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WATERWAYS OF UPSON COUNTY

Ferries which operated in Upson County

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    Watercourse:  Potato Creek
    Land District: 10
    Land Lot: #167
    Time Period: 1839 - present
    Family Name: John Doe
    Researcher: Virginia Crilley  varcsix@hot.rr.com
    

I welcome all your material! (If you don't know the Land District, we can help you) Virginia Crilley

Basin Creek

Bull Trail Mountain   Name Origin
Northwestern part of Upson County.

Big Potatoe Creek Name Origin Ran N-S from top of County all the way to Flint River(South Border) The 'e' was dropped at some period.

Five Mile Creek (Named for its length)

Indian Spring Name Origin

Islands in Flint River History of Ownership Little Potato Creek (Now known as Tobler Creek) Runs N-S to Flint River on eastern side of County...through Tobler, Waymanville Shepherd Creek West-central side of County into the Flint River (South Border) Tan Yard Branch Stream that runs from NE toSW through Thomaston. A tan yard was once located at the head on this branch. Three Mile Creek (Named for its length)

LAND DISTRICTS and LOTS

Land District: 15
Land Lot:  3/4 of #160
Time Period: 16 Jan 1851-1920
J.J. and Wm Whitmell (brothers) purchased this land from Edwin Turner.
It passed to Wm. Whitmell's widow  (I assume J.J. was "bought out") around 1860.
It passes to the children when Mary Ruffin died  Sept 23, 1889.
Siblings sold to their brother, George Washington Ruffin 1912.
This family eventually moved to Lanett (Chambers Co), AL
Researcher:  Virginia Crilley   varcsix@hot.rr.com

Land District #16
Deeds pertaining to John Miles Stewart Greene
(born 1832 Upson Co. GA died 1887 Upson Co. GA)

The following was abstracted by Jack Morgan of Thomaston GA

John M.S. Greene sold to H.B. Mabry (by warranty deed)
102 1/2 acres Lot 38 in 16th District
7 April 1855 - 9 April 1855   Book "H" page 11

John M.S. Greene sold to Thomas F. Bethel (by security deed)
178 1/2 acres Lot 37- 38 in 16th District
19 June 1858 - 24 June 1858  Book "H" page 359

John M.S. Greene administrator of Estate of Henry Reed
to Wm. Sandwich (Adm. Deed)
250 acres Lot 34 in 16th District
1 March 1864 - 24 Oct 1865  Book "I" pages 56-57

Ameila B. Greene & John M.S. Greene sold to (?) B. Atwater
(by Warranty Deed) 10 acres in 16th District
12 Feb 1874 - 9 Dec 1875  Book "K "page 69

John M.S. Greene (by Sheriff Foster) to I.C. Thompson
(by Sheriff Deed) 180 acres Lot 37-38 in 16th District
3 Feb 1885 - 13 April 1885  Book "D" pages 726-727

Amanda E. Greene (widow of John M.S. Greene) sold to
Stewart Greene (son) by Warranty Deed
43 acres Lot 111-112
29 October 1904 - 2 December 1904 Book "1" page 10

Amanda Greene sold to Raleigh Greene (son) (by Warranty Deed)
38 acres Lots 110-113 in 16th District
2 September 1915 - 2 September 1915 Book "26" page 390

NOTE: John M.S. Greene is great grandfather to Carol Storey (CECLSTOREY@aol.com)
           Raleigh Greene is grandfather to Carol Storey

Pike County - Land District 9
Amanda Greene (mortgage) to C.M. Pasley
160 acres in 9th District  Pike Co. GA
11 March 1907 - 10 April 1907  Book "14" page 249
Carol Storey (CECLSTOREY@aol.com)



Big Potato Creek
It started with George Washington. As you know George Washington experimented a good bit with different kinds of fertilizers on his plantation. His foreman learned a lot from George and did some experimenting with seeds as well as fertilizers. The foreman married and had two strapping sons. They migrated to the Carolinas in search of more land. His two sons married and in turn had a family of boys. One of these boys moved to Georgia and settled in what is now the surburbs of Griffin, Georia.

A flowing spring was on his property and it formed a branch which is the head waters of what we now call Potato Creek. He built his house and barn on one side of the branch and he had his garden spot in good bottom land on the other side of the branch. He planted a number of different vegetable seeds in his garden including some sweet potatoes. When it was time to harvest his sweet potatoes it was also time to harvest his other crops. Being a busy man he delayed for a week or two digging his sweet potatoes.

One morning about eleven o'clock he took his spade, crossed the branch and started digging. He hit one end of a sweet potato and the more he dug the bigger it got. A noon time he still had not finished and his wife called him to dinner. At the dinner table, he told his wife about the big potato that he was still trying to get out of the ground.

When he went back across the branch to his garden his wife went to her neighbors to tell them about the large potato that her husband was trying to get out of the ground. Along about two o'clock he finally got the potato out on the ground. He tried to pick it up but it was to heavy. He scratched his head a couple of times and then picked up one end of the potato and stood it on end. By throwing one end forward toward the branch he managed to get the potato to the branch. When he picked up the end again and let it fall forward the other end hit the opposite bank of the branch. By that time his neighbors were arriving so he walked across the potato as it made a perfect foot log across the branch. His neighbors were slapping him on the back for he had grown the biggest and longest sweet potato that they had ever seen. From that time until now it has been called Potato Creek. Contributed by Bobby Smith


Bull Trail Mountain
is located in the northwestern part of the county. There are mountain springs all over this area and small parcels of pasture around them. An early settler built his home along side one of these springs. Across the mountain was another spring where he pastured his cows. As time went on a bull calf was born and was kept as a pet. The calf followed the man ever step he took. The man took his cows across the mountain after he had milked them to the pasture and the bull calf followed him. Every afternoon he would go to bring the cows to his barn and the bull calf would follow him.

One afternoon as he was getting ready to get his cows, he looked across the mountain and the bull calf had gone ahead of him and was hearding the cows to the barn. The next morning the man told the calf to take the cows to pasture, and believe it or not that is what the calf did. So from then on the calf performed this chore for the man. So guess what they started calling the mountain--Bull Trail Mountain.

Indian Springs
An indian named Efau Math Laws received a grant of 1 square mile at the treaty at Indian Springs in l821. This grant was a life estate. The reservation was divided up into 4 lots on the 18th of January 1829 by Laurd M. Harris surveyor and sold. This reservation is generally known as The Chenolly Reserve. It is in the l6th Land District on Flint River. No one seems to know what happened to Efau Math Laws. There is a painting of him in the Thomaston Archives.

Islands in Flint River
The Creek Indian treaty at Indian Springs in l821 ceded all the land to the east bank of the Flint River. The next treaty went to the Chatahoochee. When the land districts were surveyed in 1821 they were surveyed to the east bank. When what is now Talbot County was surveyed it went to the West bank of the Flint River.

The islands in the Flint remained in the State of Georgia. The larger islands were surveyed at a later date and sold by the Sheriff. The smaller islands are bound by the general law which states that the main thread of the stream is the boundary.


FERRIES WHICH OPERATED IN EARLY UPSON COUNTY

Ferries on Potato Creek:

Ferries on the Flint River

Ferries with no waterway mentioned

Resources: The Early History of Upson County, Georgia from the orders of the Inferior Court, Upson County.

In Talbot County Court orders, Gray's and Booth's Ferries are on the Flint River. I did not find Marshall's Ferry mentioned. There are three ferries on the Flint River that are not in the Upson County orders: Gibson's Ferry, Jackson's Ferry and Robert's Ferry. Contributed by Cathie Parker cparker@telepath.com



Other helpful pages about Land Research:
Questions-Answers about Land Research
Defines GMD and Land Districts
Shows transition from Indian Lands


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Upson County Page last updated: Friday, 08-Mar-2002 13:30:31 MST


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