JAMESTOWN — Local volunteer genealogists Margaret Gunn and Ken Levine have been instrumental in updating Jamestown’s online research database.
Jamestown Rediscovery‘s online database provides researchers with downloadable genealogy records outlining information about Jamestown’s seventeenth-century residents.
Gunn and Levine, who have been long-time Jamestown supporters, spent many months during the pandemic at home researching and updating the records, according to the Jamestown Rediscovery Foundation.
The two met in Richmond and married in the Wren Chapel of the College of William and Mary, Gunn’s alma mater. Gunn, a Virginia native who descends from numerous Jamestown settlers, as well as Pocahontas, became interested in genealogy and history as a young girl.
Though not a Virginia native, Levine contributes to Gunn’s genealogical research.
“It is our hope that when the updated online Jamestown biographies are returned to the website that thousands of others will learn about the fascinating stories of those who lived at Jamestown in the earliest days of our nation,” Levine said. “It has been a pleasure working on this important project.”
Gunn has also volunteered in Colonial Williamsburg’s Rockefeller Library Special Collections Department, transcribing and logging 18th century documents into its databases.
“Jamestown’s story is important—and we must ensure that future generations understand our nation’s rich history and those who persevered at the time of America’s beginning,” Gunn said.
The records, which are $4.95 each, can be accessed by visiting the Historic Jamestowne website.
