According to the 1861 Catholic Directory for the United States,
Georgia had a Catholic population of about 8,000. There were
thirteen Catholic clergymen in the state, 10 churches and
chapels, 2 convents, 3 orphan asylums, and 7 schools. Jonesboro
(which I believe is near where Tara was located) was visited by
a priest four times a year. And in Charleston there were two
academies for young ladies -- I'm sorry, one in Charleston and
one in Columbia.
There was a similar Catholic presence in all the antebellum
southern states, with the exception of Louisiana, Alabama, and
Texas, where the number of Catholics was much greater.