Jean Wilcox Hibben is Featured Speaker at CVGS Fall Seminar on 2 October

The Chula Vista Genealogical Society (CVGS) Fall Seminar is on Saturday, 2 October from 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM at the Norman Park Senior Center (270 F Street in Chula Vista). Full program details are provided in CVGS Fall Seminar - Where Do We Go From Here?

Reservations must be paid in advance, and are $25 before 20 September (next Monday) and $30 after 20 September. CVGS needs to plan the luncheon, seating and handouts. Please register NOW!

Jean Wilcox Hibben, PhD, MA, CG is the keynote speaker and is featured in two other presentations. Jean's three talks will include:

* 9 AM Keynote: Graveyard Gumshoe: Lessons Written in Stone

After a lifetime of visiting cemeteries, the speaker has had more unusual and even funny experiences than fearful events, as the ghost stories would have us believe are commonplace. This light-hearted look at about 50 years of wandering among tombstones will provide a few general tips, some laughs, and hopefully inspire others to investigate their ancestors’ final resting places.

* 10:15 AM: This is not Your Grandma’s Genealogy: Making the Move from Paper to Electronic Record Keeping

The computer age can be intimidating to those who have been keeping their genealogical records on paper. This presentation gives some tips to those who have not yet been convinced that modern technology has a viable place in the field of family history. The topics cover the advantages and disadvantages of computer over paper but do not detail all the “hows” of operating a computer.

* 12:30 PM: Deliveries in the Rear! Getting Family History Information through the Back Door

Sometimes the most valuable information is acquired by researching correlating families to one’s direct line ancestry. This presentation is designed to acquaint folks with the value of using “the back door” in their genealogical research. By using the family information of cousins, aunts, uncles, etc., one can piece together the lives of the entire family unit. Even using information about neighbors and historical events can unearth helpful data in one’s roots pursuits. Good presentation for beginning and intermediate researchers.

Jean's curriculum vitae is impressive:

A Board Certified genealogist, Jean Wilcox Hibben has been involved in family research for over 30 years. She is a member of the National Genealogical Society (NGS), the Genealogical Speakers Guild (where she serves as secretary), various societies in the areas where she does research, the Association of Professional Genealogists (serving as president of the Southern California Chapter), and the Corona Genealogical Society (where she serves as president). She is also the Membership and Meeting Coordinator for the Riverside Folk Song Society. Jean maintains a website with information about her presentations, CDs, projects, etc.: www.circlemending.org.

Jean is a volunteer at the Corona California Family History Center where she trains Family History consultants and is also the genealogy instructor for the Soboba Band of the Luiseño Tribe of California Mission Indians. A native of the Chicago suburbs, she moved to Southern California in 1973 and obtained her bachelors and masters degrees in Speech Communication. She worked as a professor in the field for 13 years before leaving academia to pursue her passions, family history and folklore, and holds a doctorate in the latter. Jean is a national speaker in both areas and is known for her entertaining, as well as informative, presentations. She is a bi-monthly contributor to the on-line magazine, GenWeekly, and a frequent writer for other genealogy publications.

Jean has been playing guitar for over 40 years, learning a variety of other folk instruments along the way. She sees a connection between family history and music because, in learning about our forebears, we try to piece together the various elements of our ancestors' lives in an effort to create a complete (or as complete as possible) picture of who they were in their homes, families, occupations, religions, and activities. Their musical interests/involvement should be considered part of this whole picture, or circle, of their lives and that is the primary focus of her blog: www.circlemending.blogspot.com.

For 25 years, Jean worked as a square dance caller with her husband, “Uncle Butch” Hibben; they live in the Lake Mathews area of Western Riverside County, California and have 4 children, 24 grandchildren, and 9 great-grandchildren. Jean’s philosophy is that “who we are is a compilation of our experiences and associations as well as our biological connections. When we understand our ancestors we can better understand ourselves. By doing this, we can complete our personal family circles.” This connects to her mission statement: “My goal is to assist others in their efforts to connect generations (past to present), completing the family circle.”