Gracie Latrelle

Tag: genealogy

  • Georgia Was First Settled by Criminals!

    Did you know that the state of Georgia was first settled by criminals?

    The settlement of Georgia began with James Oglethorpe; a British soldier whose mission was to help the prisoners who were being treated poorly by the British prison system.

    Photo by KATRIN BOLOVTSOVA on Pexels.com

    Oglethorpe was a Parliament member and a humanitarian. He worked tirelessly to help the prisoners especially those who were imprisoned on minor charges for instance like imprisonment of unpaid dept and with his position in the British Parliament, it gave him the access to men to fund a debtor’s colony in the New World and after three years King George II approved it which would become the 13th colony of Georgia.

    However, Oglethorpe’s mission was put on hold when the King George stipulated that the colony must make money and return it back to the crown. Oglethorpe then gathered 114 men, women and children and set sail for the new colony of Georgia.

    The first of Oglethorpe’s ships landed in Georgia in 1732 and by February of 1733, Oglethorpe had friended the local natives and negotiated a land plot near Savannah Georgia to settle.

    Back in Britian before sailing for the new land, the colonists were gifted with cotton seeds which became the main crop of the colony of Georgia and still is one of the main crops of the state of Georgia today.

    After arriving in the new colony, Britain then sent over 60,000 men, women and children who were considered ex-convicts but only a few were sent to Georgia. The rest were sent to Maryland and Virginia to settle.

    Although Oglethorpe never reached his goal of making Georgia a dept free colony, but he did want to be certain that everyone who settled in the colony had an equal chance of becoming a prosperous citizen.

    Although, Oglethorpe never succeeded on making Georgia a place where the colonists could do for themselves, colonize and learn to trade, he did succeed on founding the colony now the state of Georgia.

  • One Of the Oldest Gristmills in Georgia is in North Georgia

    Located on West Chickamauga Creek lies a very important part of Georgia’s history!

    The mill was built by a man named James Gordon who came from Gwinnett County, Georgia (Atlanta) in 1836.

    The mill served the community as one of the first general stores in the area. A blacksmith shop was also located nearby.

    The stagecoach and mail passed through twice a week.

    During the Civil War or “War Between the States” if you will, Confederate General Braxton Bragg and the Confederate Army of Tennessee used the mill as their headquarters from September 9 through the 10th of 1863.

    On September 10, 1863, General Bragg moved his headquarters out of the mill to nearby LaFayette Georgia and after doing so the next day Union troops occupied the mill and surrounding areas.

    On September 13 through the 18th of 1863, the Battle of Chickamauga drew troops to the North and the mill was once again used as a headquarters for the Confederate army but not for General Bragg and his army this time but rather General Joseph “Fighting Joe” Wheeler and his cavalry corps.

    The mill was later captured back by the Union Army in the winter of 1863. The Union used the second story of the mill as a Masonic Lodge.

    Sadly in 1867, the mill that had been around over 30 years and survived America’s deadliest wars burnt.

    James Lee, James Gordon’s partner rebuilt the mill on the same site that the first one had burnt and that is the mill that still stands today.

    For years the mill stood empty but yet full of history and in 1993 Mr. Frank Pierce purchased the mill and restored it to operating condition and rebuilt the dam.

    The mill is open from Tuesday through Saturday from 9am to 5pm. Admission is free and you can purchase fresh ground cornmeal on the mill’s site.

    This place is a true Georgia historic site loaded with so much history!