Greatest Generation (born 1901 to 1925)
A native of Pensacola, Florida and a fifth generation Floridian. She has an A.B. Degree from Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia and an M.S. in L.S. Degree in Library Science from Atlanta University. A retired school librarian, she became interested in her family stories about that great-great-grandmother, a slave who was allegedly born in Spain and brought to Florida during the Spanish rule. She decided to engage in genealogical research because of this interest. This research has led to the discovery of her ggggrandmother in 1770 Louisiana.
She is the recipient of the following awards:
- The 1992 runner-up in the National Genealogical Society’s Family History Writing Contest. The essay, “Agustina and the Kelkers: A Spanish West Florida Line,” was published in the National Genealogical Society Quarterly 80 (December 1992): 265-79
- The 1998 National Genealogical Society Quarterly Award for Excellence for the essay, “From Agustina to Ester: Analyzing a Slave Household for Child-Parent Relationships,” National Genealogical Society Quarterly 85 (December 1997): 245-75
- The 2002 runner-up in the National Genealogical Society’s Family History Writing Contest. The essay, “Matilda Madrid: One Woman’s Tale of Bondage and Freedom” was published in the National Genealogy Society Quarterly 91 (March 2003): 41-59.
A minister’s wife, she taught Sunday School where her husband was a pastor; In one community where they lived, the children knew her as the “liberry” lady or their Sunday School teacher. She is the mother of three children and six grandchildren.
Jupiter, Del
Oral History Summary
Listen to Del Jupiter's oral history podcast episode
96 year-old. Flushing out award winning truths from family stories.
Del shares stories about having free rein of a millionaire's estate as a child in Pensacola, Florida and hunting for Spanish pirate's gold near the bayou; attending her beloved Spelman College; dispelling family lore that a slave ancestor was born in Spain by instead tracing her roots back to 1770 Spanish Louisiana; discovering her ancestor was Portuguese instead of Indian according to family tradition and translating his Spanish records; providing research which resulted in white and Filipino families learning that they share slave ancestry and a tale of a poisoning attempt; being the first black member of the Florida Pioneer Descendants Society by documenting ancestors living in Florida before it became a state; proving that her German speaking Swiss American Revolutionary War patriot Anthony Kelker had a descendant that was not full bloodied white, as argued by a relative, but instead was a Pennsylvania Dutch free man of color; receiving an award of excellence from the National Genealogical Society.
Del Jupiter's oral history was recorded on July 7, 2020
DAR Service
Membership State: Georgia
DAR Patriot Ancestor(s)
Anthony Kelker: Pennsylvania
European Descent Male