My name is John Ellis and I am the person responsible for Toombs County. If you would like to contribute your information to this page, please let me know. If you would like to host a county, contact Tim Stowell GeorgiaGenWeb State Coordinator.

GeorgiaGenWeb Page

John Ellis  GeorgiaGenWeb Toombs County Coordinator

Robert Toombs's Speech to the Georgia Legislature, Nov. 13, 1860
Robert Toombs House - Washington, Ga.

Toombs Co. History
Toombs County was created August 19, 1905 with land taken from Emanuel, Montgomery and Tattnall counties. Toombs  county was named for Robert Augustus Toombs, C.S.A. General and Secretary of State. He was born in 1810 and died in 1885. He attended the University of Georgia and Union College in New York. He practiced law, served in legislature and in the US Congress and Senate. At first a Whig, he became a reluctant Democrat and then finally a secessionist. Toombs was associated with Howell Cobb and Alexander Stephens in much of his legislative career and was  one of  the wealthiest planters in Georgia in 1860. He was sent as a delegate to the convention at Montgomery and he accepted the position of Secretary of State with some hesitation because he had wanted to be president. He found that his office was not only a subordinate but also an idle one. He resigned to become Brigadier General of the Confederate States of America July 19, 1861 and to take over the Georgia brigade in Virginia, retaining his seat in the C.S.A. Congress. A fiery volunteer, he wanted to engage the Union Forces immediately and reviled the caution of the professional soldiers. He said upon several occasions that the Confederacy would be "died of West Point." After the Malvern Hill, Virginia battle on July 1, 1862, Daniel Harvey Hill, C.S.A. General from South Carolina, reprimanded Toombs for allowing his troops to break ranks and not rallying them, and Toombs demanded satisfaction. Toombs' attitude brought yet another reprimand. At Antietam he was severely wounded, but his brigade held the stone bridge in a valiant performance. When no promotion was received, he resigned on March 4, 1863. Toombs spent most of the rest of the war carping at the government's errors and oppressions, and was defeated in a bid for the C.S.A. Senate. But when Sherman advanced on Atlanta Toombs was named Division Adjutant and Inspector General in the Georgia Militia. Barely escaping arrest in May of1865, he fled to Cuba and England, later on returning to build a largelaw practice. Toombs never asked for pardon under Reconstruction laws. Just when he seemed to have repaired the damages to his fortune, his private life became a series of tragedies: his wife died insane and he became blind and began to drink to excess.

Toombs County Mailing List 

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Events Calendar If you have a family reunion or an event with genealogical or historical significance be sure and post them here. If you have any trouble with posting, email me, John Ellis .

 

Publications

Cemeteries of Toombs Co. Ga.
by Mose Coleman

Confederate and Civil War Resources

United Daughters of the Confederacy
Sons of Confederate Veterans
Confederate Resource Page
Georgia Confederate Pension Applications
Camp 932 Sons of Confederate Veterans

Revolutionary War Resources

Sons of the American Revolution - Altamaha Chapter
National Society, Sons of the American Revolution
Georgia Society of the Sons of the American Revolution
American Revolution.Org
Daughters of the American Revolution - Georgia Organization
National Society, Daughters of the American Revolution
National Society, Daughters of the American Revolution- State and Chapter Sites- Georgia
Revolutionary War Flags

War of 1812 Resources

The War of 1812 Website
War of 1812 Records: Where and How do I get them?

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Other Georgia Links

Georgia Vital Records Information
1895 Georgia Maps
Georgia County Map Northern Counties are shown in various colors.
Georgia County Map Southern Counties are shown in various colors.
Georgia Maps
Georgia County Creation
Georgia County Courthouses
GeorgiaInfo at the University of Georgia
Flags That Have Flown Over Georgia: The History of the Georgia State Flag

 

Local Toombs Co. Web Sites

The John E. "Jack" Ladson, Jr. Genealogical Library
The Ohoopee Regional Library System
The City of Vidalia, Ga.
The Toombs and Montgomery Co. Chamber of Commerce
Vidalia® Onion Web
 

Other Genealogical Links

RootsWeb Genealogical Data Cooperative
Cyndy's List of Genealogical Sites on the Internet
Genforum Surname Query Board
Internet FamilySearch
Census Online
Reenactors World
Query Page at Ancestry.Com    (Old RootsWeb GenConnect Board)
Toombs Co. Resources at Rootsweb

John Ellis - County Coordinator

This page was last updated on  4/08/2004

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