Elizabeth De Wolfe, Professor and Author

     As a young woman, growing up in Rhode Island, Elizabeth De Wolfe had hopes of one day earning a degree in anthropology, art history, and astronomy. At Colgate University, for her undergraduate degree, she focused on pre-Columbian civilizations and was even able to learn how to read Mayan hieroglyphics, which she now attributes to being her “most unusual skill."


     Today, in addition to chairing the History department at UNE, De Wolfe is also a well accomplishednovelist. She says that her approach to history is from a micro point of view: she looks at the life of someone who is not famous in any way, “someone who is an ordinary person and for extraordinary reasons finds themselves in the public eye.” By doing this, De Wolfe recaptures their stories and determines what exactly makes a particular moment in history much more important than just a moment. 


     In her first self published work, Shaking the Faith, De Wolfe shares the story of Mary Marshall Dyer, who fought against the Shakers in early 1800s. In her follow up work, Domestic Broils, De Wolfe continues with Mary Marshall Dyer’s story to illustrate how issues with what constitutes a family during these times is comparable to how a family is viewed today. The social issues that constrained women during the time period remained the center focus of both books.


     The most recent book and De Wolfe’s favorite piece of work, The Murder of Mary Bean and Other Stories, is the story of Berengera Caswell, a mill girl who worked in Saco, Maine, during the late 1840’s. De Wolfe describes this project as being complex, because it is not only the story of Berengera Caswell, but also the story of the cultural fears at that time, such as, how mill girls were becoming more independent and the effects on the communities.


     Currently, De Wolfe is working on a project about a sex scandal involving a Congressman that took place in the 1890's. She began this project about three years ago when she took a full year of sabbatical, spending the majority of her time reading documents at the Library of Congress. With this project, she intends to share the story of the woman who was involved, especially after “their reputation has been dragged through the local media.” De Wolfe plans on finishing the project in 2015, when she once again will take a sabbatical, a “sabbatical to sabbatical project,” as she has come to call to it.