Jason Duncan has done genealogy research since the early 1990s. Initially he primarily researched his own ancestors in North Carolina and Virginia, but recently his focus has shifted to include all families who settled in Wilkes County, NC. Jason's project to map nearly 8,000 Wilkes County land grants provides a unique perspective on the county's earliest settlers. He enjoys spending time in courthouses and libraries to meticulously search through records that are often overlooked. In May 2024, he was honored to receive the Historic Preservation Medal from the Rendezvous Mountain Chapter of the DAR. The following October, he received the award for "Excellence in Publishing for a Book of Abstracts of an Original North Carolina Record" from the North Carolina Genealogical Society for his book on the 1798 Wilkes County, NC, Direct Tax List.