Welcome to my blog, which I anticipate will be a potourri of research findings, research stories, and the occasional story of one of our earlier Jerkins kin. The who thing will probably evolve as I get used to the venue.
During my 15 years of chasing this clan, I have become an experienced genealogist - to the point that I became a professional. These days, I do research for clients, give lectures and seminars and write articles about genealogy. I don't make a living at it, yet, but it helps.
My pre-genealogy career was actually more of a series of careers - sort of a Swill Army knife approach to full employment and occupations. My education was in Accounting & Finance, and I did spend years in that field, working as a corporate controller and owning my own company. But I also spent years as an Army Infantry officer (my younger years - eeeyaaah! Ranger!), as a restauranteur, a college instructor (and, briefly, Bursar).
Not being able to face my boredom with accounting any longer, and lacking the PhD to gain tenure with the university, I spent the last 15 years of my work-a-day life as a technical writer (not nearly as boring as it sounds - I got to play with new technology all of the time and got to show just enough creativity to keep me above my boredom threshhold.
Genealogically, I am a sixth generation Floridian (5th if you only count born in the state). I was raised on the dirt roads on the outskirts of pre-Disney. With that history and my strong family ties to neighboring states, I have researched extensively throughout the South. But I have just enough early Yankee ancestors (and my clients have had more) and connections to foreign lands to make me comfortable among the towns of early New England and those of the United Kingdom and Canada.
