about

My name is Eleanor Dobson and I am a historian, educator, artist, and brain tumor survivor from Rhode Island, USA.

My love of history began at a very early age when my father took on American Civil War Reenacting as a hobby. Through this, I knew that I wanted to work in the history field and I went on to pursue an undergraduate in history and anthropology (archaeology focus) from the University of Rhode Island. After finding my first job at a local historical society/museum, I pursued a professional masters degree in museum studies from Johns Hopkins University.

During my career in museums, I held every role from docent to executive director. I worked at small historical societies like the one that started my career, and at large museums like Old Slater Mill and Old Sturbridge Village. The bulk of my career was spent at Coggeshall Farm Museum in Bristol, Rhode Island, where my current historical research is focused.

In 2020, at the height of the COVID Pandemic, my life changed when we discovered I was carrying a rare, life threatening brain tumor called a central neurocytoma (#centralneurocytoma). I am incredibly fortunate to come out of surgery with my memory and cognition intact. To learn more about my brain tumor journey, please see my Brain Blog.

While navigating my recovery, including chronic pain and fatigue, I decided to explore other avenues outside of museums, including classroom teaching, research consulting, and artistic pursuits.

Today, I operate a consulting business, HistoricElly, that combines my passions and talents in art, history, and truth.

Right: Eleanor and Courtney Garrity, photo courtesy of Rachel Averitt of RelyonRach