I was born in Philadelphia, the daughter of an artist mother and physician father. We moved to New Orleans when I was two where my brother Alex was born. Two years after that we moved to Aiken, South Carolina where Dad set up his obstetrics practice and where my sister Stephanie was born.

I grew up in Aiken, but lived for one year in England (1966-1967). I graduated with a B.A. in Theatre from Hiram College, and took up historical re-enactment in 1977 with the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA) and the Markland Medieval Mercenary Militia (MMMM). Later I joined various living history groups ranging from the Iron Age Celts to the Jacobite Rebellion.

I took a hiatus from Living History while my only child (a son, Ian) was growing up. I have worked in childcare, as a secretary and proofreader for the Federal government, as a technical writer, and as a story writer for an online game company. In 2002 I graduated with a B.A. in U.S. History from the University of Maryland. In May 2005, Carrollton Press in Mississippi published "The Diary Lt. William H. Peel" -- a previously untranscribed diary of a young Confederate officer captured at Gettysburg and imprisoned at Johnson's Island, Ohio.

As paid services I do genealogical research for others, as well as transcriptions of historical documents. I give educational presentations for students of all ages, such as programs on women in the 19th century, the history of nursing and the founding of the International Red Cross, and on specialized topics such as 19th century photography, the history of Halloween, and workshops on making costumes and props for living historians.

TECHNICAL SKILLS

• Chief costume designer, seamstress and prop maker for Remember the Ladies.
  
  
• Can spin on drop spindle and spinning wheel, excellent hand at embroidery, sews using a 1901 hand crank sewing machine.
  
  
• Restores and maintains antiques, including photographs, books and papers
  
  
• Excellent transcriptionist of historic documents, including diaries, letters, deeds and one exceeding long epitaph.
  
  

• Volunteer at Sandy Spring Museum, doing textile arts demonstrations (spinning and weaving) for the children's education program
  
  
• Creation and maintenance of a webpage offering genealogical, historical, and practical information in a variety of areas
  
  
• Twenty years' experience doing living history demonstrations for the public, in costume appropriate to historic events ranging from the Iron Age through the 19th century
  
  
• Developed and taught a course on natural childbirth, teaching couples for over ten years
  
  
• Currently a volunteer instructor for the Silver Spring chapter of the Red Cross, teaching CPR, First Aid, and a monthly childcare course. In the process of developing a special first aid course for living historians.