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^rSh%U:Our Riecords be Lost?

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9eMrtn?.?^t of Archives

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Report bt^
Lucian Lamar Knight,
Compiler of
State Records,
to the
Governor
June 30, 1917

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Shall Our Records be Lost?

Georgia's Most Vital Need:
A Department of Archives

Report of
Lucian Lamar Knight,
Compiler of
State Records,
to the
Governor
June 30, 1917

BYRD PRINTING COMPANY
ATLANTA, GEORGIA
¦ 1917

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Georgia's Most Vital Need:
A Department of Archives

To His Excellency, Hon. Hugh M. Dorsey,
Governor, Executive Department,
Atlanta, Ga.
Dear Sir:
This paper, read before the Georgia Histor
ical Association, at its first meeting, over which his
excellency. Gov. N. E. Harris, presided, on April
10th last, in the Senate Chamber, contains an ex
haustive resume of the work accomplished by this
department during the past four years. I, there
fore, take the liberty of submitting this paper as
my official report. Its recomm'endations are, it
seems to me, at this time, most vital. I also repro
duce as a supplement thereto a startling inventory
o/ facts presented by the State Librarian. It is
quite evident from these exhibits that a crisis ex
ists; and while the great European War, for the
moment, overshadows everything else, it lays a
tragic emphasis upon the importance of records.

I am not an alarmist, but I come to sound an
alarm. If the perishing records of Georgia are to
be saved from' destruction, the most vital need of
our state at this time is a Department of Archives :
not a temporary make-shift, but a permanent bu
reau of history, to constitute within itself a sepa
rate and distinct sphere of work and to correlate
3

with other departments of the state government.
The value of such a bureau will be infinite — its cost
infinitesimal. To say that we possess a history
worthy of .preservation is not an extravagant boast.
So rich indeed is the history of our state that in
preserving it we should be second to no state in the
American Union. The youngest of the English col
onies, Georgia, has become the richest of the' south
ern commonwealths, and for more than half a cen
tury has been called "The Empire State of the
South." But has the story of her m'arvelous growth ever
been fully told ? Is she given the recognition, either
at home or abroad, to which she is rightfully en
titled? Does she occupy in the literature of states
that exalted station which her splendid history, her
genius and her character, qualify her to command?
These are startling questions which few of us
have stopped to consider, engrossed as most of us
are in gainful occupations. But consider them we
must, if we are worthy to be Georgians. Som'C of
the records which are sorely needed at this time to
supply the gaps in our history are lost to us for
ever. Not a few perished in our great revolu
tionary upheaval, when Georgia was overrun by the
British ; but— thanks to our first Secretary of State,
John Milton, a man cast in the molds of Sparta —
many were saved. In 1864, when Sherman blazed
his fiery march to the sea, hundreds of priceless
records disappeared, some escaping vandalism only
to be carted out of the state to distant markets.

But a still further explanation of the present
deplorable condition of affairs is found in a single
criminating word: NEGLECT. This is not the
fault of state officials, most of whom are burdened
to the limit with the care of current records. It is
the fault of the state. So rapidly have the various
departments grown that, in order to meet the de
mands of current business, important records, vital
to our state's history, have been relegated to cor
ners where rats and roaches congregate and where
an absence of Ught has s^erved to augment the proc
esses of decay. Present-day interests have filled
our perspective — have monopolized onr field of vis
ion. It is time to call a halt. We have been indif
ferent too long to the immortal things of Georgia.
We have allowed ourselves to forget that permanent
values are not material but spiritual ; and we have
become so absorbed in temiporalities that we have
almost lost the sense of eternities.
It is an alarming fact, which I blush to record,
that in the basement of the state capitol, not long
jago, some rare papers were found in a lot of rub
bish which the janitor was actually using for pwr-
poses of fuel. (Mrs. Cobb's paper.) What an in
dictment ! I wonder if it would feed the patriotism
of Georgia boys who are today enlisting — who will
soon be on the firing-line of battle — to be told that
the old mother state gives not the snap of her finger
for records and that fifty years from today the doc
uments which tell what they have done— a heritage
of glory— will ;be treated as so much junk to feed
the furnace in her state capitol? 7/ the records of
5

Georgia are to he consumed hy fire, I had rather it
wouid he an enemy who applied the .torch. I do
not wish to appear in the role of prosecutor. I pre
fer no charges. I merely state facts. The past is
beyond recall; but it may help us for the future if
we will recognize our short-comings, and ere it be
too late make the proper amends.
One reason why New England occupies so large
a place in the life and thought of our nation is that
she has cast into literary molds, as a permanent con
tribution to political science, the story of her part in
the history-making of this continent. She has not
failed to mark a single historic spot. She has placed
the records of her Puritan ancestors within reach of
her humblest child. With the greed of a miser, she
has hoarded every shining atom of her dust. Here,
then, we find an example to imitate. Georgia, for
nearly tim centuries, has been making history for
America; but, indifferent to its preservation, she
has neglected the fundamental basis on which alone
her history can rest. She has failed to create a De
partment of Archives. It is time for her to realize
that such a policy is suicidal. Material wealth can
not embalm; a state. Immortality, is not the gift of
trade. Eome was destroyed by her avarice ; Greece
was corrupted by her gold; and what we know to
day of these nations of antiquity we owe to histo
rians. We are living in an age of materialism. It
behooves Georgia, therefore, to profit by these les
sons and to make her calculations for enduring
greatness, less in the spirit of the age and more in
the spirit of the ages. 6

Georgia's Archives—Existing
Conditions
Scattered over the state— some in our official
archives at the capitol— some in our various court
houses — some in the libraries of private citizens —
there are priceless volumes, manuscripts, docu
ments and pamphlets, of which no care is taken, for
the protection of which no adequate means are pro
vided. These records are exposed to a thousand
hazards, suoh as dampness, mildew, fire, theft, and
vermin. This neglect is without excuse, is in fact,
almost criminal, when we remember that the soul of
Georgia is embodied in these records. I employ lan
guage none too strong. We expose ourselves to just
censure in failing adequately to safeguard the ma
terials out of which the future history of our state
is to be constructed.
There is only one way in which we can solve this
difficult problem and avert this imminent danger.
We must establish a Department of Archives — a de
pository in which to assemble all important records
which have ceased to be current. Centralized at the
seat of government, the ramifications of this depart
ment should extend to every court-house in Georgia,
if possible, to every burial-ground and to every
church register.
All of the volumes should be conveniently ar
ranged on roller shelves ; and in charge of this de
partment there should be a competent Archivist,
elected for a definite term of years, by a commis-
7

sion, composed of state officials, whose duties
roughly defined should be: to assemble, classify,
and arrange for convenient reference the archives
of the state, at present scattered throughout the
capitol; to make these a subject of special study
from the historian's point of view; to collect from
the files of old newspapers, court records, church
records, private collections, etc., all data pertaining
to the history of Georgia, from the earliest times,
and to have such materials properly edited, pub
lished, and distributed; to encourage the proper
marking and preservation of battle-fields, houses,
and other places celebrated in the history of Geor
gia; to diffuse knowledge in reference to the state;
to encourage the study of Georgia history in the
public schools ; to encourage historical research arid
investigation, especially with' reference to the pres
ervation of local histories; and to make a biennial
report to the Governor of all receipts and disburse
ments. We must proceed upon systematic lines.
We must rest our actiAdties upon an organized basis.
In 1914, the Daughters of the American Eevolution,
in their annual state conference, at Macon, adopted
a bill, embodying these features.
History of the Compiler's Office
The nucleus for such a department already ex
ists in an office temporarily created: that of Com
piler of Records. Som'e review, therefore, of the
nature, origin and work of this office is required at
this point in our discussion. The first effort, of
which we find any record, on the part of our state
8

government, to preserve its history was made in
1625 during the administration of Governor Troup.
The legislature, at this time, authorized Joseph Val-
lence Bevan to search the archives for information
touching the Indian tribes of Georgia. Mr. Bevan 's
report is still preserved. (Governor's Message to
the General Assembly, November 7, 1825; Indian
Affairs, Volume 2, pp. 784-794.)
In 1837, the Governor was authorized by a leg
islative act to appoint some one to repair at once to
London for the purpose of procuring Georgia's colo
nial records, or copies thereof. Under authority of
this act. Governor Gilmer appointed the Eev.
Charles Wallace Howard, a Presbyterian clergy
man. Dr. Howard remained abroad two years en
gaged almost unremittingly in copying records.
These grew into twenty-two manuscript volumes
which Dr. Howard, on returning home, deposited in
the Secretary of State's office. Here they re
mained until 1848, when, in order to give Dr. Wm.
B. Stevens access to them for a history which he
was then engaged in preparing, they were removed
to Savannah. Here they remained in the custody
of the State Historical Society for thirty-five years,
when they were loaned to Colonel Charles C. Jones,
Jr., whose history appeared in 1883. The records
were then restored to the Secretary of State's of
fice. Later on, however, they were loaned to Pro
fessor Scomp, of Emory College, only to be de
stroyed in 1891, when Professor Scomp 's splendid
library fell a prey to the flames. Thus, after a
lapse of fifty years, Georgia stood, with respect to
9

her records, exactly where she stood in 1838.
But it was not for another full decade that any
steps were taken to retrieve this disaster. Finally,
on December 23, 1902, an executive order was signed
by Governor Terrell authorizing former Governor
Allen D. Candler to compile for publication the
Colonial, Revolutionary and Confederate Records of
Georgia. Before relinquishing the helm of state.
Governor Candler had repeatedly called attention
to the condition of the records, urging upon the leg
islature the importance of this step. We find an al
lusion to it in every message. His persistency, in
this respect, recalls the example of the Roman Cato.
It was, therefore, eminentlj^ appropriate that a man
like Governor Candler, distinguished in public af
fairs, esteemed for his exalted character, familiar
with the state's history and impressed with the ne
cessity of saving its endangered records, should Tje
called upon to execute this difficult assignment. The
remainder of his life — a segment of seven years—
was unremittingly given to this task, the magnitude
of which was not, in the beginning, fully realized.
But the result spealfs for itself, and, in the years to
come, these records will constitute his most en
during monument.
We need not multiply details. Suffice it to say
that, besides having the London records re-copied,
Governor Candler left no stone unturned. Every
promising source of information was put under
tribute and every avenue of research exhausted. At
the time of his death in 1910 Governor Candler had
compiled not less than 51 volumes in manuscript,
10

some of which were large enough to be divided into
two parts; and of these, 39 related to the Colonial
Period, 5 to the Revolutionary Period, and 7 to the
Confederate Period. Half of these volumes had been
put into print. Governor Northen, his successor in
office, was prevented by the infirmities of age and
the handicaps of political embarrassment from
adding materially to Governor Candler's work. Re
moved from office by a Governor with whom he was
not in accord and by whom he was not understood,
the manuscripts of his office were edited and put into
sealed packages by an assistant, Miss L. T. Hender
son, whose work, as far as the exigencies of the mo
ment permitted her to go, cannot be too highly
praised. Governor Northen, soon after his restora
tion to office, was prostrated by fatal illness.
On April 2, 1913, following the death of Gover
nor Northen, the present Compiler of Records en
tered upon his duties, by appointment of Governor
Brown. Besides editing, annotating, indexing and
publishing the Candler manuscripts, he undertook
by authority of the legislature some additional work,
including the compilation of records for interme
diate periods, the importance of which was most
urgent, since these periods were uncovered by any
existing state histories, except in the barest out
lines. During the past four years, therefore, in ad
dition to issuing eight volumes of the Candler man
uscripts, I have, under the authority thus granted,
made an exhaustive study of the state archives,
putting special emphasis upon the Executive Min
utes, have gathered together from various sources
11

a fair collection of historical pamphlets, have in
stalled a bureau of historical clippings, have com
piled in typewritten ma.nuscript a roster of the Gen
eral Assembly since Georgia has been a common
wealth, and completed for publication this summer
a roster of Georgia troops in the Revolution. I
have also used every effort to encourage the writing
of local histories, with the result that such histories
have been undertaken for Camden, Clinch, Lowndes,
Ha;bersham, Baldwin, Decatur, Whitefield, Crawford
and other counties. All this has been accomplished
with the help of only one stenographer. But this is
only a tithe— a mere fragment— of what still re
mains to be accomplished.
List of Candler Manuscripts Still
Unpublished
Thirty-three volumes of the Candler manu
scripts have already been published. These include :
25 for the Colonial Period, 3 for the Revolutionary
Period, and 5 for the Confederate Period. The
m'anuscript of Volume XX was lost some few years
ago by a publishing house to which this volume was
entrusted, and the subsequent failure of the pub
lishers left the state without recourse. This was
before the present Compiler entered upon his du
ties. It will be necessary at some time in the near
future to have this volume re-copied. The impub-
lished Candler manuscripts, nineteen in number, aro
as follows: 12

Colonial
VOLUME XXVII. Original Papers of the Trus
tees, President and' Assistants, Gover
nor John Reynolds, Lieut.-Governor
Henry ElHs, and others. 1740-1756.
VOLUME XXVIII. Part 1. Original Papers of
Governors Reynolds, Ellis, Wright, and
others. 1757-1763.
VOLUME XXVIII. Part 2. Original Papers of
Governor Wright, Acting Governor
Habersham, Lieut.-Governor Graliam',
and__others. 1764-1782.
VOLUME XXIX. Entry Books. 1732-1738.
VOLUME XXX. Trustees' Letter Books. 1738-
1745.
VOLUME XXXI. Trustees' Letter Books. 1745-
1752.
VOLUME XXXIL Entry Books" of Commis
sions, Powers, Instructions, Leases,
etc., by the Trustees. 1732-1738.
VOLUME XXXIII. Entry Books of Commis
sions, Powers, Instructions, Leases,
etc., by the Trustees. 1738-1754.
VOLUME XXXn^ Entry Books of Commis
sions, Powers, Instructions, Leases,
etc., by the Trustees. Commissions
Special and General to Governors Rey
nolds, Ellis and Wright. 1754-1781.
VOLUME XXXV. Original Papers of Governor
13

Oglethorpe, the Trustees, and others.
1732-1742.
VOLUME XXXVI. Original Papers of Governor
Oglethorpe, the Trustees, and others.
1742-1751.
VOLUME XXXVII. Original Papers, Correspond
ence of Governor Wright, The Earl of
Egmont, The Earl of Halifax, the
Right Hon. Henry Seymour Conway,
the Duke of Richmond, the Earl of
Shelbourne, the Earl of Hillsborough,
President James Habersham, and oth
ers. Indian Talks. 1761-1772.
VOLUME XXXVIII. Part 1. Original Papers.
Correspondence of Governor Wright,
President James Habersham, the
Earl of Hillsborough, the Earl of Dart
mouth, and others. Indian Treaties.
Relinquishments, etc. 1772-1775.
VOLUME XXXVIII. Part 2. Original Papers.
Correspondence of Governor Wrigljt,
Earl of Dartmouth, Lord Germain,
William Knox, Lord Cornwallis,
Lieut.-Governor Graham, and others,
1775-1782.
VOLUME XXIV. Entry Books, Letters, Memo
rials, Petitions, etc., of General Ogle
thorpe, the Trustees, Governors Rey
nolds, Ellis and Wright. 1733-1783.
Journal Sonthern Congress. 1763.
Indian Treaties, etc. 1733-1783.
14

Confederate
VOLUME V. Pa:rt 1. Laws Relative to Organiza
tion aud Equipment of Troops. Pub
lic Defense, etc. 1860-1870.
VOLUME V. Part 2. Extracts from Journals of
the Senate. 1860-1866.
VOLUME V. Part 3. Extracts from Journals of
the House of Representatives. 1860-
1866.
VOLUME VII. Extracts from, House and Senate
Journals, 1860-1866. Thomas H.
Ruger, Provisional Governor, 1868.
Rufus B. Bulloch, Governor,' 1868-1871.

Status of These Manuscripts
These manuscript volumes are in sealed pack
ages, all of which are labeled with a summary of
contents, to which is added the inclusive dates. The
work of compilation is virtually complete ; but in
preparing each volume for the printer there is much
preliminary labor involved. This work is not of a
clerical, but of an editorial character, consisting of
marginal annotations, captions, etc. The proof-
sheets must be carefully read. Then an index must
be made, for which in the selection of key-words the
greatest care is required. If the work is per
formed by one who is not familiar with Georgia's
history, or by one unskilled in technical work of this
kind, a doorway is opened for countless errors and
35

mistakes, the effect of which will be to invalidate
these records. If the work is worth doing at all it
is worth doing well. Records in which errors abound
are worse than worthless.
All of the Candler manuscripts have been
copied in pencil. This is due to an iron-clad rule
of the British Museum which forbids the use of pen
and ink. Some of the records are already blurred.
Wherever the moisture has penetrated, the copy has
been iinpaired. Consequently, there must be no un
necessary delay in putting these manuscripts into
type, otherwise, it will soon be difficult to decipher
them; and in the course of time the necessity may
arise for re-copying them, altogether, at heavy addi
tional cost to the state. But the requisites of care
ful work render it inexpedient to publish more than
two volumes per annum, certainly not more than
four. The old adage of the Greeks "hasten slow
ly" well applies in this connection. Work may be
expedited but cannot be hurried.
Governor Candler made one very serious mis
take. He published some of the earlier volumes in
editions too large, anticipating a demand which was
not subsequently realized. But records are not ro
mances or novels. They are only skeletons, and in
themselves constitute dry reading for the average
individual. Consequently not a few volumes have
accumulated in the basement of the capitol. These
should be distributed to schools or exchanged for
the publications of other states. Present editions
are limited to 30O copies. But a roster of Georgia
troops in the Revolution, which I am now engaged
16

in compiling, will probably, when published, on ac
count of its importance, be in such demand as to
justify a much larger edition.
However, I wish to emphasize this principle:
Oiir history ought not to be commercialized, but
placed within the reach of all. Its effect thus placed
will be educative in the highest degree — an inspi
ration to the youth of our state and a magnificent
discipline for coming Georgians. This office is not
—and should not be— primarily a source of revenue,
but a bureau of conservation. If incidentally a few
records are sold to purchasers, well and good. But
the essential thing for which the department exists
is the preservation of our records. Su^bordinate to
this main purpose, there are four things to be con
sidered: compilation, publication, distribution, in
struction. Other Records Awaiting
Compilation
Besides the Candler manuscripts there exists in
the state capitol, a wealth of material which, if not
speedily put into print or provided with adequate
safeguards, will eventually, in great part, at least,
be lost to the state. There are also additional rec
ords to be copied beyond the water. It is out of the
question to furnish more than a tentative list of
materials. But this list, while partial, and incom
plete, is nevertheless illuminating. It is herewith
17

reproduced :
I. For the Colonial Period.
1. Important records pertaining to Geor
gia in the Spanish archives at Seville.
During the Colonial Period, we fre
quently came in collision with Spain.
The battle of Bloody Marsh, fought on
St. Simons Island, in 1742, gave a
deathblow to the Spaniards, and halted
the tide of invasion.
2. Proclamations and Commissions. (Sec
retary of State's office.)
3. Colonial Wills. (Secretary of State's
office.)
II. For the Revolutionary Period.
1. Important Records pertaining to Geor
gia in the French archives in Paris, es
pecially those wliich relate to the siege
of Savannah.
2. Proclamations and Commissions. (Sec
retary of State's office.)
3. Records, certificates, land-grants, etc.,
from which to compile a Roster of
Georgia troops in the Revolution.
(Secretary of State's office.)
III. For the Confederate Period.
1. In the Executive Vault.
(1) A book containing the military or
ders ahd letters of Governor Joseph E.
Brown, complete, 1861-1865.
(2) A lot of unbound manuscript, num
bering some 2,000 sheets, the value of
18

which is unknown.
2. In the Adjutant-General's Office.
(1) Conjmissian Registers, G. M., in
cluding all commissions issued by the
State, 1861-1865.
(2) Original Pay and Muster Rolls of
Troops in the State Service, 1861-1865,
embracing 16 regiments, 9 independent
battalions, and 17 detached companies.
(3) Military Election Returns, includ
ing elections in the field, 1861-1865.
(4) Letter Books Adjutant-General,
complete, 1861-1865.
(5) Order Books, Adjutant-General,
complete, 1861-1865.
(6) Rosters C. S. A., Troops furnished
by Georgia.
(7) Militia Enrollment by Counties,
1861-1865.
(8) Records Commissary-General, 1861-
1865.
(9) Records Salt Furnished by State,
1861-1865.
(10) Part of the War Correspondence
of Governor Joseph E. Brown.
3. In the Roster Commission's Office.
(1) List of Confederate soldiers made
by survivors.
(2) Card system, well-nigh complete,
containing records of Confederate Sol
diers compiled from all sources.
19

IV, For the Intermediate Periods.
1. Messages, Proclamations, Letters and
Executive Orders of the Governors.
2: Old Wills. 3. Old Land Grants, Head-
rights and Lotteries. 4. Indian
Treaties.
5. Rosters of Indian Wars, the War of
1812, and the War with Mexico, chiefly
from! Pay and Muster Rolls in the Ad
jutant-General's Office, 1776-1838.
6. The Cherokee Removal.
7. Roster of the General Assembly.
8. Roster of State House Officers, Judges
and Solicitors.
N. B.— In the War Department in Washington, D.
C, there are many important military rec
ords, only a few of which have been ob
tained.
Some of the Duties of a State
Archivist
But the activities of a Department of Archives
will not be restricted to a sphere the limits of which
are fixed in any sense by the foregoing items. Its-
boundaries will be much wider. Briefly outlined, the
duties of a State Archivist will be as follows :
1. To assemble, classify, edit, annotate and
publish Georgia's official records, including mes
sages of Governors, executive orders, state papers,
military rosters of the Revolutionary, Indian, Mex-
20

ican and Civil Wars, the War of 1812, the Spanish-
American War and the European War.
2. To diffuse knowledge in regard to the
state's history and to prepare biennially an official
register, giving the latest information of a political
character in regard to the state, including a full list
of state house officers, legislators, judges and solic
itors, together with other pertinent facts in regard
to these officials.
3. To collect from the files of old newspapers,
court records, church records, private collections,
etc., all kinds of data bearing upon the history of
Georgia; to secure from private individuals either
by loan or by gift rare voluihes, manuscripts, let
ters, documents and pamphlets for the use of this
department ; and to obtain in like manner historical
trophies, souvenirs and relics.
4. To encourage the proper marking and pres
ervation of battle-fields, houses and other places
celebrated in the history of Georgia.
5. To encourage the study of Georgia history
in the public schools, to foster state pride in the
young, and to assist in the observance of patriotic
occasions. 6. To stimulate historical research, especially
in the preservation of local histories.
7. To foster a sentiment looking to the better
protection, classification and arrangement of rec
ords in the various court-houses of the state.
8. To prepare a Bibliography of Georgia, indi-
21

eating, by title at least, every book written about
Georgia or by a Georgian, together with pertinent
facts in regard to Georgia authors.
9. To collect biographical information in re
gard to all public officials and to keep same on file,
in a classified arrangement, for convenient refer
ence by investigators.
Reasons for Establishing a De
partment of Archives
Current Records Increasing
1. Even the most superficial knowledge of con
ditions existing at present in our state capitol em
phasizes the need of establishing at once a Depart
ment of Archives. There is not a department of the
state whose capacity is not already taxed. The de
mand for space in which to asseihble current records
has become so great that unavoidably those records
which have ceased to be current present a serious
problem. Moreover, the rapidly increasing volume
of the state's current business imposes upon the
head of each department suoh a burden of respon
sibility that he lacks the patience, the inclination
and the time needed for investigating the records,
whenever search is desired. Take for example the
office of Secretary of State, which, of late years, has
been literally swamped by the automobile tax.
There is not a harder-worked man in Georgia than
Mr. Cook, on whose shoulders the state has laid the
burden of an Atlas. Conditions have become alarm-
22

ingly critical. To provide a central depository,
therefore, in which to house these records will ac
complish a two-fold purpose — it vnW relieve the
congestion above indicated and will insure the pres
ervation, care and expert knowledge of old rec
ords, the value of which to our state is beyond
computation. What Other States are Dcang
2. In preserving the materials of our history,
lie have lagg^ed far behind other states of the Union.
Alabama and Mississippi — states carved out of
Georgia's territory — ^have for years maintained
such departments efficiently organized and splen
didly equipped. The former under Dr. Thomas M.
Owen, the latter under Dr. Dunbar Rowland, are
each doing a magnificent work ; and if Georgia fails
to emulate the example thus set before her, she will
eventually be outdistanced by her own off-spring.
It was my good fortune some time ago to visit
the Alabama Department of Archives and History
at Montgomery, and I was amazed at the exhibit.
Dr. Owen has done a marvelous work. The depart
ment is a monument to this man — to his industry, to
his state pride, and to his genius as an organizer.
He has filled the entire basement with the gathered
materials of Alabama's history, including newspa
per files, manuscripts, and pamphlets. Besides, he
occupies a large part of the second floor, utilizing
for his collection every hall, passageway and cor
ridor. 23

The state of North Carolina, in 1903, organ
ized a State Historical Commission, of which Dr. R.
D. W. Connor has been the dominating spirit. It_
occupies today the entire second floor of a beautiful
marble structure known as the Hall of History.
When the .department was organized the public ar
chives of North Carolina were in a state of hopeless
confusion, most of them packed away indiscrimi
nately in boxes and consigned to plunder-rooms, as
if they were so much worthless junk. Within six
years after its establishment 8,788 manuscripts had
been deposited with the Commission (Report of
1810) the archives had been systematically and or
derly arranged on roller shelves; a museum had
been organized, and a number of volumes published.
The state of Wisconsin, a comparatively young
state, situated on the Canadian border line, more
than a thousand miles distant, leads all the states
perhaps in its zeal for the preservation of Amer
ican history ; and today in the possession of this re
mote northern state there are Georgia boohs, docur-
ments and manuscripts which cannot be duplicated
in Georgia, and to procure copies of which we must
pay a stipulated fee. Let us blush to record this
fact. Virginia, Tennessee, Texas, Louisiana, South
Carolina and Arkansas are all outstripping Geor
gia. Georgia a State with a History
3. Georgia is not a state without a history to
record, but a state whose annals are glorious with
achievement, reaching back to the days of Ogle-
24

thorpe. She was one of the original thirteen col
onies of England and, while the youngest of the
group, established what still survives as the oldest
organized charity in North America. She was also
the first to prohibit slavery and to outlaw rum. One
of the most decisive battles of the whole colonial pe
riod was fought within her borders, on St. Simon's
Island — this in the opinion of no less a critic than
Thomas Carlyle. The cotton gin was invented in
Georgia. The discovery of anesthesia occurred in
Georgia. The last meeting of the Confederate cab
inet was held in Georgia; and if there is a state in
the Union whose history calls for preservation that
state is Georgia. She needs to be set right before
the world. If we were as careful to advertise her
virtues as we are to exploit her occasional resorts
to lynch law, she would not stand in need of a cham
pion, apywhere in Christendom.
Georgia's Material Wealth
4. Georgia is not a state without- means. Our
marvelous resources of soil and climate, of field and
forest, of mine and mart, of water-power and inland
navigation, of ocean-front and mountain back
ground, challenge comparison. We are rich in all
the products of the temperate zone and in all the
minerals needed for the industrial arts, besides pre
cious metals like gold and silver. These have caused
Georgia to be dubbed "The Empire State of the
South." But Georgia will be the poorest of states
and in the years to come will be justly an object of
25

contempt among her sister states if, turning a deaf
ear to the claims of her glorious past, she prefers to
listen te the seductive song of a golden siren.

Deficiencies of Our History as Written
5. Another reason for establishing a Depart
ment of Archives is fdund in the deficiencies of our
state history as heretofore tvritten. McCall, Ste
vens, and Jones have each given us masterpieces of
historical literature ; but these historians deal only
with our Colonial and Revolutionary antiquities;
they bring the story of Georgia down to the begin
ning of the nineteenth century, and there the nar
rative ends. Col. Avery has given us. an elaborate,
if a Somewhat distempered, account of the Civil
War period, to which Prof. Derry has added a fine
military review. ¦ Evans, Brooks, Smith, Mitchell
and others have told the story of the state in epi
tome, and given us excellent outline studies. But
from 1800 te 1861 there exists a yawning gap which
is yet to be filled by the historian; while from
1868 down to the present time another great hiatus
confronts us. If it be important te compile the rec
ords fer these periods which have already been well-
covered by the historian, viz., the Colonial, the Rev
olutionary and the Confederate, how transcendently
important it is to compile the records fer those pe
riods wliich have not been covered by any history to
day in existence. Except in a detached way the
story of our state has never been written and un-
26

less our records are properly preserved it can never
be written.
Perfect Records Kept of Two Classes: Lunatics and
Convicts
6. We keep perfect records fer two classes of
our people— the poor unfortunates in our insane
asylum and the vicious inmates of our state peniten
tiary. There is not a convicted criminal er a de
mented child of Georgia whose record is not well
kept. But when it comes to those who have melded
our statutes and fought our battles and given char
acter to our state and made. Georgia illustrious
among the commonwealths of this Union, we say to
them: "Let the dead past bury its dead." We
are ready te appropriate thousands of dollars to
extirpate the boll weevil, the cattle tick and the hog
cholera— to safe-guard our cotton patches and our
pig-pens. Shall we de less fer those who have ad
vanced the state in honor, who have made us what
we are and who, many of them without head-stones,
are today sleeping in our silent hills ?
Conclusion
7. Now is the time to strike. It is a moment
of crisis. Patriotism is in the air. Events ane put
ting a solemn em,phasis upon the importance of rec
ords. We are looking to the past for guidance, for
wisdom, and for inspiration. The nucleus for such
27

a department exists already in the Comipiler's of
fice. It will be easy te build upon this foundation.
There wiU be little additional cost to the state,
while a vast amount of work can be accomplished for
which ne provison is made at present. I am not so
licitous for an office. It is at a loss to personal in
terests that I am holding this position. But I love
Georgia's history; and if I can rescue from oblivion
one single name which but for me might be for
gotten — if I can raise it eut of the dust and lift it
shining to the firmament — I shall be well repaid.
In the person of Old Mortality the Wizard of
the North has depicted a character beautiful to me,
in seme respects at least, above all the characters of
literature. It was the custom of this simple-
hearted man te visit each year all the burial-grounds
in his vicinity, deepening the epitaphs of the mar
tyred Cameronians. Where he found no head-stone
he erected with his own hands a rude memorial, which
he always kept in beautiful repair. He loved these
silent heroes of the kirk, and with the enthusiasm
of a devotee he sought to keep their names bright .
and their memories green in Scotland's heart of
hearts. The click of his chisel was a sound familiar
to the ears of thousands. But one day its music
ceased. On the roadside, near a village cemetery,
he was found with his eye-lids closed. Old Mortal
ity's work was done; but, in the stiffening chill of
death, his fingers closed around his chisel and on his
face a smile still lingered. There had Qome to him
the balm of rest among the kindred spirits of his
28

highland home. Others, if they choose to do so, may
covet the seats of the mighty and the togas of the
great. I covet only the chisel of Robert Patersen,
the stone-cutter of Galloway, content if 1, can only
do for Georgia what he did for Scotland.
Lucian Lamae Knight

The Condition of Georgia's
Archives
By the State Librarian
It is needless to recount in detail the many vi
cissitudes thru which the Archives of Georgia have
passed. There is no use crying ever spilled milk.
However, we can and should 'profit by these expe
riences to the extent of protecting the records we
have left. Locking the stable doer after a horse is
stolen is not an unwise thing te do when there is
another horse left inside.
Investigations made in the preparation of this
paper have convinced me that a rich field is afforded
in the Archives still existing in the capitol build
ing despite the many and deplorable losses; that it
is a field that is becoming more and mere impover
ished with the years ; that the life of the records as
they stand is a losing one ; that each day makes its
own inroads of injury, where verily both "moth and
dust doth corrupt." 29

We are told to "read the lesson of the past in,
order to teach the present hew to shape the future. ' '
Archives constitute the only true and accurate me
dium hy which the present can know the past.
Georgia, as one of the thirteen original states
with a noble history dating back te the early days
of the 18th century, should cease to be negligent of
the records of that history. Suoh indifference is un
worthy of such origin. Her Archives should be
brought together and classified; they should be en
vironed with dignity and safety, and presided over
by a competent Archivist to the end that they may
be permanently preserved— this should be done not
alone with a view to the edification of future gen
erations but for our own self-respect as well.
Any effort to this effect will not fail to receive
cordial co-operation from our Secretary of State,
in whose office a majority of the Archives are filed.
Among them are two old volumes of Wills of
nb4:-lQ containing official copies of wills registered
in that period. The volumes are in such a state of
dilapidation as to be literally dropping to pieces.
An Inventory of Appraisement covering the period
1756-70 is in quite as bad condition.
A trifle more delay, a little longer procrasti
nation, and Georgia will have added these priceless
volumes to her already too long list of lost Archives.
Relative to an effort which the Secretary of
State himself made a few years ago to induce the
legislature to provide adequate facilities for hous-
30

ing these and other precious old volumes, ]\Ir. Cook
relates this incident:
An appointment had been made for a Legisla
tive Committee to meet him in his office as Secretary
of State and hear his recomm'endations. At the ap
pointed hour, one member of the committee ap
peared ahead of the others, and when Mr. Cook
showed him the dilapidated eld volumes, the mem
ber turned away disgustedly and said: "I wouldn't
give thirty cents for the lot of them."
Until the State Archives can be assembled in
one place under some sort of classification, however
general, any lists that may be made of fractional
parts here and there, will be of negligible value, for
the reason that the shifting and the removal to the
basement to which the official papers are subject,
render it impossible to take up the work of listing
where previous lists leave off.
The preparation of the Bibliography herewith
submitted involved the handling of several thou
sands books and papers. Yet it is scarcely more
than a nucleus — a mere beginning; and while it re
fers chiefly to documents in the office of the Secre
tary of State, it also brings to light some valuable
matter contained in other departments of state gov
ernment. Many documents of the Executive Department
have been lost through the custom of "cleaning up"
for each in-coming Governor. 31

In the valuable paper of Mr. Ulrich B. Phillips
on "The Public Archives of Georgia" published in
the annual report of the American Historical As
sociation for 1903, appears a carefully prepared list
of documents located in certain rooms of the capitol
building. In verifying this list fifteen years later, I
find some very definite changes have taken place
For example, Mr. Phillips refers to the "main doc
ument room of the Executive Department," and its
"tall cases of dust-proof pigeon holes containing
original papers in large numbers, dating chiefly in
the period since the close of the reconstruction."
"They deal with the school fund, military fund,
public buildings, lunatic asylum, insurance state
ments, justice of the peace, notaries public, applica
tions, requisitions, pardons granted and refused."
So far ns I have been able to discover, there are now
no papers in the Executive Department a/nswering
to this description.
Mr. Phillips refers to a document room en the
third floor of the capitol, which he describes as "an
overflow document room of the Executive Office."
He describes the contents of the room as "Original
documents for the ante-bellum period, and for the
Civil War and Reconstruction," and says that "for
the purpose of historical investigation many of these
documents are among the mogt important in the
capitol." Alas for the scattering of these docu
ments! To accommodate a new department, cre
ated by the legislature a few years since, it be
came necessary te convert the third floor document
room' into an office room. The contents were re-
32

moved; one item, namely: "Deeds, bonds, bills of
sale, mortgages, leases, wills, and powers of attor
ney, recorded in the secretary's office of the State
of Georgia, August 25, 1780, te December 13, 1781,"
was placed in the office of the Secretarj- of State.
Some of the records proved to be contained in cer
tain boxes that are stored in the basement. In an
other room of the basement was found a mass of
official papers heaped on the floor like so much rub
bish — all that was left of them, I was told, the main
body of the papers having been dumped into the fur
nace and burned.
In the rubbish. heap referred to, was found a
bundle of Western and Atlantic Railroad papers of
1846-1847. These records had been eagerly sought
by the W. & A. Commission, who have performed
excellent work in collecting material pertaining to
the state road. There were found also other items
listed by Mr. Phillips which unmistakably identify
this mass of papers as a part of the records former
ly ill the third floor room. All that remains of the
papers have been boxed until such time as they
can be analyzed by the proper official.
The condition of State Records at the capitol
is no doubt repeated with variation in nine-tenths
of the counties of the state. Whatever movement
is set afoot for the preservation of State Records
at the capitol should embrace also in its scope
county records, in order that a system may be de
veloped whereby the history of the entire state of
Georgia as set forth in original sources may be pre-
33

sented in a manner commensurate with its import
ance. For valuable assistance in the preparation of-
the Bibliography which follows I am indebted to my
Assistant Librarian, Miss Carrie L. Dailey, whose
enthusiastic interest and patient work in Georgia
Records has made it possible for me to submit a re
port on Georgia Archives which I trust will prove to
be of real value in furthering the aim of this Associa
tion.

34

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