. . . I had a great trip to Upson County, Georgia. I really enjoyed meeting Penny Cliff and the folks at the Thomaston-Upson Archives. And the fact that I found so little was in itself a discovery of importance.
Here's what I learned: there is no real obituary for George Preston Birdsong in the Thomaston Times, although the paper did run a memorial written by a committee of the local militia camp. There is no surviving mention of why he orhis brother Albert went to Texas in 1884 or why they returned about twenty years later. There is no accounting for their property, or for that matter, their share of their parents' property. In essence, these two Birdsong heirs disappear for twenty years and re-appear to die and be buried in Upson County.
Was their disappearance encouraged by their family? Were the family records expunged? Why is so little known about the eldest son of one of the most prominent citizens of Upson County?
For some answers, we'll go to Texas [electronically, that is], and perhaps also, we'll ask David E. Paterson, one of the most knowledgeable Upson County historians.
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