Key Facts

Snapshot:	farmer
Parents:	84James Copeland 85Matilda Rabun
Born:	4 February 1859 Johnson County, Georgia
Died:	14 August 1930 Treutlen County County, Georgia
Buried:	Copeland Cemetery, Treutlen County, Georgia Coordinates: N32.34598 W82.70214

42Andrew Jackson Copeland was born 4 February 18591,2 in Johnson County, Georgia1 to parents 84James Copeland and 85Matilda Rabun.1 He was no doubt named in honor of the late U.S. President Andrew Jackson, a popular president who had died in 1845.

The 1860 and 1870 censuses show 42Andrew with his family.3,4

42Andrew married 43Sarah Elizabeth Love on 28 May 1878.5

1878: 42Andrew's and 43Sarah's marriage certificate. Full page.5

The 1880 census shows the young couple with no children yet.6 You may also be interested in their 1880 farm schedule listing7 (along with the corresponding template, although this census-taker seems to have been using a slightly different form, as explained in the source citation below).

1880: 42Andrew's family in Johnson County, Georgia. Full page.6

In 1884 they purchased 100 acres in Johnson County from 42Andrew's father 84James. The first few lines of the deed are copied below, or see the full page.8

42Andrew paid his father $500 for 100 acres in Johnson County. Full page.8

An 1890 tax digest shows 42Andrew and his father still in Johnson County.9

By 1900 42Andrew and his wife had relocated to Montgomery County, and they seem to have remained in that area for the rest of their lives.

In 1918, their residence became part of the newly-created Treutlen County, Georgia.

A February 1929 map of Treutlen County shows a location labeled "Gin Andrew Copeland;" the relevant portion is shown below.14 Superimposing the 1929 map over a modern map shows that his property was at (or very close to) coordinates N32.344750 W82.700267—just a short walk from where he's buried. A (blurry) 1937 aerial image of the area seems to show a structure of some kind nearby,15 although as of 2024 there's nothing left but a thick concrete slab.16

The site of the structure seen in the 1937 aerial map, photographed in April 202416

42Andrew died on 14 August 1930 from a hemorrhagic stroke. He's buried in the Copeland Cemetery in Treutlen County at coordinates N32.34598 W82.70214. His obituary,17 death certificate,1 and a photo of his grave2 are below. Notice that his gravestone bears an earlier, much-faded inscription (which is just barely visible in the photo below), but the inscription on the newer, smaller headstone is identical.

Sources Cited:

1: Treutlen County, Georgia death certificate 22856 for Andrew J. Copeland, who died 14 August 1930. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3GX-DXCS-SB?i=833&cc=1385727&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AJJ9K-B9X>, accessed 1 January 2020.

2: Tombstone of Andrew J. Copeland, Copeland Cemetery, Treutlen County, Georgia at coordinates N32.344750 W82.700267. Photograph taken by 1Bryant Knight, circa 2011.

3: 1860 U.S. Federal Census (Population Schedule). Johnson County, Georgia. Page 469, dwelling 159, family 159, James Copling household. NARA microfilm publication M653, roll 128. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9YBT-7SX?i=24&cc=1473181&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AMZML-3KS >.

4: 1870 U.S. Federal Census (Population Schedule). Militia district 1201, Johnson County, Georgia. Page 172, dwelling 406, family [blank], James Coblin household. NARA microfilm publication M593, roll 160. Ancestry.com. Although I used Ancestry.com, the image also available on FamilySearch: <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-6F93-Z24?i=14&cc=1438024&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AMC3Z-4G1>.

5: Johnson County, Georgia. Marriage book B (1877-1889), page 50, marriage of Andrew J. Copelin and Sarah E. Love. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-8BZN-9YX?i=237&cat=265887>, accessed 1 January 2010.

6: 1880 U.S. Federal Census (Population Schedule). Johnson County, Georgia. Enumeration district 61, page 18, dwelling 173, family 173, J A Clopplin household. NARA microfilm publication T9, roll 154. Although I used Ancestry.com, this record is also available on FamilySearch: <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GYYY-5FC?i=2&cc=1417683&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AM8GZ-3J2 >.

7: 1880 U.S. Federal Census (Agriculture Schedule). Johnson County, Georgia. Page 14, entry 4, An. Copplins farm. NARA microfilm publication T1137, roll 15. The NARA provides a helpful template; however, this census-taker seems to have used a different form, so the numbers don't correspond. The census-taker seems to have been aware of this problem because he manually wrote in the typical numbers on the form. The number on handwritten row 84 (= typed row 80) is difficult to read but seems to be 1/5 or 1/8. The number on handwritten row 85 (= typed row 81) is 20. The rest of the bottom row is blank.

8: Johnson County, Georgia. Deed book E, page 6, land deed from James Coplin to A. J. Coplin and Sary Elizabeth Coplin, dated 18 November 1884. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C3QP-PS7G-T?i=340&cat=260087>, accessed 1 January 2020.

9: Johnson County, Georgia. 1890 tax digest, section for Powell's district (militia district 1326), pages 1 and 2, entry for Andrew J. Coaplin. Ancestry.com ("Georgia, U.S., Property Tax Digests, 1793-1892" / Johnson / 1890 / images 70 and 71 of 130), accessed 11 October 2021.

10: 1900 U.S. Federal Census (Population Schedule). Lothair, Montgomery County, Georgia. Enumeration district 78, sheet 4A, dwelling 61, family 61, Andrew J Copeland household. NARA microfilm publication T623, roll 213. Although I used Ancestry.com, the image is also available on Familysearch.org: <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-DZMW-VGB?i=6&cc=1325221>, accessed 6 December 2017.

11: 1910 U.S. Federal Census (Population Schedule). Militia district 1221 (Lothair), Montgomery County, Georgia. Enumeration district 138, sheet 19B, dwelling 224, family 224, Ander J. Copelin household. NARA microfilm publication T624, roll 201. Although I used Ancestry.com, this record is also available on FamilySearch: <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GRJZ-42P?i=25&cc=1727033&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AML22-XX1>.

12: 1920 U.S. Federal Census (Population Schedule). Militia district 1221, Treutlen County, Georgia. Enumeration district 124, sheet 4A, family 60, A. J. Copeland household. NARA microfilm publication T625, roll 280. Although I used Ancestry.com, this record is also available on FamilySearch: <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GR6S-QX7?i=6&cc=1488411&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AMJXJ-Z3J>.

13: 1930 U.S. Federal Census (Population Schedule). Militia district 1221 (Lothair), Treutlen County, Georgia. Enumeration district 142-1, sheet 13-A, dwelling 226, family 226, Andrew J. Copeland household. NARA microfilm publication T626, roll 388. Although I used Ancestry.com, this record is also available on FamilySearch: <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GR48-2Z9?i=25&cc=1810731&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3A3ZZC-GW2>.

14: William J. Kremer, "Map of Treutlen County, Georgia" (1929). Georgia Archives record ID cmf0328. Georgia Archives Virtual Vault, <https://vault.georgiaarchives.org/digital/collection/cmf/id/172>, accessed 16 February 2020.

15: United States Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service, Aerial Photography Division. "Treutlen County, 1937: Aerial photography index." University of Georgia. Map and Government Information Library. 1937, https://dlg.usg.edu/record/gyca_gaphind_treutlen-1937#item.

16: Photograph of a concrete slab at coordinates N32.34472 W82.69867, looking roughly toward the northeast, taken by 1Bryant Knight on 26 April 2024.

17: "Mr. A. J. Copeland is Laid to Rest," The Soperton News (Soperton, Georgia), Friday 22 August 1930, page 1, top of the page