Research Projects
I have been a Historical Researcher since I was in high school. I started as a genealogist when I was just a teenager wanted to know about the pictures and other things my family had as heirlooms or just collected. I was sixteen when I took the dive to really finding out my ancestors.
I continued digging at social and culture history (the official term was Material Culture) through my undergraduate and graduate degrees. I won and completed internships in museum and archival work as part of the hours required by my degrees.
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My Thesis surrounded the development of the 19th century to grant to work at the Winterthur Museum in Wilmington, Delaware, on the development of the middle class in the 19th century. I finished my formal working career at the Kansas City Museum and Science City/Union Station working as the Assistant to the Director of History in November 2000.
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Since I left I have continued to work as a freelance and private Historian and Researcher. My work has varied with genealogy, translations, society and cultural comparisons, and working in the world of the past to try to bring hope to the future.
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You can read more about my past and present in the "About" section. Here is a selection of the work I have done.
Historical work
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Genealogy using microfilm; microfiche; original records held in country libraries; bound records in libraries; graveyard footwork; photography; oral histories; NARA records; internet sources including Ancestry, Find-a-Grave, Primary documents, and works previously unavailable online when I first started including DNA findings.
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Documenting and dating housing styles by approximate build dates using learned methods and public and private sources.
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Documenting the history and importance of tobacco farming and methods of curing the harvested tobacco in Henry County, Tennessee from the early 30s until the decline of production in the 80s and 90s. This included the construction and use of tobacco barns in the area known as the Black Patch.
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Helped create exhibits for Science City Union Station. With the help of curatorial staff, local residents, and research through photos, special collections of primary materials and secondary materials, oral histories, site visits, prop procurement with the help and under the direction of the Director of History, we designed the area known as Old Town and Grandma's Attic.
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Was the main designer of the Grandma's Attic school programs which centered around the use of "found" trunks left behind by former boarders. The goal was to help students look at everyday objects and try to recreate the story of the owner of the trunk by the objects in it. The lesson was to think about your family and its past. What can you learn from objects in your home about your culture and others?
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Helped write and edit the first historical tour of Union Station of Kansas City for use after its reopening in Jan 1999.
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Gave historical tours of Union Station of Kansas City to individuals; families; schools, bus tours, and other marketing tours from its reopening in 1999.
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Worked up translations in various old and newer versions of English and Norse.
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Helped work with the variations in British and American culture from the 19th and 20th Centuries.
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History of the Marriott Muehlebach Hotel and all its properties owned from its opening in May 1915, through its purchase by the Marriott Hotels in 1996, and into the hotel it is today.
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In-depth research of Japanese internment camps; the Oregon Trail during the Westward migrations of the 19th Century; iconography used in cemeteries, graveyards, folklore, etc.; the American South and its society and culture; the development of the Middle Class in America and Britain in the 19th Century;
Current Research
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Continuing education in iconography, elements of architectural style and research methodology.
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Classes in French for use in translations of 19th C works, as well as in communications with friends and colleagues. The Latin I was taught has helped over the years, but it's time for greater accuracy in reading and conversation.
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Lore and mythology used in various religions and cultures throughout the centuries. Specifically Christian, Nordic, English, Scots, Welsh, and Irish.
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The history and dating of items in photographs
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Continuing to work with authors to satisfy that correct terminology and culture are used in their writing as it pertains to my knowledge and what I can document through available sources.