Georgia Archives – Page 19 of 50

Slave Narrative of John White

Person Interviewed: John White Location: Sand Springs, Oklahoma Date of Birth: April 10, 1816 Age: 121 Occupation: Yard Worker Of all my Mammy’s children I am the first born and the longest living. The others all gone to join Mammy. She was named Mary White, the same name as her Mistress, the wife of my first master, James White. About my paopy. I never hear his name and I never see him, not even when I was the least child around the old Master’s place ‘way back there in Georgia more’n one-hundred twenty years ago! Mammy try to make it … Read more

Slave Narrative of Charity Austin

Interviewer: T. Pat Matthews Person Interviewed: Charity Austin Location: 507 South Bloodworth Street, Raleigh, North Carolina Date of Birth: July 27, 1852 Place of Birth: Granville County NC I wus borned in the year 1852, July 27. I wus born in Granville County, sold to a slave speculator at ten years old and carried to Southwest, Georgia. I belonged to Samuel Howard. His daughter took me to Kinston, North Carolina and I stayed there until I wus sold. She married a man named Bill Brown, and her name wus Julia Howard Brown. My father wus named Paul Howard and my … Read more

Historical Maps of Southeast United States

1. 1550 – Dutch map of the Western Hemisphere This map shows the accurate description of the shape of the Florida Peninsula before the late 1600s. Later maps described its shape as being triangular. Even though the survivors of the de Soto Expedition returned to Mexico City in 1543, this map does not show any information about the interior. Note that Japan (Zimpango) is shown off the coast of North America. 2. 1562 – French map of the Western Hemisphere This map contains many of the rivers along the coast of North America and the Gulf Coast, but … Read more

The Non-Search for Fort Caroline and a Great Lake

Most history books and online encyclopedia sources state unequivocally that Fort Caroline was built on the St. Johns River in present day Jacksonville. They state that the May River named by de Laudonniére, was the same as the San Juan (St. Johns) River named by the Spanish. Virtually none of the articles tell you that Fort Caroline National Memorial is a reproduction of what some people “think” the fort looked like, constructed at a location that was good for tourism. No artifacts have been found in the Jacksonville area that can be definitely tied to French colonial activities in the … Read more

What If’s

An incredible series of “things gone bad” turned the 16th century colonization efforts of the French government into a tragic disaster. French efforts were far better planned than their Spanish or English counterparts in the 16th century. At the start, France seem destined to be the dominant power in North America. If any one of many decisions had been made differently, the French Colony may have succeeded. Here are some of the “what if’s.” If Jean Ribault and René Goulaine de Laudonniére had brought along a couple of fishing boats from Brittany on their voyages, the colonists would have had … Read more

Florida Françoise

The Kingdom of France continued to claim the region between the Santee River in present day South Carolina and the St. Marys River in present day Georgia until the Treaty of Paris in 1763, when ceded all its territory in North America to Great Britain. Most European maps, except those of Great Britain labeled this “wannabe” province Florida Françoise. However, France did not officially participate in any further colonization efforts in the region after 1565. It is important to note that France never claimed the St. Johns River Basin and always on its official maps, labeled the Altamaha River as … Read more

Two Massacres at Matanzas

Survivors of Jean Ribault’s fleet staggered onto the beach south of St. Augustine with nothing but their torn clothes. Eventually, the castaways clustered into two groups. One, numbering about a hundred were under the command of Ribault. A smaller group came together on a beach farther south. Neither group had food or water. Apparently, none knew how to catch fish in tidal pools or which coastal plants were edible. Ribault’s party staggered northward in search of potable water. Eventually, the desperate men encountered a small search party dispatched by Menéndez to look for survivors of the French fleet. Ribault assumed … Read more

Don Pedro Menéndez de Avilés Arrives at Fort Caroline

One September 2, 1565, just after Ribault had sailed in three of his small ships to Fort Caroline, six large Spanish ships appeared at the entrance to the May River. It was the force commanded by Don Pedro Menéndez de Avilés that the king of Spain had ordered to drive out the heretic French colonists. The Frenchman, who had elected to stay behind at Charlesfort had been captured by the Spanish. He had told the Spanish approximately where the other colony was located. Many of the tribes may have been in cahoots with the Spanish, not knowing that the Spanish … Read more

Jean Ribault Arrives at Fort Caroline

On August 28, 1565 the two ships at Fort Caroline’s dock prepared to hoist anchors and sail for France. Then sails were seen on the horizon. It was Jean Ribault’s large fleet of at least seven ships, carrying 800 colonists. Ribault had finally returned to France from England in June of 1565. While in England he had almost been successful in convincing Queen Elizabeth to send a English colonists to Fort Caroline. Those colonists, who returned to France after the fort was constructed, told authorities that de Laudonniére was a tyrannical commander, who would resist militarily any attempt by other … Read more

The Third Voyage to Fort Caroline

French combat teams went on expeditions several times to rival provinces, but only a few are specifically described by de Laudonniére. The relationships of the French with Native provinces upstream on the May River worsened when they became hungry. The French then resorted to kidnappings of a king. The leader was held hostage until food was delivered. Of course, that was in contrast to the Spanish who frequently garroted or burned at the stake Native leaders they captured. On several occasions in his memoir, de Laudonniére mentioned that small parties of Frenchmen left Fort Caroline for several weeks to explore … Read more

Early Explorers in the Interior Coastal Region

La Roche Ferriére is our primary candidate for making direct contact with the gold-mining Indians of northern Georgia. The native peoples on the coast specifically told de Laudonniére that the most valuable export products from the mountains (to them) were the polished stone wedges used for splitting trees. Greenstone does not exist in either Florida or southern Georgia. A small party that de Laudonniére trusted sailed up the Georgia coast to the province of King Oueda. Oueda still thought fondly of the Frenchmen. He sent them food supplies and invited them to relocate their colony in his province. Pierre Gambie, … Read more

Gold, Silver, Copper and Greenstone

In many sections of his book, René Goulaine de Laudonniére discussed being given or seeing gold chains, gold sheets, gold nuggets, slabs of silver and silver ore. The valuable metals were always in the possession of the provincial leaders or town chiefs. Both at Charlesfort and Fort Caroline, the former owners of the gold and silver consistently stated that these precious commodities came from the mountains to the north. This is exactly what the Natives in the Florida Panhandle told members of the de Soto Expedition and South Carolina Natives told Spanish Captain Juan Pardo in 1567. By late 1564 … Read more

Ethnicity and Political Divisions of Coastal Tribes

In recent years, several anthropologists have criticized the paintings of French Huguenot artist Jacques le Moyne because “the Indians look like they are from Brazil.” That is exactly what the indigenous linguistics recorded by René de Laudonniére on the South Atlantic Coast suggest. Most of these ethnic groups were not Muskogeans. Most used a political title for king associated with the Moche culture; parcusi or paracusa. Some worshiped a sun god named Toya like the Calusas. Others spoke languages that contained Arawak elements. South American anthropologists currently believe that the Arawaks originated in either the northern Amazon Basin or the … Read more

Agriculture of the Coastal Native Americans

Anthropological literature from Florida is awash with statements that presume the coastal peoples of Georgia and South Carolina were primarily fishermen, hunters and gatherers. This may have been the case for many ethnic groups in the coastal regions of the Florida Peninsula, but was not true for many areas of the Georgia and South Carolina coast. The primary reason listed by René Goulaine de Laudonniére for not placing a French colony on the coast of the Florida Peninsula was that the soil was infertile and the climate, hot. On the first voyage he had noticed that the coast was sparsely … Read more

Geography Around the Coastal Region of Fort Caroline

To understand why Captain René de Laudonniére would be drawn to either the Satilla, St. Marys or Altamaha Rivers as the location of France’s first permanent colony in North America, one has to first look at the “ground level” geography, i.e. what the officers would have seen from a mile or so out to sea. Maps of the Florida and Georgia coast are included with this article. The mouth of the St. Johns River would appear to be that of small, shallow river flowing through marshes. The outlet of the river was often blocked with dangerous sand bars until it … Read more

Where was Fort Caroline?

A very important historical fact should be considered with evaluating alternative locations for Fort Caroline. The cities of Darien, Brunswick and St. Marys on the Georgia coast were booming ports for many decades before Jacksonville, FL even existed. Their harbors were naturally deep enough to handle sea going vessels. At that time the St. Johns River was so shallow in places that cattle could be driven across; hence the city’s original name, Cowford. It was only after the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dredged and widened the St. John River’s outlet that the port of Jacksonville was able to attract … Read more

Slave Narrative of Midge Burnett

Interviewer: Mary A. Hicks Person Interviewed: Midge Burnett Location: 1300 S. Bloodworth Street, Raleigh, North Carolina Age: 80 Plantation Life In Georgia An interview with Midge Burnett, 80 years old, of 1300 S. Bloodworth Street, Raleigh, North Carolina. I wus borned in Georgia eighty years ago, de son of Jim an’ Henretta Burnett an’ de slave of Marse William Joyner. I wurked on de farm durin’ slavery times, among de cotton, corn, an’ sugar cane. De wurk wusn’t so hard an’ we had plenty of time ter have fun an’ ter git inter meanness, dat’s why Marse William had ter … Read more

Slave Narrative of Zeb Crowder

Interviewer: T. Pat MatthewsPerson Interviewed: Zeb CrowderLocation: 323 E. Cabarrus Street, North Carolina I wont nuthin’ in slavery time and I aint nuthin’ now. All de work I am able ter do now is a little work in de garden. Dey say I is too ole ter work, so charity gives me a little ter go upon every week. For one weeks ‘lowance o’ sumptin’ ter eat dey gives me, hold on, I will show you, dat beats guessin’. Here it is: 1/2 peck meal (corn meal), 2 lbs oat meal, 2 lb dry skim milk, and 1 lb plate … Read more

Slave Narrative of Reverend Squire Dowd

Interviewer: T. Pat Matthews Person Interviewed: Rev. Squire Dowd Location: 202 Battle Street, Raleigh, North Carolina Date of Birth: April 3, 1855 [HW: language not negro, very senternous & interesting.] [TR: The above comment is crossed out.] Reverend Squire Dowd 202 Battle Street Raleigh, N. C. My name is Squire Dowd, and I was born April 3, 1855. My mother’s name was Jennie Dowd. My father’s name was Elias Kennedy. My mother died in Georgia at the age of 70, and my father died in Moore County at the age of 82. I attended his funeral. My sister and her … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Mrs. Andrew J. Gibbs

Gibbs, Mrs. Andrew J.—Caroline, daughter of Pleas and Martha (Carnes) Tidwell, was born in Georgia, Dec. 25, 1853, and educated in that state. Married February 1884, Andrew 3., son of William and Elizabeth Gibbs. They are the parents of Lillie O., born December 23, 1887, married Ernest McLaughlin, and died in October 1907; William P., born August 22, 1889; Hattie E., born March 3, 1892; Allen D., born March 30, 1894; Louanna, born February 3, 1895, married Hosea Chidester, and has one daughter, Nona, born January 21, 1915; Mary G., born December 9, 1897, married Owen Washam; Leonard Andrew, born … Read more