Key Facts

Snapshot:	farmer
Parents:	unknown
Born:	1780's or 1790's North Carolina
Died:	sometime between 29 July 1867 and 1870 probably either Johnson County or (less likely) Washington County, Georgia
Buried:	unknown

172Caleb Love was born in North Carolina1,2 sometime in the 1780's or 1790's.1-3 I don't know who his parents were, but there are some potential clues:

Problem: Unresolved Who are 172Caleb's parents? The 1840 census lists 172Caleb Love (who's shown to be in his 40's) just two houses after Lovey Love (in her 90s).3 Could Lovey be 172Caleb's mother? In 1833 172Caleb gave an affidavit in support of a pension application for Revolutionary War veteran Thomas Love.4 Other documents within the file show that Thomas was born circa 1749, that in 1827 he had a living son and daughter, and that he moved from North Carolina to Washington County, Georgia sometime between 1827 and 1833. Could Thomas be 172Caleb's father? As of this writing (in November 2023), the NSDAR's Ancestor Search database does not include this Thomas Love; in other words, he left no proven descendants who have been accepted for NSDAR membership.

172Caleb seems to have spent most of the 1830's and 1840's in Washington County, Georgia. The earliest such record is dated 11 October 1833, when he gave a brief affidavit in Washington County.4 In 1834 the county seized and auctioned off 100 acres of his property along the Ohoopee River to satisfy a debt stemming from a lawsuit5 ... yet 172Caleb subsequently appears in Washington County tax records for 1837,6 1838,7 and 1848,8 all of which show that he owned about 100 acres of pine land. The 1840 census shows that he was living specifically in militia district 91 (map) and offers a glimpse of his family:3

1840: 172Caleb's family in militia district 91, Washington County, Georgia. Full page.3

By 1850 he had moved to Emanuel County. His 1850 census entry, copied below, reveals his wife's and children's names.1 The corresponding agriculture schedule shows that he owned one horse and some pigs, and that his farm had produced Indian corn, peas/beans, and sweet potatoes.9

1850: 172Caleb's family in Emanuel County, Georgia. Full page.1

Emanuel County's 1851 tax digest shows that 172Caleb owned 750 acres in militia district 56 (map; this district now lies in Johnson County).10 In 1853, however, 172Caleb once again had some of his land seized to settle a debt, this time 200 acres "of woodling land lying on waters of the Gully Branch;" the court record is dated 12 October 1853.11 I've been unable to find this Gully Branch on a modern map.

His wife Jemima presumably died in the 1850's, since 172Caleb married his second wife Meedy Tapley in Emanuel County on 7 September 1859.12 She allegedly was a divorcée (unusual for the time) with several children, some of whom may have been born out of wedlock.13

1859: 172Caleb's and Meedy's marriage record. Full page.12

The 1860 census shows 172Caleb and Meedy living in the newly created Johnson County.2

1860: 172Caleb's (new) family in Johnson County, Georgia. Full page.2

In July 1864 a Johnson County court ordered that the county pay 172Caleb $5 per month. In April 1865 this was increased to $10 per month, and the record explicitly notes 172Caleb as a "pauper." 14

In 1867 the U.S. Congress passed several Reconstruction Acts. These Acts divided the former Confederacy into several military occupation zones, which were ruled by Union military commanders. The Acts also directed the commanding officers to register Southerners who wanted to vote in upcoming elections. One registration requirement was to swear an oath of loyalty to the United States; the obvious intent was to disfranchise any lingering Confederate resistance. 172Caleb signed his oath on 29 July 186715 and appears on a subsequent voter registration list.16

172Caleb's Reconstruction-era voter registration oath15

The 1867 voter registration records are the last I've found of 172Caleb. He had probably died by 1870, when his wife Media was listed as head of household in Washington County.17

I didn't find 172Caleb in the indices of any of these county record books:

Emanuel County:
•	estray book A (1841-1918)
•	inferior court minutes for 1841-1859
•	inferior court judgements for 1853-1881
•	marriages book A (1817-1860)
•	ordinary court minutes book A (1841-1857)
•	ordinary court minutes book B (1857-1868)
Johnson County:
•	division of estates book A (1860-1929)
•	inventories & appraisements book A (1859-1887)
•	ordinary court minutes book A (1859-1873)
•	wills book A (1859-1923)
Washington County:
•	marriages book B (1852-1860)
•	wills book B (1852-1903)

Sources Cited:

1: 1850 U.S. Federal Census (Population Schedule). District 28, Emanuel County, Georgia. Page 463[a], dwelling 267, family 267, Calop Love household. NARA microfilm publication M432, roll 68. Internet Archive, <https://archive.org/details/7thcensus0056unit/page/n454/mode/1up>, accessed 4 October 2023. The Internet Archive's "volume" metadata tag for this roll erroneously states that it's roll 56, but the NARA's website clarifies that it's actually roll 68.

2: 1860 U.S. Federal Census (Population Schedule). Johnson County, Georgia. Page 475, dwelling 200, family 196, Calob Love household. NARA microfilm publication M653, roll 128. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9YBT-7XP?i=30&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AMZML-Q8J>.

3: 1840 U.S. Federal Census. Militia district 91, Washington County, Georgia. Page 213, Caleb Love household. NARA microfilm publication M704, roll 53. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GYTB-9SDC?personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AXHBN-BFG>.

4: National Archives microfilm series M804 (Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application Files, 1800-1906), reel 1590 (Charles Love - William Love), folder for Thomas Love of North Carolina, image 31 of 37 for this folder. NARA, <https://catalog.archives.gov/id/196210782?objectPage=31>, accessed 4 October 2023. Will Graves has transcribed several documents from this application file; his transcription is at <https://revwarapps.org/s36048.pdf> or here.

5: "Washington Sheriff's Sale," The Federal Union (Milledgeville, Georgia), 30 July 1834, page 3, column 5, about one-quarter of the way down the page. Georgia Historic Newspapers, <https://gahistoricnewspapers.galileo.usg.edu/lccn/sn86053071/1834-07-30/ed-1/seq-3/>, accessed 8 November 2023.

6: Washington County, Georgia. Tax digest book for the year 1837, Captain Peacock's district, entry for Caleb Love. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C3H3-7ZFZ?personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3A6CYP-2342>.

7: Washington County, Georgia. Tax digest book for the year 1838, Captain Peacock's district, page 26, entry for Calup Love. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C3H3-7CC2?personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3A6CY5-H839>.

8: Washington County, Georgia. Tax digest book for the year 1848, Captain T. J. Kennady's district, page 30, entry for Caleb Love. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C3H3-78H2?i=433&cc=4130006&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3A6CY5-H6FV>.

9: 1850 U.S. Federal Census (Agriculture Schedule). Emanuel County, Georgia. (The page numbers are illegible.), line 23, Calop Love farm. NARA microfilm publication T1137, roll 2. Ancestry.com (U.S., Selected Federal Census Non-Population Schedules, 1850-1880 / Georgia / Agriculture / 1850 / Emanuel / District 28 / images 7 and 8 of 15), accessed 7 November 2023. The NARA provides a helpful template.

10: Emanuel County, Georgia. Tax digest book for the year 1851, pages 50 and 51, entry for Caleb Love. Ancestry.com (Georgia, U.S., Property Tax Digests, 1793-1892 / Emanuel / 1851 / images 56 and 57 of 120), accessed 7 November 2023.

11: Emanuel County, Georgia. Deeds book C, page 135. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C33W-9SKS-Y?i=90&cat=203014>.

12: Emanuel County, Georgia. Marriages book B (1856-1879), page 40. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C9BK-Y1G3?i=141&cc=1927197&cat=216979>, accessed 7 November 2023.

13: Ray Tapley, Tapley: A Family of Georgia and the South (Greencrest Press, Atlanta, 1993), pages 44-45. Tapley provides commentary on Media's prior marriage, divorce, children, possible origins, etc. yet consistently fails to cite any sources. I did not attempt to confirm his claims about Media's divorce.

14: Johnson County, Georgia. Ordinary court, minutes book A (1859-1873), pages 88 and 97. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C3QZ-B9P8-J>.

(page 88) and <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C3QZ-B9P3-D> (page 97).

15: Georgia's 1867-1868 voter registration oath books, volume 91 (Johnson County Book 1), page 78, entry #155 for Caleb Love. Ancestry.com (Georgia, U.S., Returns of Qualified Voters and Reconstruction Oath Books, 1867-1869 / Oath Book / Johnson / 16 / image 103 of 230), accessed 7 November 2023.

16: Georgia's 1867-1868 returns of qualified voters, volume 51 (Johnson County), election district 16, n.p.(?), entry for Caleb Love. Ancestry.com (Georgia, U.S., Returns of Qualified Voters and Reconstruction Oath Books, 1867-1869 / Return of Qualified Voters / Johnson / 16 / image 6 of 23), accessed 7 November 2023.

17: 1870 U.S. Federal Census (Population Schedule). Washington County, Georgia. Page 2, dwelling 8, family 8, Media Love household. NARA microfilm publication M593, roll 182. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-DTBS-7B7?i=1&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AMCQ9-WJ7>.