Hardy Pace was one of the pioneers of the Atlanta area, arriving in Buckhead by 1830 and later moving to Cobb County. One of his legacies is Pace's Ferry Road; another is the Solomon Pace House in Vinings.
"Hardy Pace Family, Pioneers of Vinings in Georgia" is the title of a new compilation by Clare Isanhour of Smyrna. In this work, undertaken for the Vinings Historic Preservation Society, which owns the house, Isanhour has organized the genealogical information on Pace (1788-1864) and his descendants to the present day. She interweaves this with photos of historic documents, members of the family, tombstones, houses still standing and many lost. There's also a wealth of other documentation about the family.
This book is not a narrative family history, but a genealogical outline with the material inserted to illustrate the story. It is a good example of what others doing genealogy work should be able to produce to help pull all their research together for future generations.
One of the outcomes of this project was that names were given to many family photographs that were previously not identified due to various family members sharing data for the first time, with Isanhour as intermediary. Some of the better-known descendants of Pace are the Luther Randall family of Randall Brothers and the late Ruth Carter Vanneman, the catalyst for the preservation of the Pace House and other places in Vinings.
The hard-bound book is available for $40 plus $6 postage from the Vinings Historic Preservation Society, 3010 Paces Mill Road, Atlanta, GA 30339. Membership in the society helps preserve historic Vinings. Call 770-432-3343 or check www.vinings.org.
Georgia land lotteries
"Using Georgia's Land Lotteries to Prove Family Relationships" will be the Lunch and Learn Seminar topic on Aug. 10 at the Georgia Archives.
The free lecture will begin at noon, with professional genealogist Susan Sloan as speaker. She will use several case studies of how the land lotteries have helped people sort out their family connections.
For information on future lectures in this series, call 678-364-3700 or check www.GeorgiaArchives.org.
Social Security applications
One great source for 20th century ancestors is the Form SS-5, the actual card on which one applied for a Social Security account number.
For many people, this was the only time they were ever in a position to write down their birthplace, date of birth and parents' full names.
The Social Security Act became law in 1935, and the application cards arrived in the mail to be filled out and returned. One can get a copy of the original application for a deceased person by supplying proof of his or her death, usually a death certificate, or information from the Social Security Death Index found online.
To get a copy from the Social Security Administration in Baltimore via the Freedom of Information Act, see www.socialsecurity.gov/foia/, which leads to a guide to follow. There is a fee for a copy.
More on this is found in "Family Chronicle" magazine, July/August 2010 issue.
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