84James H. Copeland
Key Facts
Snapshot:farmer
Parents:unknown
Born:circa 1830
Georgia
Last known record: 1890 tax digest
Johnson County, Georgia
Buried:unknown

84James Copeland was born circa 18301-3 Georgia.1-4 His middle initial was H.5 I haven't identified his parents or other details of his childhood.

Problem: Unresolved
Who was 84James' father?

Some have claimed that 84James' father was John T. Copeland, who died in 1845 and whose estate was based in Putnam County, Georgia. For example, as of this writing 84James' profile on FamilySearch makes this claim.

However, I've seen no evidence to prove the claim, even though Putnam County has a plethora of records related to John's estate, including a document that names ten distributees. As you can, see 84James is not one of those ten.6


The ten distributees of John T. Copeland's estate. 84James was not one of the ten. Full page.6

84James was only about 15 years old when he married 85Matilda Rabun on 7 October 1845 in Warren County, Georgia.7


84James' and 85Matilda Rabun's marriage certificate. Full page.7

By 1850 they had a daughter. Like some later records, the 1850 census indicates that 84James was illiterate. They also had a boy named Thomas P. Brown living with them, but I don't know his relationship to the family.1


1850: 84James' family in Warren County, Georgia. Full page.1

By 1860 they had moved to Johnson County, Georgia,4 where 84James and 85Matilda seem to have spent the rest of their lives. You may also be interested in his 1860 farm schedule listing (pages 7 and 8; template).8


1860: 84James' family in Johnson County, Georgia. Full page.4

Although 84James was in his early 30's when the American Civil War began, I have found no evidence that he ever fought in the war—a remarkable feat, considering the Confederacy's conscription laws and 84James' apparent near-poverty, which would've left him unable to afford to pay someone else to take his place in the draft. The only war-era record I've found that includes 84James is an 1864 Johnson County tax digest, which shows 84James' property value was quite a bit lower than average.9 The 1866 tax digest shows that he owed only $1 in tax, owned one dog, and had five children between the ages of 6 and 18.10

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. 84James signed his oath on 27 July 1867.11


84James' Reconstruction-era voter registration oath.11

In addition to his 1870 and 1880 census entries shown below,2,3 you may also be interested in his farm schedule listings: (1870: 1, 2. 1880. Templates: 1870, 1880).12,13


1870: 84James' household in militia district 1201 (map), Johnson County, Georgia. Full page.2


1880: 84James' family in Johnson County, Georgia. Full page.3

In November 1884 he sold 100 acres to his son 42Andrew and daughter-in-law 43Sarah.14 These 100 acres may or may not have been the same 100 acres in militia district 55 that 84James had paid tax on in 1872.15


84James sold 100 acres in Johnson County to his son for $500. Full page.14

In any case, by 1890 he had acquired another 100 acres. This tax digest is the last record I've found pertaining to 84James.16


1890: 84James pays tax as a resident of militia district 1326 (map), Johnson County, Georgia. Full pages: 1, 2.16

I haven't found him in the indices of these Johnson County record books:

•
wills book A (1859-1923)
•
wills book B (1923-1961)
•
inventories & appraisements book A (1859-1887)
•
inventories & appraisements book B (1887-1941)

Sources Cited:

1: 1850 U.S. Federal Census (Population Schedule). Warren County, Georgia. Page 384[?], dwelling 997, family 997, James H. Coplin household. NARA microfilm publication M432, roll 86. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-XCM2-NN?cc=1401638&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AMZYD-RJJ >.

2: 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 >.

3: 1880 U.S. Federal Census (Population Schedule). Johnson County, Georgia. Enumeration district 61, page 8, dwelling 75, family 75, James Coopplin household. NARA microfilm publication T9, roll 154. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GYYY-5ND?i=7&cc=1417683&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AM8GZ-3Z2 >.

4: 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 >.

5: 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.

6: Putnam County, Georgia. Estate records 1800-1928, reel for Newton Cooper through John H. Crouch / folder for John T. Copeland / an unnumbered loose document naming 10 distributees of John's estate. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-993Y-3PGJ?i=296&cc=1999178&cat=294892>.

7: Warren County, Georgia. Marriage book for the years 1833-1848, page 245, marriage of James Copeland and Matilda Rabun. Familysearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-8BZ3-8CH?i=169&cc=1927197&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AKXJK-DW6>, accessed 3 January 2020.

8: 1860 U.S. Federal Census (Agriculture Schedule). Johnson County, Georgia. Pages 7 and 8, entry 16, J. Copelin farm. NARA microfilm publication T1137, roll 5. The NARA provides a helpful template. A few data are difficult to read in this copy: column #22 = 50; column #24 = 25; column #47 = 10; and column #48 = 50.

9: Johnson County, Georgia. Tax digest for 1864, militia district 55, page 1, J. H. Coplin. Ancestry.com ("Georgia, U.S., Property Tax Digests, 1793-1892" / Johnson / 1864 / images 24 and 25 of 37), accessed 23 October 2021. The corresponding microfilm at the Georgia Archives is microfilm 61/60.

10: Johnson County, Georgia. Tax digest for 1866, militia district 1203, page 1, James Copelin. Ancestry.com ("Georgia, U.S., Property Tax Digests, 1793-1892" / Johnson / 1866 / images 34 and 35 of 44), accessed 23 October 2021. The corresponding microfilm at the Georgia Archives is microfilm 61/60.

11: Georgia's 1867-1868 Voter Registration Oath Books. Volume 91 (Johnson County Book 1), page 45, entry 89, James Copelin. Ancestry.com ("Georgia, Returns of Qualified Voters and Reconstruction Oath Books, 1867-1869"). The corresponding microfilm at the Georgia Archives is microfilm 296/36.

12: 1870 U.S. Federal Census (Agriculture Schedule). Johnson County, Georgia. Pages 9 and 10, entry 11, James Coblin farm. NARA microfilm publication T1137, roll 8. The NARA provides a helpful template.

13: 1880 U.S. Federal Census (Agriculture Schedule). Johnson County, Georgia. Enumeration district 61, page 5, entry 9, James Copeland farm. NARA microfilm publication T1137, roll 15. The NARA provides a helpful template.

14: 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.

15: Johnson County, Georgia. Tax digest for 1872, militia district 55, page 1, entry for James Copland. Ancestry.com ("Georgia, U.S., Property Tax Digests, 1793-1892" / Johnson / 1872 / images 30 and 31 of 49), accessed 23 October 2021. The corresponding microfilm at the Georgia Archives is microfilm 61/60.

16: Johnson County, Georgia. Tax digest for 1890, Powell's district, militia district 1326, pages 1 and 2, entry for James Cooplin Sr. Ancestry.com ("Georgia, U.S., Property Tax Digests, 1793-1892" / Johnson / 1890 / images 70 and 71 of 130), accessed 24 October 2021.