Where Genealogy and Spirit Connect, November 10, 2009
on BBS Radio
With Host Susan E. King
November 10, 2009
As fellow musicians, Susan and Jean will be discussing how musical instruments have always been commonplace in most homes, even amongst the lower class. Instruments (most often the piano-forte or similar keyboard instrument such as a melodion or harpsichord) were used as "chaperones" for a courting couple (music stopped: better check the parlor!). Want to find out what instruments your ancestors played? We will discuss how different instruments were common in different parts of the country often based on the immigrant population (bowed psaltery, autoharp, dulcimer, banjo in the Appalachians; other zithers, mandolins, guitars in the cities; piano-fortes only in mid- to upper-class homes; fiddles/violins everywhere!); the influence of African American instruments (drums, banjo) on today's music. And we will discuss what the songs were: used as morality lessons, entertainment (play-party/dance songs), worship, entertainment (ballads), education (history).
After moving from the Chicago suburbs to Southern California in 1973, Jean Wilcox Hibben obtained her bachelors and masters degrees in Speech Communication and worked as a professor in the field for 13 years before leaving academia to pursue her passions: family history and folklore, acquiring her doctorate in the latter in 2008. A Board Certified genealogist, Jean volunteers at the Corona CA Family History Center and trains Family History consultants; she is a national speaker with over 40 years of public speaking and performing experience. Her performance specialty is the melding of historical events with the music that illustrates them (see her website for details on her many programs). She maintains a blog on the topic of Where music and ancestry meet with weekly thoughts on the subject.
Jean is the president of both the Corona Genealogical Society and the Southern California Chapter of the Association of Professional Genealogists, and secretary of the Genealogical Speakers Guild. She is also active in a number of Southern California music groups, including the Riverside Folk Song Society where she serves as the Membership and Meeting Coordinator for more information on that organization). She has been playing guitar for over 40 years, learning a variety of other folk instruments along the way. She has 7 CDs available through her website.
For over 30 years, Jean worked as a square dance caller with her husband, Uncle Butch Hibben; they live in the LakeMathews area ofRiversideCounty and have 4 children, 23 grandchildren, and 7 great-grandchildren.
Where Genealogy and Spirit Connect
Susan is a Genealogy columnist with The Examiner. As the Genealogy Examiner, Susans column covers cover the gamut of genealogical topics with a rare twist. Through this column Susan will be building a deeper understanding of the spiritual journey of finding our ancestors and finding ourselves. Through a deeper understanding of our history and the history of others will we be.
We live in both very exciting times and very troubling times. But we live in a time where we really do have an opportunity to change; change how we think and feel about ourselves; change how we think and feel about others. We have an opportunity to teach the next generations the importance of preservation, the importance of respect, and the importance of tolerance. There is no better modality than through the study and sharing of our genealogies, our research and through our feelings.
In this light, Susan has launched a new social network, Susaneking.com, the place Where genealogy and spirit connect. This site is designed to assist others to embark on their own personal journey tofind your family, find yourself. Susan will be providing start-up consulting, ongoing monitoring and collaborative services as requested and special services.
