Learning the lingo of the genealogy community sometimes is an experience unto itself.

One of the common terms you will hear most often is "brick wall." When someone says, " ... he is my brick wall," they are not talking about a hardheaded ancestor. They mean they are at a dead end in the search for one of their kinfolks.

By far, the most common reason for brick walls is a courthouse fire ... and there were a lot of them. Another reason is sloppy research that has possibly led you in the wrong direction. There are ways of getting around both of these situations and the stick-to-it genealogist will not be discouraged easily.

Some courthouse fires did not destroy all records completely and there will be remnants of some left. Just because the courthouse burned in the county you are researching is no reason to stop dead in your tracks. Check with the local historical society to see which records are still available.

Also, there may have been family records which were kept personally and left in family histories. Most genealogical and historical societies welcome family files from researchers. At the Coweta Genealogical Library in Grantville, these are all kept in a separate file cabinet. Any information, even a page or two, on your research may help someone else make a connection. Just remember to leave your name and a way you can be contacted.

You may also want to seek an alternate route from county records. Church minutes and newspapers are good avenues to pursue. These also serve to "personalize" your ancestors. You may not have known that great-Uncle Ebenezer was an ordained Baptist minister until you find him in the church records. Marriages, baptisms and funerals also were recorded in most cases.

Some church records have been transcribed and made into books or booklets, which you can find in public libraries or genealogical libraries. Most county libraries also have their old newspapers on microfilm. Microfilm records of churches and newspapers also can be found at LDS Family History Centers and state archives collections. Some, but not all, are online. Check the GAGENWEB page (http://www.rootsweb.com/~gagenweb/) for the county you're interested in. The number and types of records available online vary from county to county and some have more than others.

There are also people who maintain private county Web sites not connected with Rootsweb. If you do a general search for the county on Yahoo (www.yahoo.com) or Google (www.google.com), these will sometimes turn up.

The other alternate route, and the one that I've found to be the most fun and enlightening, is to start tracking a sibling or relative of your ancestor. You would not believe the things you may find, including more cousins.

I did this last week with my Johnson family. I started tracking Hester Fowler Johnson, my GGgrandfather's sister, and have uncovered a whole list of new names to work with.

First I went to the Johnson Genforum message board, browsed all the messages (you can spend days doing this) and found that my Hester was buried in the same cemetery as members of the Gresham family. This was encouraging because Hester's sister, Elizabeth Fowler, married James H. Gresham. I left a message and went on.

The next day I went to the Fayette County Library, looked in the 1870 Gwinnett census and found Hester and James Johnson and all their kids ... living next door to a Gresham. Now I had even more names to work with. I came back home and left a message on the Gwinnett Rootsweb-L mailing list and was bombarded with replies from Johnson researchers in the Gwinnett area.

As I have said many times, going through the back door sometimes yields more information than barging in through the front door. I may not have broken down the brick wall on my Nathan Fowler whose records burned in the Gwinnett courthouse fire, but I'm at least making family connections.

And, speaking of brick walls, I received an e-mail from "Bob" a few weeks ago who has a brick wall of his own. Bob wrote:

"Hello Judy, just came across your news articles. Great job. I hate to bother you, but I'm stuck. I am researching Malinda Carroll, b. 1820, Fayette Co, Ga. She married Andrew Jackson McBride, b. abt 1806. I am trying to locate the names of Malinda's parents. I believe her father was a Thomas Carroll, a relative of Charles Carroll of Carrollton, Md., who signed the Declaration of Independence. Malinda is my wife's GGgrandmother.

"The only Thomas Carroll I can locate from Ga married a Melinda Fuller, and they are the wrong couple to be Malinda's parents. Can you direct me to someone who may have the birth or marriage records for Fayette Co, for that time period. Andrew was from Abbeville, S.C. and I haven't had any luck there either. "Even if you can't help, I do appreciate all the great stuff you have written.Bob"

I directed Bob to the Fayette County Library's marriage records. If there's anyone out there who can help him, with Carrolls, please do so. I do know there were Carrolls in Gwinnett County in the early 1800s because my Blakes married into that family.

Got a brick wall of your own? Tell me about it ... you'll never break it down unless you let somebody know.

And I'm still looking for information on your south metro folks ... any families who settled for any length of time in the counties south of Atlanta. We want to know who they were and what they did, where they came from and where they went. Send mail to The Citizen, Drawer 1719, Fayetteville, GA 30214; e-mail jkilgore@thecitizennews.com or jodiek444@aol.com. Until next week, happy hunting!

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