Luther- Welcome to the 21st Century ! I'm O.J. Hickox, Jr., great-grandson of Sina Thrift Hickox and great-great grandson of Robert Thomas Thrift and Alice V. Albritton Thrift. I was born in Brunswick, grew up on a little family farm in Glynn County, then joined the Navy and, after a career with that marvelous institution, settled in Westmoreland County, Eastern Virginia. Westmoreland County, incidentally, is right next to Richmond County, from which, as you know, it is likely some of our (probable) Thrift ancestors derived (George, Job, Nathaniel, etc.). Interestingly, there are lots of Thrifts around here, but I have yet to find one who knows anything about their genealogy. In my youth, I spent loads of time on my Hickox grandparents' farm out on the Satilla River near Hoboken, and I remember my G GM Sina Thrift Hickox well. I went to her funeral at High Bluff Church.I also recall being enthralled with all the tales of the old days when the family lived on The Cowhouse in the Swamp, and all the marvelous and interesting things that went on in those days. You may appreciate that, when one of my uncles would do something a bit out of the ordinary, or socially unacceptable (which was pretty often), someone would usually excuse it with the statement, "Well, that's the Thrift in him!". So, I have always attributed the stronger behavioral and personality traits in my family to having derived from their Thrift Ancestors ! I have your Thrift book and your book of anecdotes on the Okefinokee Swamp folks, LOVE them both, and very much appreciate the huge contribution you have made to the preservation of our mutual heritage and genealogy. If you haven't already, I hope you will join the Thrift-L list which Alley Thrift Blackford has established. It's a wonderful way to swap genealogical info and to meet new cousins. I've enjoyed it immensely and know you will too. As a side matter, I have always been intereted in Confederate history and am researching and writing a history of Clinch's 4th GA Cavalry and its off-spring, Clinch's Artillery Company, in which many of our ancestors served during the War for Southern Independence. While I have a good bit of info which I have pulled from the sources avaliable in the public domain, I'm always interested in any other sources, especially those that may reside in private family collections, such as letters home, personal reminiscences, family anecdotes, etc. If you are aware of any sources of that sort around South Georgia that might be useful to me, I'd appreciate hearing about them. Welcome to the Internet, and keep in touch ! -Cuz O.J. (The High-Tech Redneck) hickox@3n.net