Book excerpt: Wilkes County, Georgia, created in the year 1777, is the parent of Elbert, Oglethorpe, and Lincoln counties and parts of the counties of Greene, Hart, Madison, Taliaferro, and Warren. It comprised one-third of the population of the state in 1790. The records in this excellent little book are supplementary to Mrs. Grace G. Davidson's "Early Records of Georgia: Wilkes County" (1932, 1933) and are designed to assist the researcher in making a detailed survey of the oldest records in the Ordinary's office, once known as the Inferior Court office. The records--principally wills and settlements of estates, but also deeds of gift, inheritances, and marriage bonds--have more than ordinary genealogical significance, as they name not only principals but also beneficiaries (showing relationships), as well as witnesses and executors. The material is mostly of the period dating from the late 18th to the early 19th centuries and identifies nearly 5,000 early Georgians.