Land Ownership Summary

Land Lot: 1180, 14th District, 1st Section¹
Acreage: Two parcels – 20 acres (south half of Land Lot 1180) and a separate 14-acre tract
Date of Purchases:

• October 14, 1895 – Purchased 20 acres from Ira Waldrop for $90²
• January 8, 1902 – Purchased an additional 14 acres from Ira Waldrop for $75³
  Note: Both deeds were recorded on October 22, 1912.

Date of Sale:

• October 11, 1912 – Sold both tracts to George W. Olivet of Hall County for a total of $365^{4 5}

Location Today

Garrett Cook’s former land is located on Vanns Tavern Road in northeastern Forsyth County, along the Lake Lanier shoreline. The property includes estate homes on large lots, many with wooded acreage or lake access.⁶

Genealogy Snapshot

Parents: Unknown

Spouses: Garrett Cook was married twice, based on census records. His first wife, Lovina Cook, appears in the 1880 census with him in Hall County⁷. By 1900, he is married to Mary J. Cook, born around 1869–1870, likely Mary J. Harper (also seen as Harber or Harbor), daughter of Joseph and Frances Harber of Hall County⁸. In some records she also appears under the name Josie. They were married on September 22, 1890, in Hall County, Georgia⁹.

Children:

• Mollie O. Cook, born ~1880, appears in the 1880 census as an infant. No further confirmed records⁷.
• Cora Cook, born ~1887, likely married Marion Cochran in Hall County in 1913¹⁰. Cora appears in the 1920 and 1930 censuses in Banks and Hall Counties, living near Garrett in 1920^{11 12}.

After 1912:
Garrett disappears from Forsyth County records after the expulsion. He appears in the 1920 and 1930 censuses as a laborer and servant in Banks County, Georgia^{11 12}. He is listed as single and working for white families. His daughter Cora and her family lived nearby in 1920, suggesting some family cohesion post-expulsion.

Related Blog Posts

• The First to Sell: Garrett Cook and the Oscarville Violence

Sources

1 Forsyth County Tax Digest (1912), “Colored Digest,” New Bridge Militia District. Georgia State Archives, Morrow, GA. ↩︎
2 Forsyth County Deed Book 1, p. 572. Forsyth County Clerk of Court, Cumming, GA. (Recorded October 22, 1912.) ↩︎
3 Forsyth County Deed Book 2, p. 103. Forsyth County Clerk of Court, Cumming, GA. (Recorded October 22, 1912.) ↩︎
4 Forsyth County Deed Book 2, p. 101. Forsyth County Clerk of Court, Cumming, GA. ↩︎
5 Forsyth County Deed Book 2, p. 102. Forsyth County Clerk of Court, Cumming, GA. ↩︎
6 Forsyth County GIS Viewer. Accessed June 2025. https://www.forsythco.com/DepartmentsOffices/GeographicInformationServices/GISViewer ↩︎
7 United States Census Bureau. Tenth Census of the United States, 1880 (Hall County, Georgia). Accessed via Ancestry.com. ↩︎
8 United States Census Bureau. Eighth Census of the United States, 1870 and Tenth Census, 1880 (Hall County, Georgia). Accessed via Ancestry.com. ↩︎
9 Hall County marriage record, September 22, 1890. Georgia Archives; County Marriage Records, 1828–1978. Accessed via Ancestry.com: Georgia, U.S., Marriage Records From Select Counties, 1828–1978 [database on-line]. ↩︎
10 Hall County marriage record, March 10, 1913. Georgia Archives; County Marriage Records, 1828–1978. Accessed via Ancestry.com: Georgia, U.S., Marriage Records From Select Counties, 1828–1978 [database on-line]. ↩︎
11 United States Census Bureau. Fourteenth Census of the United States, 1920 (Banks County, Georgia). Accessed via Ancestry.com. ↩︎
12 United States Census Bureau. Fifteenth Census of the United States, 1930 (Hall and Banks Counties, Georgia). Accessed via Ancestry.com. ↩︎