VIRTUAL MEETING

Brief Description: JGS recently received an interesting research request to look into the life and relationships of a young woman born in Jacksonville in 1899. The person requesting the research is a descendant of the son of the young woman in question. The son was born in Jacksonville, but after the death of his mother was adopted in California. The research takes us on a journey from Jacksonville to Atlanta, Alaska, and California. It is an interesting story because there are many sources of information AND many voids in the document trail. Along the way we find dead ends, supposition, and family stories — but also many important events for which we find solid evidence of steps in the life of this young woman and her son. Ultimately, we are left with as many questions as answers, but also with a sense of the lives of the people involved and the many interesting twists and turns they experience. After the presentation Society members are invited to suggest other steps we might take to find answers to our questions.

Speaker Bio: Joel Warner has been interested in genealogy from a young age. He still has a pedigree chart which he copied from his grandmother’s research at the age of 8, written in his third-grade penmanship. He spends much of his research time helping others get started in family history. He also likes to collect stories of those “coincidences” many genealogists experience when information comes together in the most unlikely circumstances. Joel and his wife Alzina are members of the Jacksonville Genealogy Society, The Southern Genealogist’s Exchange Society, and the planning committee of the North Florida Genealogy Conference. Alzina is a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution and the Daughters of the American Colonists.