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About the Author

The Education of a History Nut

I grew up in Central Massachusetts and graduated from Northbridge High School. Northbridge had some great history teachers who made classes fun and educational. Their enthusiasm sparked my interest in history. However, I, during my high school years, never did envision myself embracing historical research. I aspired to be either a writer of fiction, a stockbroker, or a bartender. Those were the crossroads I considered traveling upon my high school graduation.

Having lived in Massachusetts all my life and getting bored of it, I decided that I wanted to attend an out-of-state college. I chose Marist College in Poughkeepsie NY. I obtained a great education from Marist. There, I caught the history bug. Researching and writing history papers became my obsession during my Marist years. I had a great internship at the Hudson River Maritime Museum of Kingston NY, where I assisted in researching and creating an exhibit on travel to the Catskill Mountains 1880-1920. After I graduated from Marist, I decided to go to graduate school to obtain a Master of Arts in History.

I ended up at Providence College. It took me five years to complete my coursework. Why five years? Economic necessity. I worked full-time at the American Antiquarian Society in order to make ends meet. AAS was a great place to work. I had access to an amazing wealth of history sources, which allowed me to get comfortable in the historical research process. I also benefited from graduate school. My craft in writing scholarly research papers slowly but surely developed. Classes also opened my eyes to women’s history (or herstory as some people call it). I became very interested in women’s roles during the Civil War, especially Judith McGuire’s contributions to the Confederacy.

After I graduated from Providence, I moved to the Boston area to be closer to my job at a major academic library. I love books and decided that working in libraries suited me best. Yet, I never gave up on my research. I continued to research Judith McGuire. After a few years enjoying life after graduate school, I finally accepted the fact that one needs a Master of Library Science degree in order to be considered a full-fledged librarian. As a result, I enrolled in the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at Simmons College in Boston. While a student at Simmons, I was employed and volunteered at various public and academic libraries in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. I managed to complete my MLS coursework in less than three years. I’m completely satisfied with my two graduate degrees and have absolutely no intention on obtaining a third!

I am currently employed at the Derry Public Library of Derry, New Hampshire, where I serve the community as the Reference/Young Adult Librarian. I’m very happy assisting people from various backgrounds in locating sources useful to their informational and recreational needs.

The graduate work at Simmons slowed, but did not eliminate my desire to further my research on Judith McGuire. I finally became satisfied with my research and finalized my paper by December 2005.

In my spare time, I continue to read and write about history. It may sound like work to some, but it's pure enjoyment to me. I am a history nut!

I hope you enjoy my work. More papers will appear over the years. Please feel free to contact me via e-mail should you have any questions/comments.

©2004-2008 Tim Sheehan tim@historynut.info

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This page last updated 1 January 2007