My great-great-grandfather worked for Georgia Southern during 1860-1870's range. This census lists him and his 19 year old son as "Railroad Overseers". I am curious about what the overseer's job was exactly during the expassion of the railroad into southern Georgia during that time period.

-- Kathy Cappadona (kcappadona@nc.rr.com), February 17, 2001

Answers

"Overseer" is the same as a supervisor. If your ancestor worked directly for the railroad, he could have been in charge of a track repair gang, especially if the railroad was using slave labor(1860's).

-- Tom Underwood (tlunder@attglobal.net), February 18, 2001.