Key Facts

Snapshot:	farmer
Parents:	unknown
Born:	circa 1814 Hancock County, Georgia
Died:	3 June 1883 apparently Hancock County, Georgia
Buried:	unknown

54Thomas Quinn was born about 18141 in Hancock County, Georgia.2 Indeed, he probably lived his whole life in Hancock County, since all records consistently show him there. Whenever a militia district is specified, it's always militia district 116 (map).

54Thomas married his first wife Eleanor Arnold on 1 February 1844.3

54Thomas' and Eleanor's marriage record. Full page.3

By 1850 they had two children.1

1850: 54Thomas' family in militia district 116 (map), Hancock County, Georgia. Full page.1

Eleanor seems to have died around 1857, and the 1860 census shows 54Thomas' household without Eleanor (or another woman of similar age).4 54Thomas' agricultural schedule entry shows that his farm had horses and cows and produced wheat, Indian corn, cotton, peas and beans, Irish potatoes, sweet potatoes, butter, and hay.5

1860: 54Thomas' family in Hancock County, Georgia. Full page.4

After the Civil War, 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. 54Thomas swore his oath on 12 August 1867.6

54Thomas' Reconstruction voter registration oath.6

Although no marriage record seems to exist, the 1870 census (in combination with the death certificate of 54Thomas' daughter 27Sarah2) proves that 54Thomas married 55Martha Turner, probably around 1861 or thereabouts.7 You may also be interested in 54Thomas' 1870 agricultural schedule listing.8

1870: 54Thomas' family in militia district 116 (map), Hancock County, Georgia Full page.7

His family's 1880 census listing is copied below.9 You may also be interested in 54Thomas' 1880 agricultural schedule entry.10

54Thomas' family still in militia district 116. Full page.9

54Thomas died on 3 June 1883. I find no mention of his death in the 6 or 13 June 1883 editions of Sparta's The Ishmaelite newspaper. Although a June court record indicates that he wrote a will, it was apparently poorly written (He failed to designate an executor.),11 and an August court record states that he died "intestate." 12 An inventory of his estate mentions a feather bed and mattress, 8 chairs, earthenware, a spinning wheel, a saddle, a smoothing stone, farm implements, plow gear, hogs, cows, oxen, horses, corn, 223 acres of land, and other items.13

This court record proves that 54Thomas died on 3 June 1883. Full page.11

Sources Cited:

1: 1850 U.S. Federal Census (Population Schedule). Militia district 116, Hancock County, Georgia. Page 38B, dwelling 569, family 584, Thomas Quinn household. NARA microfilm publication M432, roll 72. Internet Archive, <https://archive.org/details/7thcensus0058unit/page/n728/mode/1up>.

2: Butts County, Georgia death certificate #26809 for Sarah E. Collins, who died 19 November 1940. You can see a scan of the certificate here.

3: Hancock County, Georgia. Marriage book for the years 1808-1879, page 80, marriage of Thomas Quinn and Eleanor Arnold, dated 1 February 1844. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-LBZ6-LS5?cc=1927197&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AKXJ2-HC8>, accessed 24 October 2020.

4: 1860 U.S. Federal Census (Population Schedule). Hancock County, Georgia. Page 286, dwelling 567, family 631, Thomas Quinn household. NARA microfilm publication M653, roll 126. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GYBT-9P2?i=69&cc=1473181&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AMZM6-K18>, accessed 24 October 2020.

5: 1860 U.S. Federal Census (Agriculture Schedule). Hancock County, Georgia. Pages 5-6, entry 14, Thomas Quinn farm. NARA microfilm publication T1137, roll 5. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QHV-53L2-XB2?cat=589484&i=213>. The NARA provides a helpful template.

6: Georgia's 1867-1868 Voter Registration Oath Books. Volume 126 (Hancock County Book B), page 496, entry 1992, Thomas Quinn. Georgia Archives microfilm 296/46.

7: 1870 U.S. Federal Census (Population Schedule). Militia district 116, Hancock County, Georgia. Page 192, dwelling 1596, family 1608, Thomas Quinn household. NARA microfilm publication M593, roll 155. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-DCNS-6LL?i=179&cc=1438024&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AMC3W-QBS>, accessed 24 October 2020.

8: 1870 U.S. Federal Census (Agriculture Schedule). Militia district 116, Hancock County, Georgia. Pages 11-12, entry 32, Thomas Quinn farm. NARA microfilm publication T1137, roll 7. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QHV-53L2-F9H5-2?cat=589484&i=796>. The NARA provides a helpful template, and I've transcribed the numbers.

9: 1880 U.S. Federal Census (Population Schedule). Militia district 116, Hancock County, Georgia. Enumeration district 48, page 30, dwelling 280, family 280, Thomas Quinn household. NARA microfilm publication T9, roll 151. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GYBS-9S16?i=3&cc=1417683&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AM8GQ-P5D>, accessed 24 October 2020.

10: 1880 U.S. Federal Census (Agriculture Schedule). Militia district 116, Hancock County, Georgia. Enumeration district 48, page 18, entry 8, Thomas Quinn farm. NARA microfilm publication T1137, roll 14. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QHV-R3L2-69SJ-C?cat=589484&i=724>. The NARA provides a helpful template.

11: Hancock County, Georgia. Ordinary court minutes book for the years 1874-1885, page 533. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L935-K9TP.

12: Hancock County, Georgia. Letters of guardianship, administration, and testamentary, book for the years 1882-1899, page 11. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-893L-R2LQ?i=319>.

13: Hancock County, Georgia. Mixed estate records, inventories, and appraisals, book U (1880-1958), page 50. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L935-VCDW?lang=en&i=60>.