Chris Paysinger is a modern man with his eyes on the past.

Paysinger, 33, of Athens, was recently named Outstanding Graduate Student in History at the University of Alabama in Huntsville for research on his thesis, “Let the Family Circle Be Unbroken: The Transformation of Republican Patriarchy Athens, Alabama, 1818-1870.”

Chris’s research and his enthusiasm for his subject matter have made him a popular speaker locally and in several areas throughout the state. Chris is married to the former Suzanne Clem, 29, a dietician at Limestone Health Facility, and they have a 2-year-old daughter, Avery.

Grew up in Elkmont

The son of Sherry Paysinger of South Alabama and Bobby Paysinger of Athens, Chris grew up in Elkmont and graduated from Elkmont High School before attending Auburn University. He graduated from Auburn in 1998 and taught history in South Alabama for a year before deciding to “head back north” to accept a job at Sparkman High School, where he has taught since.

Suzanne is the daughter of Tom and Emily Clem. She graduated from the University of Alabama.

“I’m a third-generation Alabama graduate,” said Suzanne. “My mom graduated from Alabama and her father. I know Avery is going to be a Roll Tide girl.”

She said their Alabama-Auburn allegiances only become heated at Iron Bowl time.

The couple lives in a home on South Houston Street with carefully tended lawn and gardens. They purchased the home from Eleanor Cox and one of the prized plantings is an ivy-covered trellis over the back walkway that was grown from a slip from Mount Vernon, home of George Washington.

Through his years of research into 19th Century Athens, Chris said he began to feel as though he were close friends or a member of the family of one of Athens’ early settlers, James Donnell, who built the Donnell House on the Athens Middle School campus. Chris read through dozens of family letters.

One of the Donnells