Song of the Ogeechee is based on a true story about two cousins who were like brothers born to families of affluent cotton planters in early 19th century Georgia who encountered set backs and ordeals caused by the Civil War followed by other hardships during the Reconstruction period. It continues after this period to tell how they overcame problems and responded to adverse conditions to be recognized for their efforts in a world that was busy with industrial progress and social change. The Allen cousins were born in Burke County near Midville not far from the Ogeechee River. Dr. Young John Allen spent his life in China and when he died was well known throughout China, Korea, Japan, and America for his achievements as a Methodist missionary in China from 1860 to 1907. Capt. John P. Allen spent his life in Dawson and Terrell County, Georgia, and when he died was well known throughout the South as a member of the Immortal Six Hundred and as a pioneer citizen and reputable jeweler in Dawson. The author attempts to tell this story for the first time to relate the amazing account of heritage and inherited talent in the Allen family through the symbol of a silver chalice passed on to descendants from 1857 and the magic of the Ogeechee River, the Indian name for River of Songs.

This is one of the most comprehensive guides to research sources in Georgia and especially the Georgia Department of Archives and History. Mr. Davis has painstackenly surveyed the records and their locations and compiled a book that is a watershed for Georgia historians and geneaalogists. It is written as a guide, leading him or her step-by-step to the records - many of which are unknown to even the most experienced researcher due to long years of negelect. The inclusion of an outline to the county material on microfilm can help many a travlerto realize that a trip to the archives is more useful than one to the county courthouse. I can think of no better book with which people can use as a beginning tool for research in Georgia - Ken Thomas, Genealogy, The Atlanta Constitution.