Henry Stone, Georgia Revolutionary War Soldier

Were there any applications for the 1832 Cherokee Land Lottery in Georgia?  If so, where are they located?

There were two lotteries in Georgia in 1832, one Land and one Gold. The land lottery was in the northern most part of the state and gave away the Cherokee Nation in 160 acre parcels. It was these two lotteries that caused the "Trail of Tears." 

The records that exist are found on Georgia State Archives microfilm and are divided into four sections each consisting of plats and grants.  The basic requirements for eligibility were that a person be a U.S. citizen for three years and a resident of Georgia for three years. Other qualifications allowed for additional draws. One of these was a Revolutionary War veteran who had not previously won was entitled to two draws.

The source that I use for untangling the confusion in my mind about the Georgia lotteries is Paul K. Graham's book, Georgia Land Lottery Research, available from the Georgia Genealogical Society. It is full of explanations about each lottery, research strategies, eligible participants and maps.






I'm trying to find out how Henry Stone qualified as an R.S. in the drawing.   In the index, he is listed as R.S. Sweat's Company in Ware County Georgia. This Company was Militia.

I have always thought that R.S. meant Revolutionary War Service. Still do, but several things bother me about Henry Stone. There is a Henry Stone in James A. Sweat's Company of Ware County, Georgia Militia. 

Now the problem. I find him in Sweat's Company in 1838. A little removed from the Revolutionary War.

It is unlikely that there is a Revolutionary War militia company from Ware County, as the county is not formed until 1824. It was created out of Appling County in 1818 and before that it was Creek Land. It was named Nicholas Ware who was born in 1769, not really old enough to name a county in 1776.

There is a muster roll in The South Georgia Historical and Genealogical Quarterly, v.1, #3, p. 12 that shows a Henry Stone in Captain James A. Sweat's Company, mustered in June 1838 and serving until August 1838 to repel the Indian invasion in Ware County.

There is a Henry Stone, with a Revolutionary War pension, but he comes out of Loudoun County, Virginia and into West Virginia. There is no indication that he made it to Georgia. There is also is a Henry Stone from Connecticut in the militia. The DAR Patriot Index, on page 2592 has three Henry Stone entries, these two and another public service Henry Stone. All are dead by 1833 and the Henry who is the last to die in 1833 is the one from Loudoun County, Virginia who dies in Monongalia County, [West] Virginia. So these are not candidates for Henry Stone of Ware County, Georgia in 1838. There is also no Henry Stone listed in the Census of Pensioners 1840. Of course because he is alive in 1838 does not mean that he is alive in 1840. I am unable to locate a Henry Stone in the 1840 census of Georgia, or in any other census prior to 1850 (a cursory look). There are two Henry Stones (one born in 1780) in Ware County in 1850 (a cursory look).

Georgia Revolutionary Soldiers & Sailors, Patriots & Pioneers, Volume 2, Laurens - Worth Counties does not include any Henry Stone entries. There are four patriots buried in Ware County.

My assumption is that this information comes from Knight's book, Georgia Roster of the Revolution which on page 325 begins a list of Revolutionary War Soldiers and the Widows of Revolutionary War
Soldiers listed in the Cherokee Land Lottery, 1838. Henry Stone is listed on page 330 as District 14, Section 2, Lot 12, Sweat's District, Ware County. This entry is the only Henry Stone in the book based on a full text search. District 14 is in the middle of Cherokee County a far piece from Ware County. It is also possible that it is from The Cherokee Land Lottery, but that book is not in my library, at the moment.

So here we have a source in isolation that says that Henry Stone of Ware County, in Sweat's District in 1838 is a Revolutionary War soldier. 

Was Henry Stone of Ware County a Revolutionary War Soldier?

I doubt it.