nation of Georgia prior to the 1838 removal - although
portions of the nation extended into Alabama and Tennessee, the capitol was at
New Echota, in Gordon County.   Fort Chastain, a removal fort is located in
Towns County.  We are in need of documenting the history of this fort along with
locating any other existing sites.  If you are or know someone who might be
interested in this effort, please contact me...
Leslie Thomas
Communication Chair




TOWNS COUNTY MESSAGE BOARDS

RESOURCE PAGE

Queries

Please post your contributions directly to the RootsWeb-hosted Board. You may wish to place queries on both the GenConnect Board and this Website.


TOWNS COUNTY QUERIES


For more data and documents, visit the
Union County, GAGenWeb Archives
hosted by Debra Crosby

Brigham Young University Family History Archive


FAMILY TREES

We'll be happy to publish yours!

The Descendants of John Battles Johnson
contributed by Sharon Houston


For the complete 1880 census, please visit the FamilySearch site maintained by
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints

TOWNS COUNTY GEORGIA FOSTERS FROM CENSUS YEARS 1860-1930


TOWNS COUNTY PHOTO GALLERY

Please contribute photos of Towns County, especially civic buildings and points of interest

Photo Gallery, page 1
Photo Gallery, page 2
Photo Gallery, page 3

Documents Contributed by Anita Winkler
 

The Ephraim Byers Family
in Towns and Union Counties, Georgia
 

by Don Byers

This section is still on RootsWeb and cannot be accessed at this time


INDIVIDUAL WEBSITES RELATING TO TOWNS COUNTY

Family History 101.com (main page)

Georgia State Site (sub-page)

The Maddox Family Connections, by Brent Maddox


Towns County Links

Towns County Lookups

Towns County Queries
2004-2005

Georgia GenWeb Links

Other Georgia Links

Surrounding Counties

TOWNS COUNTY ARCHIVED INFORMATION
by Jason Lee Edwards



CENSUS

Citizens of Towns County Georgia,
1860 Census Index
by Frances T. Ingmire
Available at:
APPALACHIAN STATE UNIVERSITY, Belk Library, Boone NC
CALL # F292.T65 I62 1986
 LOCATION: REFERENCE
GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY OF UTAH
Salt Lake City, UT


Towns County Georgia Census Records, 1860-1900
transcribed by Jerry Taylor
Available at:
GEORGIA STATE ARCHIVES, Atlanta, GA
CALL # F292.T65 E32
LOCATION: REFERENCE
GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY OF UTAH
Salt Lake City, UT

CEMETERIES AND GRAVES

Saving Graves--Georgia

Towns County Georgia Cemeteries
by Ted O. Brooke
Available at:
WALLACE STATE LIBRARY, Hanceville AL
  ARKANSAS HISTORY COMMISSION, Little Rock AR
DAR LIBRARY, Washington DC
 ATLANTA HISTORY CENTER, Atlanta GA (
F292.T65 B76 1996)
  GEORGIA DEPARTMENT OF ARCHIVES & HISTORY, Atlanta GA (F292.T65 B76 1996)
 UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA, Athens GA (G 929.509 BRO)
  SEQUOYAH REGIONAL LIBRARY, Canton GA
  CHEROKEE REGIONAL LIBRARY, LaFayette GA
 COBB COUNTY LIBRARY, Marietta GA
 CHATHAM LIBRARIES, Savannah GA
 MOUNTAIN REGIONAL LIBRARY, Young Harris GA (
F 292 T65 B76 1996)
DUCKWORTH LIBRARIES, Young Harris College, Young Harris GA (F292.T65 B76 1996)
  NEWBERRY LIBRARY, Chicago IL
 ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY, Fort Wayne IN
 NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY, NYPL Research Libraries, New York, NY
 MURPHY PUBLIC LIBRARY, Murphy NC
 NORTH CAROLINA STATE ARCHIVES, Raleigh NC
 KNOX COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY, Knoxville TN (
929.37582 B872T)
DALLAS PUBLIC LIBRARY, Central Branch, Dallas TX
GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY OF UTAH, ("The Mormon Library") Salt Lake City, UT
STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF WISCONSIN, University of Wisconsin-Madison WI



We Are Proud to Be the
OFFICIAL OBITUARY ARCHIVES
of the
NORTH GEORGIA NEWS
Archivist and Transcriber:  Linda Garrett

This feature has been temporarily disabled
as of December 15, 2013


Saving Graves--Georgia

MARRIAGES

Marriage Records, 1856-1900, Towns County Georgia
transcribed by Jerry Taylor
 GEORGIA STATE ARCHIVES, Atlanta GA
CALL # F292.T65 T30
 GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY OF UTAH, Salt Lake City, UT
CALL # 975.8282 X2t 

Georgia GenWeb Links

 Georgia GenWeb

 GAGenWeb Archives

US GenWeb

 Georgia in the Civil War Message Board
           
Georgia--1883--Military Pensions (Early Wars)  (contributed by Joy Fisher)

Towns County Links

Towns County, Georgia Surnames
Post your surnames here at this NEW FORMAT! Contact me for posting
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TOWNS COUNTY RESOURCES
Researched by Barbara Caramba-Coker

LIBRARY
Towns County Public Library
99 South Berrong St
Hiawassee, GA 30546
Phone: (706) 896-6169
LIBRARY
Mountain Regional Library
698 Miller Street
Young Harris, GA 30582-4016
Phone: (706) 379-3732
COUNTY RECORDER
Towns County Clerk Of Court
P.O. Box 178
Hiawassee, GA 30546
Phone: (706) 896-2130
NEWSPAPER
Towns County Herald
Mall-Main
Hiawassee, GA 30546
Phone: (706) 896-4454
NEWSPAPER
University of GA EITS Weekly News
ORGANIZATION
Georgia Historical Society
P.O. Box 5063
Rome, GA 30162
ORGANIZATION
Georgia Genealogical Society
P.O. Box 54575
Atlanta, GA 30308
Phone: (706) 475-4404
ORGANIZATION
Northwest Georgia Historical &
Genealogical Society

P.O. Box 5063
Rome, GA 30162
ORGANIZATION
Towns County Historical Society
P.O. Box 35
Hiawassee, GA 30546
ORGANIZATION
Union County Historical Society
P.O. Box 932
Blairsville, GA 30514
BOOKS
Minutes of Old Union Baptist Church
in Young Harris, Towns County Georgia
transcribed by Jerry Taylor
AVAILABLE AT:
GEORGIA STATE ARCHIVES, Atlanta, GA
CALL # BX6480.Y68 O42
LOCATION:  REFERENCE
Hearthstones of Home - the History of
Towns County Georgia

by Jerry Taylor
AVAILABLE AT:
ATLANTA-FULTON CENTRAL LIBRARY, Atlanta GA (
F929.3758 TOWNS)
GEORGIA STATE ARCHIVES, Atlanta GA (F292.T65 T305)
UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA, Athens GA (F292.T65H420 1983)
SEQUOYAH REGIONAL LIBRARY, Canton GA (G 975.828 HEA)
LAFAYETTE-WALKER COUNTY LIBRARY, LaFayette GA 
COBB COUNTY CENTRAL LIBRARY, Marietta GA
FORSYTH COUNTY LIBRARY, Cumming GA
HALL COUNTY LIBRARY, Gainesville GA
VALDOSTA STATE UNIVERSITY, Valdosta GA (
F292.T65 T31)
APPALACHIAN STATE UNIVERSITY, Belk Library, Boone NC (
F292.T65 H43  1983)
MACON COUNTY LIBRARY, Franklin NC
NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY, New York, NY (975.8282 D2h)
GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY OF UTAH, Salt Lake City, UT
STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF WISCONSIN, University of Wisconsin-Madison WI
Please contact Webmaster for more information
Northeast Georgia - A Brief History
(Habersham, Lumpkin, Rabun, Towns, Union,
and White Counties)
by Carroll Proctor Scruggs

Ask your local librarian to obtain print sources on this page through InterLibrary Loan

Surrounding Counties

Georgia Map Showing Towns County

Clay County, NC

Rabun

Habersham

Union

White

Other Georgia Links

 Georgia Vital Records Information
 Georgia Vital Records Information, specific to Towns County
Georgia State Archives
 39th Georgia Infantry Regiment, Web Master: Gerald D. Hodge, Jr.
 Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System
65th Georgia Volunteer Infantry CSA


Map of the Confederacy
1st Georgia Infantry (USA)




US GenWeb Archives Civil War Pensions Project-Georgia hosted by Cyndie Enfinger
Georgia Society, Sons of the American Revolution

Digital Library of Georgia

Visit the Galileo homepage, and check out its Digital Library of Georgia subsection.

Georgia Historical Society Historical Markers

Georgia Archives Historical and Genealogical Societies Lists With Links

Georgia State, County, and City Government Website Links

Georgia Antique Maps and Atlases With Links

Towns County, Georgia Genealogy Facts with Links

Virtual Vault

NATIVE AMERICANS

Creek
http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/history-archaeology/creek-indians
https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Creek_Indians


Cherokee
http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/history-archaeology/cherokee-indians
http://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Cherokee_Indians


Seminole
http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/history-archaeology/seminole-wars
http://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Seminole_Indians


General research tips
https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/American_Indian_Genealogy



Do you have some Towns County resources you would like to see on this web site? Do you have some resources for Towns County and would like to volunteer to help with look-ups? Got a question about what you've seen here? Well...just drop me a line

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