Welcome to History Mysteries
History doesn’t always announce itself with trumpets. Sometimes it only hints—an odd detail in an old newspaper, a missing name in a record, a photograph with no caption, a place that changed names, or a story that doesn’t quite add up.
This is where I follow those threads.
I write about lives from bygone eras, curious historical puzzles, and the small clues that help piece together the story—always with a storyteller’s heart and a sleuth’s attention to detail.
If you love a good mystery (with real history behind it), you’re in the right place.
“Come, Watson, come! The game is afoot!”
Join me as I follow the clues—and see where they lead.
Here you’ll find history writing driven by curiosity, research, and the details that bring the past to life. You’re welcome anytime.
I’ve loved history for as long as I can remember, looking for answers to the question: Where did this come from? I translate historical research into engaging stories for a broad audience. My work has appeared in American History magazine and other publications.
Below are samples of my writing that reflect my work from extensive research to feature storytelling. Each one opens into a new tab for easy reading. Enjoy!
Published Articles
Fearless Radicals Turned the Quakers From Advocates of Slavery to Fervent Abolitionists
An exploration of Quaker thought from the late 17th century—when slaveholding was widely accepted—to the late 18tth century, when the Society of Friends became the first Christian denomination to ban slaveholders and lead the fight for abolition in America.
Andrew Jackson Downing: America’s Original Designing Man
A profile of 19th-century landscape architect and writer Andrew Jackson Downing, whose ideas shaped the American home-and-lawn ideal that still influences neighborhoods today.
Additional Writing Samples
Loren Janes: A Stuntman’s Stuntman
A portrait of legendary stuntman Loren Janes, told through the behind-the-scenes stories from a career spent doubling Hollywood’s biggest stars.
Bonnie and Clyde
A look back at the Bonnie and Clyde story more than 80 years after their deaths near Gibsland, Louisiana—and why the myth still fascinates.
Where the West Was Won
A look at Hollywood’s back lot in the Alabama Hills near Mt. Whitney and the small town of Lone Pine, California—an unsung location that supported generations of Western films and their stars.
One Enchanted Evening on the Enchanted Hill
The tale of a special evening at Hearst Castle, San Simeon, California, captures the atmosphere of the Castle as it must have been in its heyday in the early 1930s.