Georgia: Two Lives, Two Coasts, One Massive Secret (with Julie Merrill) | Episode 115

A dapper playboy, a broken plantation safe, an embezzlement scheme, and a grandfather who completely vanished. What happened to William H. Wheeler? 🕵️‍♂️🔍 When an 83-year-old client named Jane came to Julie Merrill, an accredited genealogist with Ancestry ProGenealogists, looking for clues about her missing grandfather, she had no idea the search would lead away from Washington state, straight past California, and deep into a high-society scandal in 1890s Georgia. Armed with DNA clusters and old newspaper archives, Julie chased down this 100-year-old family history mystery and uncovered a jaw-dropping double life. ✨ Hit that Subscribe button to join us as we travel "From Sea to Shining Sea" discovering the incredible history woven into the fabric of America! ⏱️ TIME STAMPS 0:00 – Preview: Escaping the past and naming children after secrets. 0:42 – Welcome to Season 2 of Stories That Live In Us! 2:54 – Meet Julie Merrill: How a typing class sparked a lifelong passion. 6:49 – Going Pro: Transitioning from hobbyist to professional genealogist. 11:30 – The Case of Jane’s Missing Grandfather (The 1920s Brick Wall). 16:33 – Unlocking the Past: The DNA strategy that changed everything. 21:40 – The Georgia Simmons Cluster: Shifting focus from Wheeler to Simmons. 26:08 – Meet Simmons Kelly: The "Tom Cruise" of 1890s Atlanta. 28:13 – The Plantation Safe Theft & The Multi-State Chase. 36:00 – A New Identity in California: Connecting Simmons Kelly to William Wheeler. 38:00 – The Trail Goes Cold: What happened after the 1920s divorce? 42:03 – Why We Tell Painful Family Stories (Skeletons in the Closet). 🌟 FEATURED GUEST Julie Merrill — Accredited Genealogist, Ancestry ProGenealogists; speaker at RootsTech 🎙️ WHAT YOU'LL DISCOVER IN THIS EPISODE How Julie used DNA clustering to identify a man who completely erased his past. Why newspaper archives are often where the real story is buried. The fascinating "naming pattern" clue that connected a California family back to their Georgia roots. What to do when every census record contradicts itself. How an 83-year-old client finally got the answers her mother never had. 📝 VISIT THE COMPANION BLOG POST FOR MORE TIPS TO UNCOVER YOUR OWN FAMILY STORIES: https://www.cristacowan.com/blog/geor... 💬 JOIN THE CONVERSATION Do you have a "skeleton in the closet" or a massive brick wall in your family tree? Have you ever used DNA to solve a family mystery? Let us know in the comments below! If you have any leads on what happened to Simmons Kelly (aka William Wheeler) after 1920, we want to hear them! SUBSCRIBE TO STORIES THAT LIVE IN US New episodes every Thursday exploring how family stories create deeper connections across generations. 🎧 Listen on your favorite podcast platform: https://www.storiesthatliveinus.com/ ⭐ Leave a rating and review to help others discover these stories! 🔔 Subscribe here on YouTube and click the bell to never miss an episode. #familyhistory #Genealogy #AncestryDNA #StoriesThatLiveInUs #BarefootGenealogist #DNAGenealogy #FamilySecrets #GeorgiaHistory #TrueStory #FamilyTree #CristaCowan #RootsTech #AncestryProGenealogists #GenealogyMystery #AmericaAt250 #FamilyStorytelling #FamilyLegacy #Ancestors #DoubleLife #GeorgiaPodcast About the Show: "Stories That Live In Us" is a podcast that inspires you to form deeper connections with your family - past, present, and future. Host Crista Cowan, known online as The Barefoot Genealogist, brings you weekly episodes featuring real stories of family discovery, connection, and understanding. © 2026 Crista Cowan. All rights reserved.