The State of Georgia passed a law in 1822 to protect the wives and children of insolvent debtors, This law set apart some property of the debtor for the support of his family.

No matter what size the family was, they were allowed two beds, bedding and bedsteads, a spinning wheel and 2 cards, a loom, one cow and calf, tools of trade, ordinary cooking vessels and $10 worth of provisions. These were to be inventoried by the debtor, and the report was to be filed with the Clerk of the Inferior Court.

In 1834 a modification was made, in which the Family Bible was added to the list of the items immune to sale for debts.

In 1835 the law was changed to protect widows and their children. So long as the widow remained unmarried, her real and personal property were immune from seizure for debt.

It was not until 1841 that the law offered additional pro-tection due to the family size. At this time, the debtor could set aside 20 acres of agricultural land for his own support, plus 5 additional acres for each of his or her children under the age of 15. In addition, they were allowed one horse or mule valued at $50 or less, 10 head of hogs, and $30 in provisions.

If the land was in a village or town, they could keep land valued not more than $200. Additionally, no married debtor could sell any of this "set aside" land unless the wife, of her own free will, signed the deed of the sell along with her husband.

In 1847 an act provided that no widow or unmarried woman could thereafter be arrested or imprisoned, or otherwise deprived of her liberties on account of any debt against her.

As the years passed, other modifications were made to this insolvent debtors law, so that by 1876, there was rather a long list of items exempt, such as a Family Bible, school books, family portraits, and religious books. A professional man could have $300 worth of his own library books exempted.

The Homestead Exemption Law records kept in the County can possibly reveal facts about your ancestors that otherwise would not be known. They may reveal the names and ages of children, list a Family Bible or portraits, and list the basic necessities they were allowed to set aside.

Primitive Baptist Ruling Against Homestead Exemption

The Homestead Law was not well received among the Primitive Baptist. Members who filed for this were excluded from the church. The Upatoie Association and Echeconnee Association as well as others published their beliefs about this law.

>From Our Bethel Book page 320.

Minutes of the Upatoie Association September 3-5, 1870.

"There is a clause in the Constitution of the State of Georgia known as the "Homestead Clause", which grants any citizen of the State the right to withhold from payment of his debts, if he has any, the sum, or equivalent, of $3000 in gold. This is a privilege of which we may naturally and reasonably expect the world to take benefit; and some mem-bers of the Church who are in debt have been so inconsid-erate as to suppose that it was not wrong for them to take benefit of the law without violating the law of Christ, even if he is not in debt, for if he is in debt and takes the advantage of that law with purpose of paying his debts, he is taking an undue advantage of his creditors, in using money without consent, which, if he had, there would be no necessity to resort to it. The law of God declares that the borrower is the servant to the lender, but the homestead law makes the lender servant to the borrower - it places the creditor at the mercy of the debtor.

The Echeconnee Association DID NOT agree with the Upatoie Association about the law.

The Homestead Book of Talbot County includes some entries as early as 1866.

A sample statement and Schedule of Exempted property:

To the Honorable Richard H. Leonard, Ordinary of said County:

The petition of Jacob Barksdale, colored, showeth that he is a debtor, residing in said County and is the head of a family, consisting of himself, 62 years of age and a few months over: his wife, Caroline Barksdale, 58 yrs of age and 5 grandchildren, viz: Alex Powell, 1 ½ yrs old, Will Powell, 6 yrs old, Easter Powell, 5 yrs old, Lizzie Powell, about 2 yrs old, Lula Blount, 10 yrs old, who are dependent upon him for a support. And who comes in said Ordinary’s office and files the annexed Schedule of his property which he claims as exempt from levy and sale under section 2.040 of the Code of Georgia and such other laws as relate thereto and prays that the same be filed and certified, so as to exempt the same. Marion Bethune, Atty for Petitioner.

Schedule:

1 mule (a mare) 14 yrs old, Rhonda

5 head of hogs, unmarked, 3 black farrows, 1 sow and Gelt (both spotted black - red spots)

$50 worth of provisions, viz:

25 bushels of corn for bread $18.75

5 gallons syrup 2.50

5 bushels potatoes (in patch) 2.00

25 head fowls (chickens) 5.00

700 bushels fodder

Household Furniture

1 table $1.00, 7 chairs worth $3.00 4.00

1 cupboard $1.00, 1 clock $2.00 3.00

1 bedstead & bedding worth 10.00

(bedding for grandchildren belongs to mother)

3 spiders $1.00, 1 oven .75, 1 pot 1.00 2.75

1 kettle .50, 1 set knives & forks .50 1.00

1 set cups & saucers .25, 1 pan .10 .35

1 pitcher .25, 1 set plates .25 .50

2 spinning wheels 2.00, 1 pr cards .50 2.50

100 lbs lint cotton

Wearing apparel for self and family

25 acres of land, joins Mrs McFarland land and Miss Catherine Adams land, worth $50.00 near Central Campground on road from Talbotton to Geneva.

Jacob (his mark) Barksdale. Filed in office and recorded Nov 12, 1887. Richard H. Leonard, Ordinary.

Index

Adams Adams, Henry Adams, J. O. C. Adams, John Adams, John Allen, Leonard R. Allen, Alsobrooks, Mattie Lou, wife of W. F. Alsabrooks, Newton --------, J. R. Baldwin, J. M. Barbee, Abraham Barksdale, Jacob Barksdale, Peter Barron, Paschal Beach, John T. Bivins, William A. Boggs, Cary A. Braddy, W. L. Bradshaw, Henry Bramon, Rufus Browers,   Alfred Brown, J. W. Brown, R. C. Brown, Israel Bryan, Albert Bunkley, Aorms Bunkley, John Henry Butler, Spencer Callier, William A. Carlisle, Antony Carieker, Egbert Carreker, Annie Carter, wife of Walter Carter, Jesse L. Carter, John Henry Carter, Stepney Carter, Aaron Cartwright (alias Alfred), Rachel Chambless, E. H. Chapman, Laura Cheney, Reuben Childs, Henry Collins, T. P. Collins, Ed Cook, John Cooke, Charles T. Cooper,   Charley Copeland, Claiborne Copeland, Emanuel Copeland, W. K. Curly, James Dagnor, Francis D. Daniel, Gus Daniel,  Mack Early Daniel, James R. Davis, S. J. Deave, Leonidas C. Deckley, Fannie V. DeLoach, S. H. DeLoach, Dave Denson,  Prather Denson, Prather Denson, Charles Dozier, Dolly C. Duke, wife of O. M. Duke, Mary Duke, wife of J. C. Duke,  William James Dunham, Elbert B. Dunn, Isom Drane, Dan Edwards, Robert Elleson, Levi Ellison, Solomon Eppes, William Evans, Lum Ferguson, Emily Flournoy or Emily Freeman, John Flournoy, W. F. Flournoy, Ed Ford, Thomas Foster, C. G. Foy, Hattie Fulford, wife of C. A. Fulford,  Finley Fuller, Frank Gamble, Henry Gamble, H. A. Gilbert, S. M. Gilmer, Jack Grant, S. F. Guy, Michael Hackett, Joseph A. Hagerman, Susannah Hall, Jordan Halloway, Silas D. Hancock, James Harbuck, Sr., Ned Hardnett, Neal Harris, O. R. Harris, S. H. Harris, Dock Harvey, William T. Hawkins, G. N. Helms, G. M. Hicks, Jennette Hodo, Lewis Holmes, Alonzo Holsey, James Holsey, Judge Holt, Arch Horton, John Ingram, Elizabeth Isom, Alfred Iverson, Henry Jackson, John W. Johnson, Alonzo Jones, B. B. Jones, John Wesley Jones, William G. Jones, James Kendall, B. C. Kendrick, Alby King, Lie(?) Lamar, Mose Lawhoun, James Lenard, Lettie Lenerd, Aurelia Leonard, Fenton Lowe, James H. Lumpkin, Henry McAfie, W. C. McBryde, Anna McCrory, Isaac McCrory, G. G. McDaniel, Moses McDowell, Elizabeth McKee, Amanda C. McNeil, Lorenzo Marshall, Mary Marshall, Nelson Marshall, Peter Marshall, Solomon Marshall, Sullivan Marshall, Jane Mason, John Mason, Riley Mason, Dick Mathews, Lula Mathews, wife of Walter Mathews, Louis Milling, J. W. Mitchell, R. A. Mizell, J. G. Mizzell, Eli J. Olive, Tom Owen, Lizzie Owens, Caroline Francis Palmer, George Parham, Mathew Parham, Willis Parham, Dixon Parker & wife, John Parker, George Parkman, Frank Parks, Mark Pless, A. A. Pope, George Powell, James Powell, Willis Prather, Willis Prather, Ned Ray, Tom Redding, Robert Reeves, Richard Respass, Bob Revill, Clay Robinson, D. B. Robinson, Jim Robinson, Willis B. Rolfe, Paschal Rush, Wiley Rousseau, D. F. Sanders, W. A. Sealey, Charles Searcy, Hilliard Smith, W. H. Smith, Wiley Smith, emma Spinks, J. L. Stallings, B. D. & Estelle Standard, Mary Standifer, Thomas Stewart, Balaam Stinson, Cage Stinson, Jr., Elbert Stinson, Elbert Stinson, Isaac Stinson, Moses Stinson, S. F. Sullivan of Spalding Co, Applewhite Swearingen, Jim Talley, Alford D. Teal, Janie Terry, Moses Terry, Joshua Thomas, Ellis Thornton, Israel Thweatt, Green Trice, John T. Trice, Henry W. Trussell, Elijah Turner, Wilson Vaughn, Emmett Vessy, Frank Walker, Arthur Waller, Robert H. Walthen, Anderson Walton, Henry Walton, Patrick Walton, George Wilkerson, Louis Williams, Robert Williams, Jesse A. Wilson, Katy Wilson, Anderson Wimberly, Ella Wimberly, wife, Frank Woodall, Ned Woodall, J. W. Wynn.