Pulaski County GA Genealogy – Access Genealogy

Biographical Sketch of Mary Fleming

Mary, born August 8, 1821, married William G. Fleming on January 4, 1843. They settled about three miles from Hawkinsville near what is now the Eastman highway, where her youngest son, E. Green Fleming, still lives with his wife, who was Miss Dora Lomon of Cochran. His only son, Robert F., was assistant cashier of the First National Bank of Hawkinsville for some time before enlisting in the army during the World War. Robert was one of Pulaski’s first volunteers to go overseas and served in Company K, 82d Division. He became weakened by the hardships and exposure of long … Read more

Biography of Exum Nathaniel Jelks

Exum Nathaniel Jelks, oldest son of James 0. Jelks, Jr., and Elizabeth Charlotte Philips, was born near Hawkinsville, Georgia, April 6, 1864. Nat received his early education in the public schools of Hawkinsville and his business training at Eastman College, Poughkeepsie, New York. Like his father before him, he has always loved good literature, has read extensively, and has kept himself a well informed person, thoroughly abreast of the times. After returning from Poughkeepsie he was associated with his father in the mercantile business in Hawkinsville, and was also engaged in cotton buying and banking there until 1894. In that … Read more

The Natural History of Ocmulgee Bottoms

Ocmulgee Bottoms is a corridor of the Ocmulgee River Flood Plain in the central region of the State of Georgia that begins at the Fall Line in Macon, GA and continues 38 miles southward to near Hawkinsville, GA. This region is located in Bibb, Twiggs, Houston, Bleckley and Pulaski Counties. The Ocmulgee River’s velocity slows dramatically upon entering the Bottoms and has a serpentine channel. Over the eons, the river here has meandered frequently across the breath of the flood plain, leaving hundreds of ponds and swamps, plus a deep layer of rich, alluvial soil. On top of the alluvial soil is from one to ten feet or red clay that was deposited during the period when cotton was cultivated in the Piedmont, upstream.

Biography of Thomas E. Lovejoy

Among the historic landmarks that took rank and prominence in the days of “Georgia’s Aristocratic Knighthood” was “Old Spalding,” in Macon County, Georgia, and it was here that Thomas E. Lovejoy, the eldest son of the late P. H. and Henrietta Lovejoy, was born, sixty years ago. Graduating in the schools of Hawkinsville, he later finished his business course in Poughkeepsie, New York. He began his career in the grocery business with T. R. Wilcox, under the firm name of Wilcox & Lovejoy, in Hawkinsville. Very soon he became assistant cashier of the Planters Bank of this city, continuing in … Read more

Biography of Captain R. W. Anderson

No history of Pulaski County would be complete without a sketch of that prominent and beloved citizen, Captain Ruel W. Anderson, son of Robert S. and Sallie Wooten Anderson, who was born near Hawkinsville, October 6, 1837, and died May 27, 1903. He was one of thirteen children, nine of whom reached the age of maturity five girls and four boys. He was reared and educated in Pulaski County. He was married while on furlough, February 4, 1864, to Mrs. R. W. Anderson. Agnes Merritt, only daughter of Simon and Maria Merritt, of Stonington, Conn. She died September 2, 1900. … Read more

Biography of W. E. Finleyson

W. E. Finleyson, son of John J. Finleyson, who was born January 29, 1829, in Bibb County Georgia, served in the War Between the States one year. He moved to Wilcox County in 1869, and died August 15, 1878. He married a Miss Nobles, and they had three children: Ellen, who married W. L. Holt; Laura, who married John Pearce; and Amanda, who never married. His wife having died, he married Amanda Goodwin in 1858, and the following children were born to them: L. F. Finleyson, Sarah, Eugene, Belle, W. E., Emma, John Thomas, James B., and Alice. W. E. … Read more

Biography of Matthew Philips

Matthew Philips, son of Exum Philips, Captain of Militia in the Revolutionary War, from North Carolina, was born and died in Edgecombe County, North Carolina. Soon after his death in 1823 his wife, Elizabeth Nicholson Philips, daughter of Colonel John Nicholson and Penelope Mann of North Carolina, moved with her three children to Pulaski County, where other members of the Philips family had already preceded her. She settled first at Longstreet and later bought and settled on what is now the old Philips plantation, two miles east of Hawkinsville. Her children were: Martha Penelope Hooker Philips, who married John C. … Read more

Biography of Pleasant H. Lovejoy

Pleasant H. Lovejoy, public-spirited, civic leader, prominent public official, and Christian gentleman. There is a sentiment and an inspiration among “the old red hills of Georgia” that “breeds and makes real men,” and in this atmosphere, in the county of Jasper, “Plez” Lovejoy first saw the light of day. Filled with energy and courage, he enlisted in the Confederate Army as a 16-year-old boy. Beginning life during the days of Southern reconstruction, facing the struggle and deprivations that fell on every one, he took his stand in the forefront of the battle for existence and, aided by sacrifice, effort and … Read more

Muster Roll of Georgia Militia – District 542-R

Muster Roll of Georgia Militia, Pulaski County, Georgia, March 4, 1862 – District 542-R M. Rose, captain Milton Bozeman, first lieutenant Thos. B. Puckett, second lieutenant Thos. Grace, third lieutenant R. H. Brown J. D. Andrews Wm. Andrews M. T. Fort, J. S Leith, Jesse Lee Frank Wynne Millar Scarborough Eli King M. Rothschild M. Levi J. J. Watkins Curtis Daniel E. S. Mann J. L. Brown Sam Nobles Josephus Carruthers Joel Darcey D. S. Kellam C. T. Lathrop Jacob Pearce Holt, J. A. Holder, J. H. Lockwood, G. R. Coley, E. W. Lock, David Mathews Edmund Hare Thos. Wheeler … Read more

Biography of Duncan Thomas Daniels

Few men held the respect and esteem of their fellow citizens more than Duncan Thomas Daniels, and his passing brought sorrow, not only to his family and closest friends, but also to the entire community in which he lived. Mr. Daniels was born March 29, 1861. He was the youngest son of Duncan S. and Kizzie Gregory Daniels. Duncan Daniels was one of the pioneer settlers and developers of what is now a part of Pulaski and Dodge Counties. His holdings at one time prior to his death amounted to several thousand acres of land. This perseverance and ability to … Read more

Biography of Nathaniel Polhill

Among those who came over with Oglethorpe in 1733, or very soon thereafter, was Nathaniel Polhill, a London haberdasher, who is generally conceded to be the first Baptist in Georgia. Colonel Warren Grice, in an article on “The First Georgia Baptists,” describes him as a man of strong convictions and great faith. He further says: “Perhaps our great debt to Nathaniel Polhill is for the large number of consecrated Baptist men and women who are descended from him. From the day he set foot on Georgia soil until this good hour, he and his have been zealous to do the … Read more

Biography of Eden Baskin Hatcher

Major John Hatcher, Revolutionary patriot of Wilkinson County, was the father of William Green Hatcher of Crawford County, who was the father of Cicero R. Hatcher, Perry, Georgia, and he was the father of Eden Baskin Hatcher of Pulaski County, the subject of this sketch, who was born in Crawford County, on Hatcher plantation, November 8, 1864. He moved to Pulaski County in 1910. He was educated in Bibb County and Macon High Schools, and married Miss Mary Elizabeth Hicks, of Taylor County, August 18, 1885. They had six children: Eulahlia, who married M. R. Miles, whose children are: Marian, … Read more

Nehemiah Posey – Certificate of Marriage, 1777

Posey, Nehemiah, to Anna Posey, Decm. 15, 1777. By John Brantley, J. P. (Certificate) North Carolina Whereas Anna Posey hath this day applied to me for a Chatham County Certificate of Marriage contracted between her that S. Anna Posey and Nehemiah Posey of the same County of said State on the 7th day of June in the year of our Lord 1777. I do hereby Certify that on the day and date above mentioned Nehemiah Posey and Anna Trountham was lawfully Joined together in the Holy Estate of Matrimony. Certified before me this 15th day of Decm 1777. John Brantly, … Read more

History of The Houston Circuit

Until 1821 the Ocmulgee River had been the western boundary of the State of Georgia as well as the boundary of Pulaski County. There were no white settlements west of the Ocmulgee prior to this date, because the territory between the Ocmulgee and Flint Rivers belonged to the Lower Creek Indians and was used by them as hunting grounds. On January 8, 1821, a treaty was made between the whites and Indians at Indian Springs which opened this section to white settlers. The new territory attracted home seekers and enterprising planters. At once the South Carolina Conference took cognizance of … Read more

Biography of Robert Jenks Taylor

Robert Jenks Taylor was born in Hawkinsville, Pulaski County, Georgia, June 15, 1854. He is eighty-one years old and never looked better yr felt younger in his life, though in recent years he distributed and put in trust more than a million dollars for his loved ones and drew in his sails so his last years would not be harassed by business matters. But he was like the old-time gin horse, turned out to graze: He couldn’t stop. He organized the Taylor Investment Company and kept right on making money. He goes to his office regularly at the Macon Savings … Read more

Company M, 121st Infantry, Home Guard

One of the first military companies organized in Pulaski County after the War of 1812 was “The Home Guards.” Peace and plenty characterized our growing county for a long period of years after the War of 1812-14, but as a safeguard to our homes this company was organized, as we had no military protection. When the war clouds of the sixties hovered over our Southland and men were being called into service, the “Home Guards” were merged into a large company, the intrepid “Pulaski Volunteers,” the first company to leave Pulaski County for the battlefront. Their valiant history during the … Read more

A Fresh Look at Ocmulgee Bottoms

Many of the most fundamental assumptions by the Anthropology profession concerning the Pre-European history of the Lower Southeast were developed during the mid-20th century as a result of a massive, federally-funded excavation of archaeological sites near Macon, GA. While today, anthropologists, museums and the National Park Service present a united front stating that the body of knowledge, which resulted from the Ocmulgee Bottoms studies, was the result of comprehensive analysis, plus well-thought out consensus by some of the most brilliant men of their time, the truth is quite a bit different.

The One-Day School

About seventy-five years ago, two young men, John Polhill and Dick Carruthers, who had just finished high school, were elected co-principals of the Hawkinsville Academy. The school opened auspiciously with quite a number of students. The school building consisted of only one large room. John occupied a seat at one end of the room and Dick’s place was on the opposite side. After the students were classified, assigned lessons, etc., a class in spelling was called by Professor Carruthers. The class was instructed to first spell the words in rotation from the book and then give the proper pronunciation, after … Read more

Biography of John Buchan

The great-grandfather of the Buchans of Pulaski County was John Buchan, a Scotchman. He married Rachel McBride (Irish), and they were immigrants from Carolina in the early part of the eighteenth century. He was an extensive landholder in Pulaski and what is now Dodge, Bleckley, and Laurens Counties, and was Justice of the Peace in 1844 and tax collector in 1852-53. To this union seven children were born. Of these, David Augustus Buchan, a prominent farmer, cattle and slave owner, remained in Pulaski. He married Martha Simmons, and during the Confederate War served in Company J, Fifth Regiment, Georgia Reserves. … Read more

History of Midway Baptist Church, Pulaski County, Georgia

For many years Old Adam Meeting House was the only religious structure on the old River Road or in the Lampkin settlement. In fact, after leaving Hawkinsville, prior to the year 1800, and for nearly three-score years in the nineteenth century, Old Adam Meeting House was the only place of worship situated on the east side of the Ocmulgee River, south. This church was located about eleven miles from Hawkinsville on the lower River Road just below Mosquito Creek. At this time James L. Lampkin owned all the land in that vicinity, and the church site was donated by him. … Read more