Jean Wilcox Hibben- PhD,MA.CG biography

Our Seminar Keynote and additional Talks Speaker
She can make you laugh until you cry and get the information to you in such a marvelous dialogue you definitely do not want to miss her talks.

JEAN WILCOX HIBBEN – PhD, MA, CGsm
PROFILE, July 2010

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.”


Printed with her permission