[001] 
 
Georgia 
Camden County 
I Aaron Jernigan, for the last few years 
a Citizen of the County & state aforesaid, and an inhabi- 
tant of that part of the County which his contiguous to & 
near the head of the North Branch of the St Mary's 
river do hereby certify that ever since I removed to said 
County I have been in the habit of hunting game 
of herding cattle & hogs throughout the Country in which 
said North branch has its sources; that I have long 
been perfectly satisfied that said stream, or a Consid- 
erable port of its waters flow out of an immense 
swamp which I have always heard Called, & which 
I verily believe to be the Ocofonoke swamp. If it 
be not the Ocofonoke the highland division has 
now been seen by or reported to me by any person 
who affirmed that he had seen it. This opinion 
stands confirmed by a particular examination 
which I made during a search of three days which 
I lately made at the instance of the Georgia Com- 
missioners now in the Country for the purpose of 
locating the boundary between the State & Florida 
I have no doubt that a stream called the Hog- 
pen Branch into which flows from the West, or North 
West from this immense swamp or Bay 
several tributary branches & from 
the South, a broad drain or long swamp, called 
 
 
[002] 
 
the "River of Styx," is the main or longest branch 
of the North fork of St Mary, though I have been 
told that some Gentleman heretofore sent into the Coun 
-try as Commissioners have supposed the River of 
Styx to be the longest or main branch. 
Aaron X Jernigan 
his mark 
The above Certificate was made & signed by 
Aaron Jernigan in our presence this 25 
May. 1831 
Jas Camak 
Edward Lloyd Thomas 
 
 
[003] 
 
Aaron Jernigan's 
Certificate Concerning 
the North Branch 
St. Mary 
25 May 1831 
No 2