Author/genealogist to visit Worth County Library
Book show will feature local family histories
By Cindi Cox
SYLVESTER — Jessie Paulk, the author of more than 100 family histories, will host a book show and sale in the Genealogy Room at the Worth County Library in Sylvester 10 a.m.-3 p.m. on Dec. 8.
Paulk has conducted extensive research on two prominent Worth County families — the Sumter and Young families.
“I am fascinated by family history,” the genealogist said.
In a phone interview from his current residence in Salem, Fla., Paulk said his fascination with genealogy began in 1965 when he started researching his own family history.
“I began to look into my own family history while at Robbins Air Force Base in Warner Robbins, Georgia,” Paulk said.
Around that time, he met Willard Rocker, who was in charge of the Genealogical Department of the Washington Memorial Library in Macon. In 1984, Paulk went to Washington, D.C., and continued his efforts at the National Archives. Over the next few years, he expanded his search to include the families of those who married into his own family.
“One thing led to another, and soon I was doing research on several families, many from Southwest Georgia,” Paulk said.
In July 1990, he published his first book entitled “Paulks of America.”
Since then, the author has published 110 books on family histories, courthouse marriage records, county cemetery surveys and other genealogical topics. He created a how-to booklet on genealogical research and has conducted numerous lectures and seminars on the topic.
Paulk recently had a book display at the annual Peanut Festival in Sylvester.
In support of his library appearance next month, Mary King Givens, who serves as the spokesperson for the Worth County Historical Society, wrote an email to Paulk that read, in part: “I’m so glad you were at the Peanut Festival and brought your publications. The histories of the Sumner and Young families should interest their relatives in Worth County, as well as some of your other books.”
For more details about his extensive historical research or the upcoming appearance in Sylvester, Paulk can be reached at [email protected].
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