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Smith family history: Part 27
Robson family, part 2 Part of the ‘Smith family history’ series Part of the ‘Kirkwood history’ series I stopped by the DeKalb County courthouse again the other day to see if any of the missing deed books were returned to the shelves. It seems that books “L” through “P” are still missing, but the “G/Q”…
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Smith family history: Part 26
Robson family, part 1 Part of the ‘Smith family history’ series Part of the ‘Kirkwood history’ series As we saw at the end of the previous post, after James H. Kirkpatrick’s death in 1853, the majority of the Kirkpatrick family real estate holdings were willed to (favorite?) son Dr. John Lycan Kirkpatrick. Dr. Kirkpatrick served…
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Smith family history: Part 25
Kirkpatrick family Part of the ‘Smith family history’ series Part of the ‘Kirkwood history’ series I have insufficient information (and inclination) to compile an exhaustive review of James Hutchinson Kirkpatrick, but I do think it’s a worthwhile endeavor to at least try to understand a bit more about the Kirkpatrick family’s landholdings, and the subsequent…
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Smith family history: Part 24
Kirkwood facts and early settlers Part of the ‘Smith family history’ series Part of the ‘Kirkwood history’ series In the next several posts I’ll be providing background on the Kirkwood neighborhood of Atlanta. Hopefully this will help shed some light on why the Smith family would have moved here from their home on Whitehall, or…
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Smith family history: Part 23
Later residents of 339 Whitehall Part of the ‘Smith family history’ series As we saw in the previous post, several significant events led up to the Smith family’s move away from their home on Whitehall Street in ~1890. Robert Windsor Smith had lived on the Whitehall property for approximately forty years. The land was purchased…
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Smith family history: Part 22
Significant events 1888-1890 Part of the ‘Smith family history’ series At the conclusion of the previous post I referred to a series of events leading up to Robert Windsor Smith’s move to the village of Kirkwood. In forthcoming posts I will provide a little background history on Kirkwood, but first will now discuss the significant…
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Smith family history: Part 21
Turk II – 1881-1887 Part of the ‘Smith family history’ series A brief note today, about what may initially seem like an inconsequential fact. During the years 1881-1887, I was able to find mentions of Robert Windsor Smith owning, showing, and breeding a mastiff named Turk II. While the details of Robert’s activities with his…
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Smith family history: Part 20
Gilded Age – 1877-1883 Part of the ‘Smith family history’ series Reconstruction had ended with the Compromise of 1877, and Georgia wasted little time in imposing Jim Crow laws like the 1877 statewide poll tax. The poll tax had existed in a previous form, but the 1877 poll tax required voters to also pay any…
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Smith family history: Part 19
Reconstruction era – 1874-1877 Part of the ‘Smith family history’ series The Scofield v. McNaught case was decided in the Georgia Supreme Court January term in 1874. I’m certainly no lawyer and will spare you my attempt to try and interpret the decision, but feel free to read through it yourself. It is interesting to…
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Smith family history: Part 18
Reconstruction era – 1871-1873 Part of the ‘Smith family history’ series In the early 1870’s Atlanta was still rapidly rebuilding, including the commercial and retail area of downtown. The (first) Kimball House hotel began construction in March 1870 and was still underway in October of that year. The Kimball House was an important symbol of…