THE GEORGIA GENEALOGIST
CERTIFIED GENEALOGIST® • FORENSIC GENEALOGY • DEEP SOUTH RESEARCH
Rus Schmidt
Rus is a retired school administrator and educator. He earned his Bachelor of Science undergraduate degrees from Murray State University with majors in English and History and a Minor in Art. He holds a M.Ed from the University of Montevallo with a Major in Secondary Education and Minors in Educational Leadership and Art. He also completed work toward a Doctorate (ABD) in Educational Administration and Planning at the University of Alabama. Before retiring, he worked almost 50 years in the public school systems of Alabama and Georgia as a high school administrator and middle school art teacher.
Lori Cook-Folger, CG®
Lori is the owner of Southern Genealogist, LLC. and has been researching since 1984. An old photograph where someone had written on the back, “Remember me–tho my face you can not see,” spurred her interest. Lori wanted to know who the woman was, and she wanted to remember her! Lori loves to piece together the details that make up a person’s life. All of our ancestors left clues to their everyday life in the records and photos they created.
Lori holds the Certified Genealogist® (CG) credential. Her background is in Southern research and some Midwest research. Lori's company and Yvonne's company. partner to work with the DPAA project.
Bruce Mulkey
Bruce, the newest genealogist at The Georgia Genealogist, is a retired educator who worked 30 years in Georgia’s public schools, This career included 13 years as a high school principal in Adairsville, Bartow County, GA, and two years as principal with his high school alma mater Vidalia City Schools in Vidalia, GA.
He holds an undergraduate degree from Berry College and graduate degrees from Jacksonville State University.
As Yvonne’s son, Bruce has had a lifelong exposure to genealogy and now in retirement is diving deeper into complex research, DNA analysis, and Forensic Genealogy. Married to Tracy for 28 years, they have four children and live in his hometown of Vidalia, Georgia.
Yvonne Mashburn Schmidt, CG®
Yvonne owns The Georgia Genealogist, Inc. She holds Boston University's Certificate of Genealogical Research, the Certified Genealogist® credential awarded by the Board for Certification of Genealogists®, and the Certificate of Investigative Genetic Genealogy from Ramapo College, NJ.
Her work focuses on Georgia and Deep South Research, Genetic Genealogy, and Forensic Genealogy. Her research and historical work and case studies have been published in state and regional genealogical and historical magazines. She works with the Department of Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, U.S. Army Past Conflicts Repatriations Branch and accepts individual client, law enforcement, and legal projects.
She's a native Georgian and resides in Vidalia, GA, about 90 miles from Savannah, with husband Rus and 3 sons and their families.