Georgia–History–19th century

ATHENS, Ga.–May 30, 2024
Funded by the Digital Library of Georgia’s competitive digitization subgrant program, a compelling collection of records representing the history of this Methodist church community and its role in shaping the city of Suwanee from the 1880s through the 1950s.

These records include vital statistics (marriages, infant baptisms, and dates of death) before the state of Georgia began retaining such information in 1919.

You can view the collection here: https://dlg.usg.edu/collection/sfumc_sfumc-hd

As early as 1873, regular church services were held in a schoolhouse. The church was formally established in 1876 and organized by 34 charter members. Early church records include local names recognized on Suwanee’s streets and parks such as Brogdon and Pierce.

Members represented in church records such as Harris, Baxter, Rhodes, and Born were integral community members who devoted themselves to service. They built their homes and raised their families in close proximity to the church, and celebrated important life events amongst fellow church members, such as baptisms, marriages, and deaths.

“I grew up and now live close to the church, becoming a member in 1977, along with my wife and two sons,” said James M. Burnette, Jr., mayor of Suwanee. “The church has a rich history in the community, and its historic records document marriages, baptisms, deaths, conference records, Sunday school records, United Methodist Women’s meetings, and other pertinent church events and data.”

The availability of these records in the DLG is important to those researching United Methodist Church history, the history of Suwanee and its early settlers, or are seeking vital documents prior to 1919, when Georgia started recording them, or other aspects of Suwanee local history.

About the Suwanee First United Methodist Church (Suwanee, Ga.)

As Suwanee, Georgia’s first church, Suwanee United Methodist Church’s goal has been to glorify God and serve His people since 1873. The current church sanctuary has welcomed the community for prayer and worship since 1910. With different pastors, new programs, and the same message of grace and hope, Suwanee is a church that has stood for many years and is excited about making a difference for years to come.

The Suwanee First United Methodist‘s United Women of Faith worked with the Suwanee Creek Chapter, NSDAR to organize and preserve the contents of this collection. The original documents will be kept in archival storage at the Gwinnett Historical Society.

About the Digital Library of Georgia

The Digital Library of Georgia (DLG) is Georgia’s statewide cultural heritage digitization initiative. It is a joint project between the University of Georgia Libraries and GALILEO. The DLG collaborates with Georgia’s cultural heritage and educational institutions to provide free online access to historic resources in Georgia. The DLG develops, maintains, and preserves digital collections and online resources and partners to build digitization capacity and technical infrastructure. It acts as Georgia’s service hub for the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) and facilitates cooperative digitization initiatives. The DLG serves as the home of the Georgia Newspaper Project, Georgia’s print journalism preservation project.

Selected images from the collection:

Title: “1955 church newsletter,” 1955

URL: https://dlg.usg.edu/record/sfumc_sfumc-hd_cn1955

Collection: Suwanee First Methodist Church Historic Documents

Courtesy of the Suwanee First United Methodist Church (Suwanee, Ga.) and the Gwinnett Historical Society

Title: “1890s – Mr. E. S. Brodgon agrees to build the church, photo of church,” 1890/1899

URL: https://dlg.usg.edu/record/sfumc_sfumc-hd_brogdon1890s

Collection: Suwanee First Methodist Church Historic Documents

Courtesy of the Suwanee First United Methodist Church (Suwanee, Ga.) and the Gwinnett Historical Society

“1890s - Mr. E. S. Brodgon agrees to build the church, photo of church,” 1890/1899 — Mr. E. S. Brodgon agrees to build the Suwanee First Methodist Church in Suwanee, Georgia, photo of the church from the 1890s.

Black and white photograph of a young African American boy standing next to a cow in a fenced pasture. — Julia King Collection – boy with cow https://dlg.usg.edu/record/midm_jkic_682

In partnership with the Midway Museum, the Digital Library of Georgia has just made the Julia R. King Collection available online.

King (1863–1952) was a descendant of the Roswell King (1765–1844) family of Georgia plantation owners and managers who owned land, property, and enslaved people across Georgia dating back to the 1700s.

The collection includes essential documents related to slavery, including estate appraisals and inventories that include the first names of enslaved African Americans. It will be of particular interest to those doing family research on people enslaved in Liberty County, Georgia.

Stacy Ashmore Cole, the creator of “TheyHadNames.net: African Americans in Early Liberty County Records, secretary of the Midway Museum Board of Governors, and president of the Coastal Georgia Genealogical Society, describes the importance of these records.

“The Midway Museum’s Julia R. King Collection contains essential references to enslaved people unavailable elsewhere.

These documents will interest them and others who have not yet discovered their ancestry.

The study of these enslaver families, including the Kings, is critical to Liberty County African American genealogical and historical research.

They had a long tradition of keeping enslaved people within their families through inheritance, lending, and gifting, including down the white female lines. Because of this, the only way to trace a particular enslaved person is often through probate and enslaving family documents.

The small size of the collection and its relative geographical remoteness have made it difficult for academic researchers to prioritize. The Midway Museum is also in an area vulnerable to hurricanes.

Digitization ensures that we preserve these materials and make them easily accessible for future generations.”

View the entire collection online

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About the Midway Museum

Since its founding, the Midway Museum has been supported by the descendants of the Midway Church members, who have provided 18th- and 19th-century family heirlooms, documents, books, genealogical lineages, and heirloom furnishings, paintings, and artifacts. Many Midway Church descendants still live in Liberty County and coastal Georgia, serve on the Board of Governors, and visit during the Midway Church’s annual Homecoming. Visit themidwaymuseum.org/

About the Digital Library of Georgia

The Digital Library of Georgia is an award-winning GALILEO initiative housed at the University of Georgia Libraries. With the state’s cultural heritage organizations, the DLG shares Georgia’s history online for free through its websites. The project supports its partner organizations by offering free and low-cost services. The DLG also serves as Georgia’s service hub for the Digital Public Library of America and as the home of the Georgia Newspaper Project, the state’s historic newspaper preservation project.

Visit our website at dlg.usg.edu
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Selected images from the collection:

Black and white image of an African American man standing in a patchy grass yard surrounded by several dogs with trees and a large body of water in the background.