You wrote, in part: (By the way, in the subject line, the way I have used antebellum: meaning prior to the Civil War. ) I hope your family will give me clues to my family. I am trying to find the ancestors and relatives of my pateral great grandfather James Edgar Harris, a wagonmaker, who m. Hettie Mildred Norris 12/17/1855 in Albemarle Co. (They lived 3 houses away from Bernard B. & Angeline S. Harris, 4 houses away from William F., Mollie D., Kate M., Maggie L, and their grandfather Lancelott Harris in 1880 census.) Their marriage document I have does not list his parents, nor her's for that matter(but I believe her to be the daughter of Caleb Norris and Ally (Olly) (Allie) Harris and her birthdate is perported to be July 23, 1830). Response: Your Harrises are too late to be part of my direct line. However, there were and have been so many Harrises in Albemarle Co. and its parent county Louisa Co., it is conceivable that these Harrises may have had a common ancestor. My direct line migrated after the Revolution to Kentucky, mainly Madison Co., KY, although there are some *suspects* in Garrard Co., KY. Therefore, it is seldom that I spend much time searching Albemarle Co. records after about 1792 or so. Were I you, I would start shopping for records in Albemarle Co. which may pertain to these later Harrises. No doubt, you have done the census work, as censuses from 1850 forward to the 1930 (the online ones are ones to which you have to subscribe) give a fair amount of information about birthplaces, ages, etc. Knowing that I have an LDS family history center near my home and that I can readily borrow films from Salt Lake City, for a small fee, and usually for a limited time, I start my research with the online catalog for the Family History Library at www.familysearch.org That is where I do my record shopping--what would I like to view? I prefer the link to the catalog which is located on the lower right--something about search..... Click on that, and then choose Place Type in lower case: albemarle and then virginia Up will up a LONG list of topics for Albemarle Co. Choose the topics which pertain to later records (but you might as well take a look at all the topics, if you have time). You may want to start with Vital Records (near the end of the list) and see what FHL in Salt Lake City has in the way of films for the time periods when your people were there. Land records, tax records, voting records, probates, court records, and sometimes, genealogy are good. I see that the City directories listed under directories are too late for your people--unless you have more recent relatives there during the early 20th century. Since your ancestor was a wagon maker, he may appear in the court records. He may have had to sue persons who were in debt to him. Or he may have had to serve on a jury. There is something about circuit courts. I know nothing about them--so find out!!! One genealogist-lecturer-author lectures around the country on land records in genealogical research. He states that in early days, about 90% of the white population owned land. This is particularly true for states where tobacco was a money crop, and that is what drove many of our ancestors onward to the West. I personally find a lot of family linkages in land records, probates, etc. Tax records, when a person seems to be missing, are helpful at times. They were generally made every year. First, make sure you know what record is available for the time and the place where your people lived. And if you have not done the more recent censuses, you might consider signing up (subscribing for a price) to Ancestry.com or genealogy.com At times, they have a 14-day FREE subscription. Be sure to check whether your local library has a subscription to HeritageQuest (census images, etc). Many libraries now have this for their patrons, but you must enter your card number before you use it at home. Good luck with your Harrises!!!! It is a tough name to research, and there are so many flawed genealogies floating around. Many Harrises want to connect with the first-known Harris in colonial Virginia--Thomas Harris, but ...... E.W.Wallace