WELCOME TO CIRCLEMENDING, WEBSITE OF JEAN WILCOX HIBBEN; PhD, MA, WHERE WE TRY TO MEND THE FAMILY CIRCLES.
Click here to download latest press release, dated February 2024
click here to download menu of icons on FamilySearch, updated 2023
(for personal use only)
PLEASE NOTE: I HAVE BEEN VERY ILL WITH A NUMBER OF THINGS, MAKING ME UNABLE TO STAY ON TOP OF THIS WEBSITE REVISION SCHEDULE. IF ANYTHING SEEMS INCOMPLETE OR INCORRECT, PLEASE ADVISE ASAP AND I WILL SURELY MAKE NEEDED ADJUSTMENTS WHEN ENERGY AND ABILITY ARE PRESENT. THANK YOU FOR YOUR UNDERSTANDING!
Greetings,
This is the website of Jean Wilcox Hibben, family historian, national speaker, folklorist, and troubadour (bio below). If you have found your way here, you most likely have an interest in genealogy and/or family folklore, are involved with a family history center or historical or genealogical society, or a combination of these.
To view the Privacy Policy, click here.
Most of this site is devoted to the lectures and programs I present: See an abbreviated listing below or click on Topic Categories. There is also a page listing my own genealogical research: check out My People (perhaps we are related). As I become more involved in the genealogy community, and continue my involvement in the folk music community, I am getting more “web presence,” courtesy of those with whom I have interviewed. To check out the podcasts, news stories, etc., go to the Sights & Sounds page.
Also included here is the list of my available CDs and links to order them: go to CDs. That is the same page where you’ll find info on ordering MP3s, for those who want to put their music into the 21st Century.
If you are interested in being added to my mailing (“followers”) list to receive quasi-quarterly notification of my presentation schedule and other info, please send an email request to circlemending (at) gmail (dot) com.
I continue to write articles that combine my various interests. In October 2012 I finished and published (as an e-book) a historical novel on the story of my g-g-grandmother Elisabeth, now available (check that page on this site for information). It is currently going through a rewrite and I hope to have hard copies of the novel for sale by late-2021. I am also the columnist for “Aunty Jeff” – a Q/A feature of the Jefferson County, NY Genealogical Society, The Informer, issued quarterly to its members.
Finally, I can be found and friended on Facebook (a note referencing this website would help me identify you; send as a message when requesting to be friended): https://www.facebook.com/Circlemending. I also want to call attention to my blog (yes, I have decided to get into that, too) – click blog to go to that off-site location to read my comments about how music was part of our ancestors’ lives, along with other items of genealogical or historical interest (I have to confess that, while I started out doing regular blog posts, other writing obligations and health issues in our household have side-tracked me; I do posts for others, occasionally – see my page here on “Writings” for more specifics on that – and I try to post on mine as often as time allows.) My favorite blog post series is my father’s auto-biography. His was a fascinating life and I am pleased to share it at that location.
photo by Pam McComb-Podmostko, © 2009
LISTING OF PRESENTATION TITLES (CLICK THE LINK OF THE TOPIC CATEGORY TO BE DIRECTED TO THE DESCRIPTION PAGE)
Selected lectures (noted * below) available on recordings from various seminars from Fleetwood Onsite (search by “Hibben”), JAMB, Inc. (search by conference; see details on topics for assistance) or Conference Resource, LLC (Jamboree order form). For specific program identification, see details on the description pages for these presentations. Recordings are for personal use only. Titles that are links will take you to a FREE viewing of the lecture on FamilySearch; search by lecture title (note: FamilySearch often makes changes and may remove lectures when outdated; if a link is broken, please send me notification, thank you). These, too, are designed for personal use and should not be displayed at genealogical society meetings without prior permission. Thank you for respecting that.
I am in the process of setting up a number of new presentations this year (2021) and will be adding those titles in the near future (I hope). If you are interested in one of the new programs, please inquire and I’ll tell you what is available and when it may be ready for presentation. Or contact me to request a particular subject, tailor-made to your group (note: I do not attempt to present on the subject of DNA use for genealogy – or anything else – but can recommend any number of folks who are far more up-to-date on the topic than I.)
Beginning to Intermediate (Experienced)
Intermediate (Experienced) to Advanced
All levels
PARTICIPATORY WORKSHOPS All levels (interesting for non-genealogists, too)
NARRATIVE PRESENTATIONS All levels
SONGS & STORIES OF HISTORICAL EVENTS All levels
BANQUET TALKS/KEYNOTE ADDRESSES
PERSONAL PROFILE
After moving from the Chicago suburbs to Southern California in 1973, I obtained my bachelors and masters degrees in Speech Communication and worked as a professor in the field for 13 years before leaving academia to pursue my passions: folklore and family history. I received my doctorate in folklore in 2008. I have been involved in family research for over 40 years and have traced my origins to Germany, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Holland, England, and France. Check the link on this site to see the names of My People. I am the former Director of the Corona, California Family History Center, in the Corona Stake of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and am still involved with working and teaching classes there. I was a volunteer at the National Archives, Pacific Region (Riverside County) until demands on my time and health issues intervened.
I have been on the board of the Genealogical Speakers Guild (more biographical information is available at that website) and recommend that site to see the listings of other speakers in the field of genealogy. I was a Board-Certified Genealogist for 10 years (2006-2016 – I elected not to renew), I served on the Board of Directors of the Association of Professional Genealogists for four years and, as well, as the President of its Southern California Chapter (I am still on the board as “past president”). I am the 1st vice-president and webmaster of the Corona (Calif.) Genealogical Society, where I served a number of years as president, and I was formerly the First Vice-President of the International Society of Family History Writers and Editors (now defunct). I belong to the Daughters of the American Revolution, the Aurantia Chapter in Riverside County, California; to the National Genealogical Society; and to the Jefferson County NY Genealogical Society, where I maintain the quarterly column, “Ask Aunty Jeff” in their newsletter, The Informer.
I have been playing guitar for about 60 years and have added other instruments to my repertoire over the decades. I use a number of these in my musical programs to give folks a feeling for the music their ancestors might have sung and played. To read more about that and the CDs I have recorded to date, please check out the pages on Details on Songs & Stories of Historical Events, Sights & Sounds, and CDs. I am active in a number of Southern California music groups, including the Riverside Folk Song Society. I live in the Lake Mathews area of Riverside County, CA; am recently widowed; have 4 children, 25 grandchildren, and over 20 great-grandchildren. And some of those people are actually interested in family history. With all the descendants that keep joining the clan, I figure that the odds are in my favor that one or more will eventually be taking the genealogy baton from me! Contact me via email Thank you for your interest.
photo by Pam McComb-Podmostko ©2009
MISSION STATEMENT
My goal is to assist others in their efforts to connect generations (past to present), completing the family circle.
PHILOSOPHY
I believe 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 and appreciate our family circles. “Will the circle be unbroken, by and by, Lord, by and by? There’s a better home a-waitin’ in the sky, Lord, in the sky!” – Trad.