I am an historian of early America and the United States. I teach at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, while researching and writing about early American poor relief and local government.
I got interested in history by reading Greek mythology and historical fiction as a child, then learning from a cadre of committed high school History teachers: Messrs. Thomas, Granucci, Soward, and Durieux. They were wonderful storytellers and that is something I still aspire to be. I majored in history in college, though at first it was not at all what I expected. I gradually learned that I also enjoyed this more critical, research-oriented kind of history. For that I thank my professors at the University of California Berkeley, especially Caroline Cox, to whom I dedicated my book How Welfare Worked in the Early United States: Five Microhistories.
After several jobs, including file clerk, construction laborer, substitute teacher, bookstore clerk, administrative assistant, and park ranger, I earned a Ph.D. at Brandeis University. There, a fantastic cohort of students and faculty introduced me to many things, including social history, narrative-style history, and early American poor relief. I have been working on that subject ever since, which led me to want to know more about the mighty municipal governments of the early United States.
Send me a message using the form below or by direct email at loiacong@uwosh.edu.
LoiaconoInTheArchives 