Readers respond on Paynes, genealogy in general

It always thrills me to get letters and e-mails from readers and researchers who want to share their family information, give a tip, or just write and say they enjoy the column.

Last week I received a couple of letters I'd like to share with you. The first is from Rock Payne who zoomed in on my Payne article a few weeks ago. The second is from Susie McAlister who just enjoys the column. Rock writes:

"Dear Ms. Kilgore:

"On May 9, I was at Charlie Brown airport to pick up a business associate and picked the May 6, 2001 edition of The Citizen and your article on the Paynes caught my eye. What I know about my Payne family is as follows:

"I have been told by family members that four Payne brothers came from England and settled in the United States or the colonies. The story goes that they went their separate ways, but at what time I don't know. My knowledge of my line centers in southeast Alabama.

"My great-great grandfather was Joe Payne (1803-1880 [?]) who is buried at Penisle Baptist Church in northeast Dale County, Ala. My great-grandfather was Judge Payne (18421912) who is buried in the same cemetery.

"Forsaking his life's work of farming for company-provided housing in the textile mills, my grandfather, William Payne (18791961), brought the family, including my father, Rell Payne (1916- ), to Columbus, Ga. during the Depression, where I was born (1954) and reared.

"In 1986 I worked for Waste Management in Alabama and sited landfills. During the course of my work, I met Guy Payne, who was the county engineer for Dale County, Ala. Guy explained his lineage and it appears that his and my great-great-grandfathers were brothers. Unfortunately, he didn't know anything of the family past there.

"I would be interested to know anything and everything that you could tell me about the Paynes or direct me to Web sites or published information about the Paynes. Thank you very much."

Rock Payne.

I'm afraid I wasn't much help to Rock because I have only done limited research on my Paynes. I was able to gather enough information on Joseph Joshua Payne and Louisa Elizabeth Boyd (my great-grandparents) to write a short article for the Carroll County Heritage Book, which should be out later this year. Maybe I'll share that with you another time.

Wally Smith of Temple has a wonderful Web page which includes the lineage of his Payne family. The Web address is: http://personal.atl.bellsouth.net/atl/s/m/smithfox/ .

I haven't been able to connect with Wally's Paynes yet, but I think I'm getting close. If you can add to the information on Rock's Payne family, (or mine either, for that matter) please write and let me know.

Susie McAlister of Fayetteville hasn't really been bitten by the genealogy bug yet, but it sounds as if she's getting close. Susie writes:

"I have certainly enjoyed and appreciated your articles on family history research. Although I have not had any genealogy adventures yet, I hope to in the future.

"My sister is LDS and has done research for years and has made many trips searching for family history. She lived in California but always came to Georgia for a visit on the way and took my mother who was in her 80s along ... we could hardly get her out of the house but just let my sister mention a search trip and she was packed and waiting when she arrived.

"My sister and a cousin on my father's side of the family have shared their research with the rest of the family and, thankfully, she videotaped many of the older relatives who were in their 90s and had excellent memories.

"Last summer her youngest son was married in Ireland and, because of her research, she had found relatives on both my mother and father's families and they were invited to the wedding. One of our cousins on mother's side still owns the farm where my grandmother was born. It has been in their family for generations.

"Because of the time element, she did not get to visit the farm but has been invited for a longer stay and the opportunity to meet other descendants.

"So far her biggest problem has been tracing ancestors from Germany because many changed names. She is still working on them.

"I am now retired and into scrapbooking. It goes along with the family history and I will be making the next search trip with her.

"Mother passed away several years ago and the pictures and notes she made on these trips are truly family treasures. She had stuck them in albums that were not acid-free so I have put them all in safe albums and am in the process of laminating her notes so they will not be ruined.

"You might mention to your readers if they have photos of ancestors and do not know who they are to be sure and have the older living relatives look them over and identify them. It is especially interesting to be able to put a face with people that have been researched. Sadly, in many cases, I have not done this.

"I know this is long-winded but I do have an interesting story. When Mother and my sister were doing research in the Charleston area she found the name of a school that one of our great-great-uncle's daughters attended. Although the school is no longer there, the church still had records which included report cards and notes about her personality (which was very outgoing and friendly).

"Thank you for your wonderful articles. I am sharing them with a friend from Griffin who is interested in family history research. Looking forward to next week."

Susie McAlister

Fayetteville, Ga.

Please share your genealogy stories with us. Send mail to The Citizen, Drawer 1719, Fayetteville, GA 30214; e-mail jkilgore@thecitizennews.com or jodiek444@aol.com.

Until next week, happy hunting!