Serendipity While Internet Browsing

Yesterday was a very exhausting day. The wife and I had left home early for a day trip to Richmond County, NC and Chesterfield County, SC.The purpose of our visit was to visit with my 91 year old aunt, a visit with her elderly sister and finally a short visit with my sister. On the return trip home was two additional stops to visit another sister of the Wife and to have dinner with our two grandchildren. By the time of our arrival back home it was dark and we both were exhausted. 

The wife sat down with a glass of tea to watch TV and I turned on the computer and started randomly browsing. After about a half hour of browsing I noticed on the Google screen several web pages about marriages and death notices from NC newspapers. Among the list with this link:

ABSTRACTS FROM FAYETTEVILLE OBSERVER   1851 - 1854
http://www.ncgenweb.us/cumberland/1851-4abstracts.html.

Now to be honest with you I had no significant event that occurred between 1851 and 1854 but when I find one of these pages I have two key words that I search for – Anson & Chesterfield.

The first is for Anson County and the second is for Chesterfield County, SC. If an event happens with one of my ancestors it most likely happen either in Anson County or Chesterfield County. Fayetteville is a NC newspaper so my fist choice key word was – Anson.

The Anson search term return a total of 105 instances that Anson occurred in the document.

The best way to move forward in a document like this is with the F3 key; so with my finger on the F3 key I started moving forward in the document. After a couple of minutes browsing I came to this entry
22 Jun 1852

M On the 10th inst., by the Rev. Mr. DuPREE, Mr. Wm. A. PERVIS, of Cheraw, and Miss Sarah Jane 
 GRAVES of Chesterfield District.

And almost fell off my chair.

For 38 years I have searched for documents on William A. Purvis and Sarah Jane Graves and here while piddling around on the computer with nothing on my agenda, their marriage just falls into my lap.That’s a serendipity moment.   

I immediately went looking for the  actual newspaper article and with the help of two awesome contributors over on Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness - RAOGK USA (RAOGK) Facebook page I now have a copy of their documented marriage.



On the 10th inst., by the Rev. Mr. DuPREE, Mr. Wm. A. PERVIS, of Cheraw, and Miss Sarah Jane GRAVES of Chesterfield District. [Marriage date: 10 Jun 1852] ²

My thanks to RAOGK Facebook page contributors’ Joy Kersteter and Debra Cooper, 17 December 2014.





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[1] http://www.ncgenweb.us/cumberland/1851-4abstracts.html

[2] MARRIAGE, The Fayetteville Observer, Fayetteville, Cumberland County, North Carolina, United States, 22 June 1852, Page 3, Last Column, top right corner. Wm. A. PERVIS & Sarah Jane GRAVES.

[3] https://www.facebook.com/groups/raogkUSA/permalink/589522781149614/