In Genealogy, as in Real Estate: Location, location, location

I have read numerous articles, blogs, etc., discussing how important place is in genealogy.  So, having that message knocked into my thick skull, I've joined The Society for One-Place Studies.  My one-place study is of the town where I grew up, Jacksonville, Florida.  My husband was born and raised in Jacksonville.  Even though I was born in Long Beach, California, I lived in Jacksonville since I was 7 years old, from 1954 to 1980, so I consider it my home town.  I told my Florida native husband and other Floridians I've met that I've been "Floridated."  We only moved into the next county to the south because my husband had rural fever.  He didn't want to be a city boy anymore, but I have to say, I miss the suburbs.

Those of you interested in one-place studies may find my one-place study blog at One-Place Study: Jacksonville, Florida.  

The first entry is a welcome message, telling a little about me, about Jacksonville, and about the scope I envision for my one-place study.  The second post tells of Jacksonville's place in the early 20th century as "Hollywood" before Hollywood was Hollywood -- the important role it played in the history of early silent movies.

My family lines do not go back far in Jacksonville, not as far as my husband's family does.  But even his family connection to the city goes back only as far as 1925, when his paternal aunt was born here.  Next in time is my husband, born in Jacksonville in 1946.  Our older daughter was born here in 1971.  Her sister, born in 1972, was born in St. Petersburg, Florida, as my husband was stationed there on active duty in the U.S. Coast Guard.  Our son-in-law was born in Jacksonville, also in 1972.  His family came to Florida from Missouri.  The latest family member born in Jacksonville is our grandson, born in 2004.

However, Jacksonville has longer connections to my own family than the birth of our older daughter.  My mother and father, and my sister and my brother, lived here during World War II, when my father, an officer in the U.S. Navy, was stationed at Naval Air Station Jacksonville as a flight instructor.  

This area of Florida has roots in Spanish Colonial Florida, and I will be presenting information on that history as well as more modern information.  Jacksonville has a rich history, and I'm going to delve into it.  Come along for the ride.  You may be surprised.