Josephine Bacon Martin

Midway Georgia in History and Legend 1752 – 1867 is a work of local history privately published in 1932 with a second, revised edition published in 1958 ( I have only seen the 1958 edition so I can’t comment on the extent of the revisions).

The slender volume is likely to be of interest only to genealogists and historians studying Midway, Liberty County, Georgia or the earlier St. John’s Parish, Georgia. Midway itself is rather fascinating; settled by Puritans moving en mass from Dorchester, South Carolina, Midway was reputedly called a hotbed of revolution by one colonial governor. When the Georgia colony did not choose to send a representative to the First Continental Congress, Midway sent two of their own. No fewer than five Georgia counties are named after individuals from Midway and a number of famous persons, including President Teddy Roosevelt, are descended from Midway residents.

The work is divided into several distinct sections. First is a rather scattered overview of the history of Midway, the Midway Society and the Midway Congregational Church. The author is obviously knowledgeable and used a wide range of sources, but she gives no citations or sources.

The next section is a series of “Stories from the Early Days” which are very short folk or local tales of dubious veracity. This is followed by transcriptions of some of the more interested headstones from the Congregational Graveyard and finally a few lists of early settlers and persons awarded land grants in 1752.

An anti African American bias crops up in this work. Some of the stories, for example, are uncomfortable reading for a modern audience. Martin fails to mention an important factor in the group's relocation to Georgia in 1752 was likely the overturning of a ban on slavery in 1751. She also cuts off her history at 1867 because in the post Civil War era, most of the formerly wealthy slaveholding families left the community and slowly sold off land to African Americans.

For historians or genealogists, this work is one that might prove useful. There is very little reason for anyone else to seek it out.… (mehr)