I had intended to write about doing genealogy on the Internet this week, but a trip to the Fayette County Library on a whim last Thursday afternoon yielded a surprise "find" and changed my focus completely. When I found another family in my tree right here in Fayette County back in 1860 it put me on a genealogy "high" all weekend. Unexpected discoveries can do that, you will find. Maybe someone out there can connect to this Fayette family of 140 years ago.

I told you last week that looking at neighbors in the censuses can sometimes give you surprises. Well, no one was more surprised than I at what I found last Thursday.

I had been asked by a new cousin to check the 1860 Fayette census for neighbors of Zephania and Lucy Norris Fowler, her husband's great-grandparents (my GGgranduncle and GGgrandaunt). We had long wondered whether or not Lucy was a sister to Sarah Ann Norris, my GGgrandmother, who married John Fowler, Zephania's older brother. Two brothers from one family marrying two sisters from another family were sometimes more the rule than the exception back in those days. There were many "hints" at Sarah and Lucy's relationship, but no proof.

Back last April, when I discovered I had a GGgrandmother named Sarah Norris whose parents, John and Mary, were supposedly in Gwinnett County, I was successful in finding John "Jethro" Norris, age 43, and Mary Johnson Norris, in the 1850 Gwinnett census. Among their many children was a Lucy Ann, age 13. Other names of the children that seemed to stick in my mind were Reuben, Joel, Henry and William J. All those names had appeared in my family at some time or another.

Later last summer, when I found out that Zephania had married a Lucy Norris, I naturally wondered about the relationship. But Lucy is a common name, and so is Norris, so it could have been anyone.

When I arrived at the library last Thursday afternoon — it's right in the heart of downtown Fayetteville — I was directed to the Georgia History Room where all the genealogy material is located. I had never visited the Fayette Library before and I was pleasantly surprised at the amount of genealogy material I found. Their microfilm drawer, like the one at LaGrange, was a drawer full of genealogy candy. I could hardly wait to devour it all.

I found Zeph in the census index to get the page number, put the microfilm into the reader and scrolled until I found him. His wife was L.A., age 23. (Remember Lucy was 13 in the Gwinnett census.) Then I scrolled back up to see who his next door neighbors were — and almost fell off the chair. There was my GGGgrandfather, John Norris, age 54, with the whole family from Gwinnett 10 years before — including Reuben, now age 9; H.T (Henry), now age 12, and a new daughter, M.C. (Mollie Catherine), age 6. If that wasn't proof that Lucy and Sarah were sisters, I didn't know what was.

I'm afraid my excitement showed. The people in the room heard me say out loud, "Well, I'll be darned. There they all are!" I turned around and gave everybody a sheepish smile. I had no idea what had happened to John and Mary after 1850. Now I knew. They moved to Fayette.

Surnames of other neighbors were Lewis, Buffington, Jones, Gay, Hornsby, Russell, Tate, West, Walker, King, Daniel, Jacobs and Davis. Heads up, everybody. Do these surnames appear in your Fayette family? If so, your ancestors were neighbors of my ancestors. Their kids probably played together, bobbed for apples together on Halloween, walked to school together, played hopscotch together in the dirt in the front yard, and went caroling together on Christmas eve.

I couldn't wait to get home and call my cousin. She was going to shout hallelujah! I also couldn't wait to share my new-found information with my relatives on the net...which I did.

A word about the Fayette library... the hours are wonderful. They're open until 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, until 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Library personnel are extremely helpful. Their Georgia History Room has family history books, county history books, censuses, maps, newspapers on microfilm, Civil War records, and many materials I didn't have time to explore. They have two microfilm readers which allow you to make copies, but take plenty of change — it's pay as you go, correct change only, 15 cents per copy.

I definitely plan to go back, but will be armed with rolls of nickels and dimes.

Plan to stay a while. I arrived about 3:30 p.m. and before I knew it, the sun had gone down and it was 8 p.m. I turn into a blind pumpkin behind the wheel of my car after sundown. But I made it home safely.

I'd like to thank those of you who have taken the time to call or send E-mails. I spoke with one lady I had known several years before, Beverly Hanson — yes, the real estate lady — who shared her genealogy interests with me and explained her methods which are much different from mine. She has been doing genealogy for about three years and has traced her ancestors back to Scotland and England. How she did that is an interesting story — but for another column.

I have also gained a cohort here at the office. Our graphic artist and webmaster Heather Youngs has suddenly taken off into the genealogy world and already has found several of her relatives on the net. I'm warning you...this stuff is very contagious.

Don't forget to send me information on your south metro ancestors from long ago. Send mail to The Citizen, P.O. Drawer 1719, Fayetteville, GA 30214, or e-mail me at jkilgore@thecitizennews.com.

Until next week, happy hunting!

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