Directory of Members

Jean Wilcox Hibben has been involved in family research for over 45 years. She is a member of the Genealogical Speakers Guild (former board member), societies dealing with her interests, various societies in the areas where she does research, the Association of Professional Genealogists (former Board member and past- president of the Southern California Chapter), So. Calif Genealogical Society, and the Corona Genealogical Society (where she serves as 1st vice president and webmaster).

Jean has been playing guitar for over 50 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.

Jean is a volunteer at the Corona California FamilySearch Center where she trains Family History consultants. 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 (her dissertation was on Family Stories gathered from genealogists across America). Jean is a national speaker and is known for her entertaining, as well as informative, presentations. She has been a frequent writer for various genealogy publications, was lead researcher for the first season of Genealogy Roadshow,  and has worked on another television program as well.

Jean writes the "Aunty Jeff" column for The Informer, the quarterly publication of the Jefferson County NY Genealogical Society.

Jean, who lives in western Riverside County, California, maintains 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 begin to 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.” More about Jean, her presentations, CDs, projects, etc. can be found on her website https://circlemending.org (link listed at the top of this page).

PhD: Folklore, Columbia Commonwealth Univ., 2008
MA: Speech Communication Theory & Process, emphasis - Rhetoric & Interpersonal Communication; Calif. State Univ., Fullerton, CA, 1990
BA: Speech Communication, Calif. State Univ., Fullerton, CA, 1988
International Training in Communication, Accreditation, Level One, 1983

former Board Certified genealogist (for 10 years)

-nomination: 2009 Woman of the Year (American Biographical Institute, Inc.)
-election: International Who’s Who of Professional & Business Women, 10th ed., 2009
-election: Who’s Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges, 2003-200

Instructional Lectures
Songs and Stories of Cultures & Historical Events
Participatory Workshops
Narrative Programs
Banquet Speeches & Keynote Addresses

Specializing in online lectures, workshops, and webinars

For complete list of presentation topics, please refer to website; brief topic list includes

• Research and Results for Beginners
• The Civil War
• Christmas Traditions of our Ancestors
• German Immigration and Research
• Translating Latin Records
• Family Folklore
• Using Electronic Record Keeping
• On-Site Research
• The Language of our Ancestors
• Using LDS resources
• Using Internet resources
• Social History

Speaker is prepared to provide her own projector (at additional fee) and laptop (for PowerPoint programs) or a Zoom platform for electronic presentations (no extra charge).
Societies are encouraged to distribute handouts via electronic means, but handout masters will be emailed to organizations, if desired.
For musical programs, speaker provides her own sound system and microphones (online music programs must be discussed, some possibilities available but may involve extra charges; contact for additional information).
Full press release package (photo, bio, and program description) emailed for all engagements.

click on "calendar/venues" at website listed above (https://circlemending.org)