Tracing the Ancestors of Georgia Scott: Hancock and Warren County, Ga

[chief]

In this series of post, we trace the ancestors of Georgia Scott, a woman of color and native of Warren County/ Hancock County, Georgia. Seer, one of the two winners in the " Kinpeople Tracing Your Ancestor Contest" named her as the ancestor she wanted traced.

[chief]

Seer supplied the following data about her ancestor:

• My uncle W.H. Hill was born around 1911 in Hancock County, Georgia. I think he and his wife Georgia were pretty close in age.
• I don't know when they married.
• They had one daughter, Nina Hill. She is now deceased.
• Georgia and her family lived near Hancock County but in Warren County. 
• Uncle W.H. and Georgia separated. He moved to New York and died there. I have his obituary.
• I think Aunt Georgia remarried.
• Aunt Georgia's mother was named Nancy Scott. Nancy’s complexion was dark and pretty. Her hair, long, black and wavy.
• I don't know Nancy's maiden name. She married a man named Lucious Scott.

[chief]

Seer supplied this death notice from a New York newspaper:

Hill-W. H.
Jan. 4, 1982; dear friend of E. Redder; father of Nina Hill of Elmhurst, N.Y.; brother of Mrs. A.B. Hillman and Mrs. N.B. Harrison, both of Sparta, Georgia. The funeral service to be conducted 1 PM Fri., Jan 8 from MEADOWS BROS FUNERAL HOME INC.,576 Jefferson Avenue. The family will be in attendance this evening 7-9 PM. Interment Lakeside Cemetery, Hamburg, N.Y. Rev. Jerry Stover officiating.

Seer stated that her uncle was no longer with Georgia at the time of his death. She also believed that Georgia might have remarried and was using the surname Ryan.

After consulting with an older relative, Seer reported that her uncle's birth year was probably 1915, not 1911.

[chief]

We  (refers to the kinpeople.com staff) decided to take a look at the 1940 Hancock County federal census for W.H. Hill. Based on the information provided, he would have been an adult during that time. We discovered this entry:

Hill, W.H., household head, male, Negro, age 20, married, born Georgia, laborer
Hill, Georgia, wife, female, Negro, age 18, married, born Georgia, housewife
Hill, Nina Mae, daughter, female, Negro, age 1
 
U.S.Census, 1940, Hancock County, Georgia, District 111, W.H. Hill, Sheet 9B, House #143.


Although, there is an age discrepancy, the above entry matches the data we have obtained so far. We cannot use the 1950 census to follow the couple forward in time because it is not yet publicly available.  Census records are sealed 72 years before being opened for public viewing.

[chief]

We followed Georgia Scott back in time. Even though the 1940 census suggests that she was born around 1921 or 1922, we found her in the 1920 Warren County, Georgia federal census. Warren  County abuts and bounds Hancock on the northeastern side.

Scott, Lucilus, head, male, black, age 28,farmer, birthplace Georgia, parents' birthplace Georgia
Scott, Nancy, wife, female, mulatto, age 24, birthplace Georgia, parents' birthplace Virginia
Scott, Robert, son, male, mulatto, age 8, birthplace Georgia, parents' birthplace Georgia
--------------
--------------
--------------
Scott, Georgia, daughter, female, mulatto, age 2, birthplace Georgia, parents' birthplace Georgia

U.S.Census, 1920, Warren County, Georgia, ED 125, Lucilus Scott, Sheet 4B, House #79.


This census entry confirmed Georgia's mother  as Nancy Scott. The census taker described both mother and daughter as mulattos. The designation mulatto referred to persons who appeared to be of mixed racial heritage. Sometimes, it was a judgment call by the census taker.

From the 1920 census we can conclude:

• Nancy Scott was born around 1896.
• She appeared to be of mixed racial heritage.
• Her parents were born In Virginia.

[chief]

To trace Georgia's mother, Nancy Scott, back another generation, we needed to know her birth or maiden name.  The two easiest ways to obtain this data were:

• Locate a marriage certificate
• Find Nancy's obituary

Locate a Marriage Certificate for Nancy Scott
A search of computerized online marriage record for Warren and Hancock Counties failed to turn up one for Lucious Scott and Nancy.

Find Nancy Scott's Obituary
Seer reported Nancy Scott died after 1970, and was probably buried at Thankful Baptist Church cemetery.
A search of digitized newspapers available thru the local library lead to this obituary for Nancy Scott:

See Attachment below, Nancy Scott's Obituary.jpg

We now had  Nancy Scott's maiden name and the names of her parents, Bob and Mary Eagle.

Next we took a look at cemetery records, especially focusing on those of Thankful Baptist Church. We found:

Nancy E. Scott
1895-1975

Jessie Eagle
February 29, 1890 - February 18, 1953

John Eagle
1877- August 20, 1930

Mary Moss Eagle
1848- July 27, 1921

Rosa Eagle
October 9, 1895- September 26, 1961

Nancy Scott's obituary listed only one  living sibling, a brother James, who resided in Warren County, Georgia.  Jessie and John Eagle found in the above  cemetery records were also probably her siblings.

See Attachment below, Ancestors of Georgia Scott.jpg

[chief]

Since Nancy was born around 1896, we searched the 1900 Hancock County census for her parents' household. We found:

Robert Eagle, born 1839, Georgia, married 40 yrs.
Hattie Eagle, born 1880, Georgia, daughter
Sarah Eagle, born 1883, Georgia, daughter
Wm Eagle, born 1884, Georgia, son
James Eagle, born1886, Georgia, son
Livia Eagle, born 1888, Georgia, daughter
Nancy Eagle, born 1890, Georgia, daughter
Jessie  Eagle, born 1893, Georgia, son

U.S.Census, 1900, Hancock County, Georgia, Jewell Disrtict, Robert Eagle,  House#

Mary Eagle's tombstone indicated that she died July 27, 1921. A search of Georgia death certificates turned up one for her.  The certificate described Mary Eagle as a colored, married female, age 73. It supplied the following information about her:

Date of Birth:1848
Husband: Robert Eagle
Residence: Hancock County, Georgia
Mother: Mary Moss, born Warren County, Georgia
Father: Liza Moss
Informant: Irwin Eagle
Burial Place: Thankful Baptist Church

We had now found another generation of Nancy Scott's family.