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Georgia VanderfordsIn the 1790s Richard Vanderford (2005) moved to northern Georgia. Good farming land was opening up and it was an opportunity to get a good start in life. It also meant living in close proximity with the local Indians. In 1801, Richard's in-laws, the Bonnors, had two horses stolen by the Creek Indians. In Georgia when a new county was opened for settlement there was a land lottery. To be eligible for the drawing you had to be a free white male over 21, a U.S. citizen and have lived in Georgia for over a year. District surveyors would number the available lots and once a week there was a drawing. A name was drawn and then a lot was drawn and the recipient was required to pay a small fee to cover the expenses of the lottery. Each recipient received a deed signed by the Governor and the great seal of the State stamped on a wax pendant was attached by a ribbon. In the 1805 land lottery, Richard drew two blanks (no lots). But in the 1820 lottery he drew lot 354, section 8 in Appling County. As the northern lands in Mississippi opened up, many of the Georgia Vanderfords moved west. Most of them were farmers and did most of the work themselves, owning very few slaves. Richard (2005), the original Vanderford in Georgia, owned about half a dozen slaves. The other Vanderfords remaining in Georgia were not slave owners. Of the seven Vanderford households in Mississippi in 1860 only three owned slaves. During the Civil War the southern Vanderfords lost heavily. Many saw the value of their personal property drop drastically: Barzillai Vanderford (3038), a large land owner and an influencial man in Alcorn County, saw his personal property drop from $40,000 in 1860 to $700 in 1870, and Jonah saw his drop from $9,000 to $1,380. These were losses in crops, livestock and property. But the real cost of the war was is in human lives, lost or wounded, defending the Confederacy and their homes. Sherman's march through Georgia was particularly devastating. This account is from the diary of Thomas Maguire of Gwinnet County, Georgia:
Barzillai Vanderford (3038) and John Vanderford of Mississippi made claims in 1876 and 1877 to Congress for compensation for provisions taken by Union soldiers during the Civil War. Barzillai's claim was for $4,766.50 and John's was for $1,273.00; both claiming the loss of horses, mules, oxen, hogs, sheep, poultry, produce and fodder. Both of the claims were disallowed. James Vanderford (3052) of Jefferson County, Alabama presented a claim for $331.00 and was paid $281.00 for 125 bushels of corn, 600 pounds of bacon, 4 bushels of wheat and 2400 pounds of fodder. James' description of the event:
Even though four of James' brothers served in the Confederate Army, two dying, James was a Union sympathizer. During the war he harbored Union soldiers and rebel deserters in his woods. The three affidavits to this effect may have helped in the favorable decision on his claim. |
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