1886 List of Men to work on Roads in Gore area
1886 Road Work in Dirt Town, Chattooga County
Submitted by Thomas Weaver Weesner
From its earliest days to the turn of the 20th century, Chattooga County’s roads, like most of the counties’ in North Georgia, were laid out and maintained by its citizens. The system required that all able-bodied men from 16 to late middle-age devote a specified number of days or pay a fee so that others could be hired in their places. The program had limited success—some men would neither work nor pay the tax for not working, many who were initially listed as potential workers turned out to be too young or too old to be of any help. The rolls for the various militia districts have numerous “non est” notations meaning that the road commissioners could not find the individuals within the bounds of the county.
The following records were located during the progress of the Loose Records project undertaken several years ago by volunteers from the Chattooga County Historical Society, in cooperation with the Georgia Archives. While other records pertaining to road maintenance were found in the loose records and still more may be found in bound court records, it was unusual to find a complete roster for an entire militia district in Chattooga County.
Given the destruction of the 1890 U.S. Federal Census, we hope that this listing of many of the able-bodied men of Dirt Town in 1886 may help someone in placing an ancestor for that time period.
1886
No. 1 – From top of Taylor’s Ridge to a mile past William Owings
Hix & McLeod – No. Bondsme
Thomas Williamson pd
Willy McCay pd
Dick Johnston wk
Henry Johnston wk 28 dys
Jas. Cooper pd
Dock Ware pd
R.D. Jones √
Willie Green wk
John T. Wooten pd
Oscar Gore wk
Walt Gore wk
Norman McCollum pd
Richard Cheney pd
Dave Spear √
George Woodall √
Joe Bryant Gone
Andy Farmer Too Young
John Wooten
Jas. Doster pd
Thos. Doster pd
Jerome Morton Over Age
G.W. Morton pd
Tean Hayes pd
Thos. Chase pd
Will Haze pd
Joe Hunter pd
Parks Millican pd
Thos. Smith Under Age
Lige Smith pd
Forrest Millican wk
Fletcher Millican wk
Jack Millican wk
Pinck Millican wk
Will Gore pd
Tom Gore wk
No. 2 From William Owings to Mrs. Gains
Hix & McCleod – $86.00 No Bondsman
Hugh Gains pd
Walt Gains pd
Pierce Gains pd
John Kendrick pd
Geo. Kendrick pd
T.A. Bailey pd
Will Smith pd
J.F, Pless pd
Ed Scott wk
Dan Scott pd
Felix Reed Gone
Jeff Langston pd
Sam Couey pd
Joel Couey pd
Hillary Dunaway Over Age
Sam Dunaway
Monroe Millican Over Age
Geo. League √
James Louallen √
T.B. Pool √
Wm. Owings pd
J.D. Ayres pd
John Perry pd
Dick Perry pd
Jas. Dawson pd
Tom Davis pd
John Davis pd
Dock Cheney pd
Tom Smith pd
Bibb Cheney pd
No. 3 From Mrs. Gains’ to Floyd County Line
Hix and McLeod, $90, No Bondsman
Bill Benton √
Andy Barbour √
W.S. Powell pd
Sam Sorrow pd
J. R. Ray pd
Joe Scoggin pd
Bob Favors pd
T.A. Crawford pd
Willie Crawford pd
Jno Crawford non est
Bob Crawford pd
Geo. Crawford too young
Noah Perry √
James Green pd
O.E. Omberg √
Henry Scoggin pd
Taylor Wootten √
Anderson Favors pd
John Fisher √
W.W. Williams non est
Gus Perry pd
Simon Taylor pd
John Phinezy pd
Riley Farmer √
Sam Dunaway wk
Tom (?) Dunaway pd
Gus Dunaway pd
No. 4 From Wm. Gore’s to T.B. High’s
Dump Moore, Contractor W.S. Kilgo, Bondsman $20
Tom High wk
A.J. Moore wk
Willy Shropshire too old
James Herndon pd
Frank Shropshire wk ½ day
Carter Westbrooks pd
Joe Westbrooks pd
Tom Westbrooks pd
Bob Bullman pd
Cyrus Drew √
Henry Hamilton wk ½ day
J.B. Gordon too old
Geo. Tilly √ non es
No. 5 From T.B. High’s to District line on C.C. Bryan’s Place
Dump Moore, Contractor W.S. Kilgo, Bondsman $24.25
H.G. Baker wk
J.A. Couey pd
Boog Smith wk
Jerry Perry pd
Frank Quinn wk
Monroe Hunter wk
George Gaskins pd
Dolphus Bramlett pd
Millard Brown wk
Edgar Brown wk
John C. Posy non est
Jas. D. Brown too old
Sam Gordon pd
Few Gordon pd
No. 6 From William Gore’s to Mrs. Kendrick’s
W.S. Kilgo, Contractor W.W. Mount, Bondsman $38.25
Charles Hambrick wk
Tom Hambrick wk
Sam (or son) Hambrick wk
Jas. Carter pd
Hoston Hambrick wk
Ike Jones wk
Cy Jones wk
Alex Jones wk
Sam Jones wk
A.M. Chandler wk
W.A. King √
J.W. McIntosh over age
Bob McIntosh wk
Dave Carter wk
Jas. Carter wk
Mack Carter non est
Wm. Carter non est
Dock Morton wk
Joe Copland pd
Jerry Mercer wk
Ben Jones wk
No. 7 From Mrs. Kendrick’s to District Line at Herndon place
W.S. Kilgo, contractor W.W. Mount, bondsman $44.00
B.F. Weisner pd
Paul Weisner pd
John Weisner pd
W.L. Pullen pd
Gill Cheney pd
Dave Ryles (Pyles?) over age
Mose Ryles pd
Hugh Benton pd
Wash Hilly pd
Lewis Bolling pd
Mose Bolling pd
Tom Cummings pd
Matt Overton √
Turner Warren pd
Ed Herndon pd
Wm. Holcomb pd
Pink Whitehead pd
Reuben Cheney pd
Oscar Jett √
James Cumming √
Bob Jett pd
Albert Oneal over age
Simon Oneal √
Richard Oneal too young
Doug Cheney pd
Hugh Oneal pd
No. 8 From Mrs. Kendrick’s to Cheney Place
W.W. Mount, Contractor W.S. Kilgo, Bondsman $37.75
Willis Kilgo wk
Luke Prickett pd
John Hickey wk
Wm. White wk
W.S. Kendrick pd
Lee Cathy pd
J. Terrell Hunter non est
Jas. Alexander pd
Jas. Patrick wk
H.A. Brownfield √
Jas. Bolling pd
Wm. Garmany pd
Tom Hendrix out of county
Cicero Brownfield too young
Alex Woods wk
Jack Woods wk
Jas. Scott pd
David Nichols pd
John Bolling pd
Lewis Durham pd
Lucus Woods wk
No. 9 From foot of Mountain beyond Gil Cheney’s to top of
Mountain beyond Reuben Herndon’s place
W.W. Mount, Contractor W.S.Kilgo, bondsman $16.80
Geo. Martin pd
John Garmony non est
Dave Rice pd
James Rice pd
Abe Findly pd
No. 10 From fork of road near Mrs. Scott’s via Bethel Church
to Cheney-Kendrick
W.W. Mount, Contractor W.S. Kilgo, Bondsman $17.75
Tom Lee pd
Henry Farmer wk
John Cheney not in county
Nelse Harris wk
Wm. Biggers pd
John Echols too young
Grant King pd
Jno. Alexander pd
John A. Jones pd.
J.W. Carroll pd
No. 11 From Dirt Town to Farmersville at Camp’s Barn
Geo. H. Perry, Contractor E.N. Perry, Bondsman $29.75
Dan David pd
Joe Salmon pd
Geo. Perry pd
Alex Farnsworth pd
Clark Farnsworth wk
Mack Farnsworth wk
Will Dunwoody wk
Jno. Dunwoody wk
Brock Dunwoody pd
Wm. Jones non est
Lige Duncan pd
Henry Robinson wk
John Robertson wk
Bud Scoggins √
Jud Brooks pd
Dave Hendrix a preacher
Jas. Brown pd
Gus Wright wk
Aaron Barbour wk 1 day, pd.
Amos Hemphill non est
No. 12 From Farmersville to Shropshire’s Mill
Geo. Perry, Contractor E.A. Perry, Bondsman $37.70
Lewis Dunwoody wk
Pierce Higgins wk
Tom Ratliff pd
Virg Carwile wk
Milton Carwile wk
John Scoggins wk
Weldon Williams wk
Fuller Scoggins wk
W.J. Dorster pd
Lon Dorster pd
Lewis Burnett √
Berryman Fleetwood wk
Gus Long pd
No. 13 From Farmersville to Mrs. Moore’s
J.R. Moore, Contractor W.S. Kilgo, Bondsman $76
Bob Johnston wk
Columbus Pollard wk
John Ratliff pd
Jas. Hopper wk
J.R. Moore wk
Frank Moore wk
W.H. Barron wk
No. 14 From John Perry’s to Gabe Barbour’s
W.L. Cooper, Contractor Z.D. Perry, Bondsman $25.90
W.B. Dorster wk
Crawford Doster wk
Joe Eastwood wk
M.M. Wright pd
George McAbee pd
Henry Perry wk
Geo. W. Woodall pd
John Perry wk
Ben Murdock pd
John Plunkett over age
Harve Plunkett too young
Willy Murdock over age
Thos. Brooks wk
Bud Murdock wk
No. 15 From George W. Morton’s South line to Shropshire’s Mill
Hix and McLeod, Contractors, $55.00
J.P. Johnston pd
M.N. Johnston wk
R.B. Johnston pd
Joe Johnston wk
Jack Johnston wk
T.M. Grey pd
J.D. Whitehead pd
Dave Middlebrooks pd
Sam Plummer wk
J.T. McLeod wk
Cy Shropshire wk
Aaron Drew √
Darius Buchannon wk
H.L.T. Overly √
Ike Ballenger wk
Dr. J.P. Ballenger wk
R.J. New wk
Joe Roberson pd
Lem Millican pd
J.R. Roan wk
B.F. Hammett wk
Z.M. Floyd pd
Joe Dunn wk
Ral Jackson √
Wm Durham pd
No. 16 Cox Gap Road
Hix and McLeod, Contractors $35.90
J. Lee Davis wk
John W. Davis wk
Jas. Davis wk
J.B.F. Floyd wk
Jas. M. Quinn wk
A.C. Westbrooks wk
Steve Phillips wk
J.B. Phillips wk
S.D. Scoggins wk
J.S. Scoggins wk
L.C. Quinn wk
John Pope wk
W.H. Peters wk 1 day
A.L. Hix pd
S.B. Hix wk
J.T. Rhudy wk
John Biggers wk
Wm. Biggers pd
[Editor’s note: I am grateful to my good friend, Tom Weesner, for sharing the information below. For about two years, Tom and I met frequently at the Georgia Archives to work on what we referred to as the “Chattooga County Loose Records Project” which involved cleaning, flattening, organizing and filing thousands of loose documents that had at one time been stored in the attic and various corners of the Chattooga County Courthouse in Summerville. Some of the documents had been recorded in the official registers and some had not. These particular records escaped the “house cleaning” of an earlier administration that resulted in many of the county’s historic documents (and some not-so-historic as well) being transported to the county landfill and duly buried before local history friends could be notified and mobilized. Mercifully, quite a number of records did not meet that fate (one suspects that may be because the truck going to the dump was not capacious enough to accommodate a full “house-cleaning”) and it was with the full support of our county officials that a great many were transferred to the custody of the Georgia Department of Archives and History for preservation.
We had as co-workers on this project a number of other Chattooga history devotees, the tireless “Four B’s”—our official county historian Bob Baker, as well as Beverly Woodward, Bernice Crane and Brooksie Vines We had the encouragement of Probate Judge Jon Payne, Clerk of the Superior Court Lann Cordle, and a grant from the Georgia Historic Records Advisory Board (the grant was managed by the staff of then-commissioner Jim Parker). Tom, who is one of the most organized people I have ever known—and who is also one of the most tenacious researchers—treated the project as a serious job. He worked several days per week, with the occasional “Ah Ha!” moment with a particularly interesting document and the overall satisfaction of the accomplishment of this important work as his only compensation. Neither Tom nor I are quite as spry as we were then. I passed the fateful 50th birthday this year. Tom has turned 85 and, while not as agile as a few years ago, is assuredly sharper in his thought processes than I am! He and Bob Baker remain my two “go to” people for all seemingly unanswerable questions about Chattooga County history…and I can count on them to provide me with answers that are unerringly correct and always fascinating.
I should note that there remain additional records in the county that would ultimately be of use to historians if we sorted and indexed them. Bernice Crane has attempted to pick up on this project, and Brenda and Mike Lanier, Charlotte and Henry Mason and Jackie Strickland have helped. The project is currently on hold but for the foreseeable future the records are safe. — Steven W. Strickland
