This past week, I have been watching recorded presentations from the Texas State Genealogical Society’s conference. Craig Scott gave a presentation about Fold3, and since that site is not easy to use, I always watch a webinar on it, as I will learn of a new database or a new way to locate items there. This presentation did not disappoint me.
He showed examples from the “Confederate Citizens File.” I found it by clicking the browse feature, selecting Civil War, Confederate, and then typing “citizen” in the keyword search. There are three categories: Business, Citizen, and None. Each have thousands of records.
I did locate Jesse Loveless. It is one record, where he sold on 6 Dec 1863, 30 bushels of corn at $2 per bushel and 1900 pounds of hay at $2.35 per hundred, for a total of $102.75. The quartermaster, Captain T.C. Burch signed the receipt. It was received near Rome on 6 December 1863. It looks like Jesse Loveless signed it, but there is also a cross after his name.[1]
So, I went back to my records and found an oath he signed in 1867 where he made a mark, looking similar to the cross in this document. So, he probably did not sign the receipt above.
How do I know if this is my Jesse, who was my 3x-great-grandfather? I don’t know for sure. In 1862, they were living in Bartow County, Georgia, which is in the upper west side of the state, where he sold land.[2]
The document stated the transaction took place near Rome, Georgia, which is in neighboring Floyd County. In a search of 1860 census for Georgia, the only Loveless/Lovelace that came up was our Jesse in Cass County Georgia, which was later renamed Bartow.[3] He also bought land in Chattooga County which is north of Floyd County.[4] What I need to do is locate his land on a map, to better pinpoint its location in the county.
Today, Rome is the largest city in that part of the state and perhaps was then, too. That is something to investigate.
So, if you have family living in the Confederate States
during the Civil War, check out this record set. You might find evidence of
them selling supplies to the army.
#WebinarWednesday
This is a new series where I further
investigate a topic after attending a webinar. This way, I am applying what I
learned.
[1]
Civil War, Confederate Citizens File, Jesse Loveless, 1863, near Rome, Georgia,
imaged, Fold3 (https://www.fold3.com/image/43268097/loveless-jesse-page-1-us-confederate-citizens-file-1861-1865
: accessed 31 Dec 2025); browse “US, Confederate Citizens File, 1861-1865” >
Citizen > Loveless, Jesse; citing microfilm publication M346, Confederate
Papers Relating to Citizen or Business Firms, RG 109, War Department collection
of Confederate Records, National Archives, Washington, DC.
[2] Bartow
Co, Georgia, Deeds, v. P, p. 236, Jesse Loveless to John Lumpkin, 1862, imaged,
FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C3QP-N9N1-H);
IGN 008563802); image 154 of 421.
[3] 1860
US census, Cass Co (now Bartow), Georgia, Kingston P.O., p. 803b (stamped),
dwelling 9, Jesse Loveless. Cass County became Bartow County on 6 Dec 1861.
[4] Chattooga
Co, Georgia, Deeds, Bk E, p 100, Robert Cameron to Jesse Loveless, Family
History Library, microfilm 337236. The film is locked for home view, so next
time at the FamilySearch Center, I need to get the URL and IGN details.
Although I don't have Confederates in my family tree, this looks like a fascinating record set! Hope you can get to the bottom of this family history mystery.
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