Our Lifetimes--The Birdsong Family

We are able now to add another core family--the Birdsong family--to this American family of families. After a year-long in-depth analysis of records from Georgia and Texas, the LifeTimes Family Research Center in McLean, Virginia, has been able to link the Mansons and the Birdsongs in Upson County, Georgia, and Milam County, Texas.

The Birdsongs trace their lineage in America back to the mid-17th century. Like the Mansons, their migration pattern went from Virginia through the Carolinas to Georgia and eventually to Texas.

In the coming weeks, more Birdsong pages will be added to this site.

George Preston Birdsong was the father of Otis Manson and the grandfather of Quentin Manson. He was born on May 26, 1841, in Upson County, Georgia, the first of twelve children of George Lawrence Forsyth Birdsong and Susan Francis Thweatt Birdsong. His paternal grandparents were Benagah Birdsong and Arra Reece Clark Birdsong.

The Birdsong family had significant land holdings in western and middle Georgia before the Civil War. In 1850, George L.F. Birdsong owned more than 20 slaves and served as deputy sheriff in Upson County. At age 19, George P. Birdsong left the family farm for awhile to be an engineer on the railroad. When the war began, George and his brother, Albert, joined the "Upson Guards," officially designated Company K, 5th Georgia Cavalry. In August 1862, George was promoted to first sergeant. Albert was decorated with the Southern Cross for distinguished service. In the meantime, their father, George L.F. Birdsong, served as a captain in Co. G, 12th Georgia Cavalry.

The 5th Georgia Cavalry surrendered to Federal forces on April 26, 1865 at Greensboro, NC, and the Birdsong brothers returned to farming in Georgia. Although the family's estate was sharply reduced, they still had one of the top farms in Upson County. George L.F. Birdsong died in 1869 and his wife Susan assumed control of the farm, with the help of her son George Preston Birdsong. Sometime thereafter, George met Matilda Manson and moved to a different part of the county where he lived next door to her. Their son, Otis, was born in July, 1874.

In 1884, George and Albert Birdsong moved to Cameron, Texas, for reasons unknown. Mattie and Otis Manson followed, settling nearby in Rockdale, Texas. In Cameron, George rented a room from two brothers from Bohemia, one a salesman, the other a bartender. George worked as a nightwatchman. Otis Manson grew up in Rockdale and in 1890, married a local girl, Bettie Sanford. In 1903, Albert Birdsong returned to Georgia. It's not clear whether George went back then, too. But George Preston Birdsong died in 1905 and was buried in Rockamount Cemetery in Upson County, Georgia, with his parents. Otis and Bettie Manson named their second son "Otis Preston Manson," presumably after his grandfather.