|
| ||||||||||||||||
|
Welcome to Chatham County, Georgia Genealogy Trails. Our
goal is helping you find your ancestors by placing data online for the
Free use of all researchers. We are proud to expand into Georgia
providing our "experience" gained from years of researching our ancestors
and website hosting. We want to hear about you and the history of
your ancestors. We need help with contributions of your data, history and
stories to make this a great site for research. Everything is
helpful: Obituaries, Biographies, Photos and County History, to name a
few. The first people to settle in and around Savannah were the Yamacraws, a Native American tribe. In the 18th century under their leader Tomochici, they met the newly arriving European settlers. In November 1732, the ship Anne sailed from Britain carrying 114 colonists, including General James Oglethorpe. On February 12, 1733, Oglethorpe and his settlers landed at Yamacraw Bluff and, in an example of some of the earliest "Southern hospitality", were greeted by Tomochici, the Yamacraws, and John and Mary Musgrove, Indian traders. (Mary Musgrove often served as a translator.) The city of Savannah was founded on that date, along with the colony of Georgia. Because of the friendship between Oglethorpe and Tomochici, Savannah was able to flourish unhindered by the warfare that marked the beginnings of many early American colonies. The name "Savannah" means "Shawnee"; it derives from a Muskoghean Indian word—a variant of Sawanoki, the native name of the Shawnees. Georgia colonists adopted this name for the Savannah River and then for the city. In 1738, Jews from Spain and Portugal arrived in Savannah. In 1740, George Whitefield founded the Bethesda Orphanage, which is now the oldest extant orphanage in the United States. Silk and indigo production, both in demand in England, were early export commodities; by 1767 almost a ton of silk was exported annually to England During the American Revolutionary War, Savannah came under British and Loyalist control in 1778. At the Siege of Savannah in 1779, American and French troops (the latter including a company of free blacks from Haiti) fought unsuccessfully to retake the city. On January 27, 1785, members of the State Assembly gathered in Savannah to found the nation's first state-chartered, public university—the University of Georgia (in Athens). The First Byran Baptist Church is an African-American church that started in 1788. The original church building was built in 1793 on land that was owned by African-Americans. In 1832 a split in the congregation occurred, producing the First African Baptist Church, Franklin Square; which was built in 1859 by its members, most of whom were slaves. In 1818 shipping and business stopped when the city fell under quarantine due to a yellow fever epidemic. Many ships never came back to Savannah, dealing a harsh blow to the local cotton industry. Savannah Facts Savannah is the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia...Savannah was the first colonial and state capital of Georgia. It was founded by General James Oglethorpe in 1733...It is the primary port on the Savannah River and is located along the U.S. Intracoastal Waterway...Savannah's architecture and history are internationally known, as is its reputation for Southern charm and hospitality. The city prides itself as the "Hostess City of the South." ...Savannah houses the nation's most valuable living collection of 18th and 19th century architecture. It encompasses six Historic Neighborhoods and each spring Savannahians open their doors to visitors during the Savannah Tour of Homes and Gardens...Savannah's downtown area is the largest National Historic Landmark District in the United States...Residents of Savannah are known as Savannahians ...Tybee Island, formerly known as "Savannah Beach", is the site of the Tybee Island Light Station, the first lighthouse on the southern Atlantic coast. | ||||||||||||||||
|
This county is available for adoption | ||||||||||||||||
 Wills index up to 1825 1850 Mortality Census Orphans 1785-1859 1939 Hubertonian Yearbook 1937 Armstrong Junior college yearbook Korean War Casualties Oath of Allegiance [Probate] Chatham Academy, 1833. List of teachers and students Military News added | ||||||||||||||||
|
Online Data
| ||||||||||||||||
|
| ||||||||||||||||
|
This website and its contents in the format presented, except where otherwise noted on the page, are copyrighted by Genealogy Trails and may not be copied, altered, converted nor uploaded to any electronic system or BBS, nor linked from any "pay-for-view" site, linked in such a manner as to appear to be part of another site including "frame" capturing, nor included in any software collection or print collection of any type without the express written permission of the author of this site. Information is furnished for the free use of researchers who are interested for the purpose of researching their family histories and genealogies. However, copying & pasting the information presented here onto another website is prohibited! This website is considered to be a compilation of facts, and is therefore covered under current copyright laws. While every effort has been made to provide accurate information, there is no warranty of any kind regarding the accuracy of any information found on this or any other genealogy website presented by this author. It is the responsibility of the interested party to research and document the information located on this or any other website. Links to other sites should be considered referrals only and should not necessarily be taken as endorsements. | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
|
Copyright © Genealogy Trails
2025
| ||||||||||||||||
