Finding Your Folks

By JUDY FOWLER KILGORE
jkilgore@thecitizennews.

A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned something included in my Whaley book called “footprints.” This is a feature in the book where Jackie Weeden and Ruby Nelson, authors of the book, list, in chronological order, records where a person may be found through the years.

It took me a while, after I started doing this genealogy stuff, to get the hang of the searching part, but this “footprints” facet, when I finally discovered it, was tremendously helpful in leading me to the various locations where my ancestors may have been found.

Some call it a “time line.” But, whatever it’s called, it is a great tool. Once you start doing it, the gaps in your ancestor’s life become very obvious and it makes you want to search for whatever they were doing and wherever they were during those missing years. The gaps also indicate when unknown children may have been born ... those who may have died before the next census.

I record everything — beginning with their birth year to their death, and anything that may have come in between — jury duties, deeds, marriages, census records, birth of children, birth of grandchildren, any references found in newspapers, even family stories — anything that will help give me a picture of my ancestor’s life. You would be amazed at the things your “footprints” reveal.

If you are fortunate, you may have a gravestone to give you a starting point and an ending point. But, if you don’t, you can still record events and records as far back as you can find them. You can do it piecemeal, adding pieces of your ancestor’s life as you find them. I record all this in the “notes” portion of my genealogy program on the computer. But you can also keep them in a notebook, leaving spaces for gaps you may fill in later.

More recently, I have found it interesting to also add historical events which occurred during my ancestor’s life. Such things as the start or end of the Civil War, Indian lands being ceded, counties being formed, and political events (even who might have been president) help to give a picture of the life and times of your ancestors.

Even though you are searching from the present to the past, you can “guesstimate” the time other earlier events may have happened.

For instance, I have no idea who my Nathan Fowler’s parents were, but I know he was born about 1800, based on his age in the 1850 Gwinnett County census. Going on this date, I can “guesstimate” that his father was probably born anywhere from about 1755 to 1780-ish, give or take a few years either way. The wide range is given because I don’t know if Nathan was the first child, the last child, or came somewhere in between. In my genealogy program, I enter Nathan’s father as “Unknown Fowler,” born somewhere between the years listed above. The 1850 census said Nathan was born in Tennessee, but I have doubts about this, so I note it on my time line. My aunt always told me our Fowlers came from the Carolinas.

My ending date for Nathan is not proved and sort of foggy, but he is not in the 1860 or 1870 Gwinnett census and there is a scorched scrap of a record (dad-blasted courthouse fire in 1871) that says his estate was settled on June 18, 1860. I enter this date and say he died before then.

My luck ran out further when I discovered that Nathan’s supposed burial place, the Fowler-Gresham Cemetery, has been paved over and made into a subdivision. So I may never find a record of when he actually died, unless it is somewhere in an obscure newspaper record, which I haven’t found yet.

The first official record I found of Nathan in Gwinnett County was his appearance on a jury list in 1831. Another jury list shows him there in 1844. But he is also in the Gwinnett census in 1840. A Nathan Fowler is listed among the fortunate drawers from Gwinnett who drew land in the 1821 Land Lottery. All these dates are noted on my time line.

Nathan and his wife had ten children, beginning in 1824, so I know he was married before that (guesstimate about 1822). I have listed the date of birth of each known child (1824, 1826, 1827, 1829, 1831, 1833, 1837, 1838 (twins), and 1839. Since there are no big gaps, I assume these were all the children he had, but I leave my options open for more.

In 1850, he was one of the organizers and charter members of Chestnut Grove Baptist Church in Gwinnett County. The date is so noted, as is the fact that he was a Baptist.

In 1858, Nathan was married to a Mrs. Sarah Johnson, so I know his wife died between 1850 and 1858. This Sarah Johnson is thought to be the same “Sally” Johnson who lived next door in 1850 and who was the mother-in-law of Nathan’s son, Reuben. However, if Nathan died in 1860, the marriage was short-lived.

When Nathan was born, John Adams was President and America was still in its infancy. He died before the Civil War began and never knew that he lost two sons, maybe three, in that war. But, I am certain that there was talk of a brewing war during Nathan’s lifetime as it did not come about overnight. It began the year after he died.

Now, with all these dates and events printed out before me, I ponder and add things as they come to mind. There are still more records and resources I need to check and I will probably add many more events. But this has really helped me look at Nathan’s life and to try and imagine what it was like. I have done this for numerous people in my family tree — and even for those who aren’t directly related. People's lives are interesting, whether they are related or not.

Perhaps something like this will help you to get a picture of your ancestor’s life. I certainly hope so.

I welcome your letters about genealogy and info on south metro Atlanta families. Send them to The Citizen, Drawer 1719, Fayetteville, GA 30214; e-mail jkilgore@thecitizennews.com or jodiek444@aol.com.

Until next week, happy hunting!

(Judy regrets that time does not permit her to do personal research for others.)

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