Hi everyone!
It's time to meet another one of our wonderful WikiTreers. This week's member is Gina Jarvi.
Gina became a Wiki Genealogist in January of 2018. She is very active in our US Black Heritage project.
What are some of the surnames you are researching?
Currently, I am researching families of slave holders such as Ball, Lecomte, Prud’homme. But the family surnames I research are: Bean, Bailey, Lobbin/Lobban, O’Brien, Pocock, Shortell, Skellenger (all spellings).
What are some of the locations you are researching?
These days I am in the southern United States: Louisiana, Tennessee, Virginia, Alabama.
When and how did you get interested in genealogy and family history?
My father gave me my first look into our family history when he gave me a Pocock Family Tree that had been created by a cousin on one of the 12 branches. It is a very large tree. From looking into his tree, I thought a lot about my mother’s and how little I knew of hers. So that sent me on a quest to uncover the mysteries on her side. I am still on that quest.
Who's your favorite ancestor and why?
I am not sure. They are all so fascinating! My maternal grandmother died in childbirth with my mother and she was a woman I would have loved to have known. She was a musician with a beautiful voice, and where, I am quite sure, my mother got her voice from. My mother was a voice actress dubbing foreign films. She and her two sisters also sang three part harmonies.
Tell us about a brick wall you were able to break down.
I never knew anything about my mother’s mother, so I went to Stamford, Connecticut, where my mother was born to see if I could find her mother’s grave. After a stop at the vital records department, I not only found where she was buried, but the church where she and my grandfather were married and the address where they lived before she died. It was a powerful experience.
What are some of your interests outside of genealogy?
I love traveling and walking in nature. I also dabble in a variety of art forms.
(interview continues in comments)
