Thursday, January 16, 2025

Flax to Linen Team Biographies 2024-2025


Hello- I am Erica McAvoy, a PhD student in history at the University of New Hampshire. My research interests include seventeenth and eighteenth-century New England. I have worked in the museum industry for the past fourteen years, most recently as the Executive Director of the Moffatt-Ladd House and Garden in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. This past November, I had the opportunity to present at the New England Museum Association annual conference on the topic of “Changing Interpretive Methods and Talking about Enslavement at Historic House Museum.” Recently awarded the Steelman Fellowship through the College of Liberal Arts at the University of New Hampshire, I am excited to continue working on my research with this support. After completing my doctoral work, I plan to continue bridging the gap between historic sites, museums, and academia. Being involved in the flax project has opened my eyes to the repercussions of fast fashion and has improved my understanding of the early household economies of New Hampshire.


Greetings - My name is Thomas Seamans, and I am from Leominster, Massachusetts. After graduating from high school, I enlisted in the United States Air Force and served on active duty from 2001-2021. I was deployed four times to support Operation Southern Watch, Iraqi Freedom, and Juniper Shield. While serving, I earned my associate’s degree in criminal justice in 2010 and then an undergraduate degree in military history in 2019. Since retiring from the Air Force, I have begun my master's degree in the Museum Studies Program at the University of New Hampshire. I am a research assistant for the Flax to Linen project and acted as the Flax Program Coordinator for the 2024 growing season, where I managed three community grow sites.  I am an active member of the Wachusett Mountain Men, an amateur bowyer, and a primitive weapon enthusiast.  My passion for experimental archaeology and historical exploration made the program a good fit for me. One of the most rewarding and inspiring aspects of the UNH Flax to Linen project has been the opportunity to engage with the wider New Hampshire community and partner with the New England fiber community. Their dedication to sustainable textile production and public outreach and education through lectures, demonstrations, and literature has greatly enhanced my knowledge and appreciation for linen production.


Hi!- My name is Ally McDonough, and I am from Charleston, South Carolina. I completed my bachelor of arts degree in 2022 at Wofford College and majored in Religion with a concentration in the Middle East and North Africa. I am a second-year master's student in the University of New Hampshire History: Museum Studies program. My research interests include early American religious life, particularly emphasizing women’s experience with changing spiritual practices. I am excited to join Team Flax as a research assistant because of the archival research done to learn about flax's growth and processing. I am incredibly excited about learning more about the women who processed the flax within the homes of New England and how that community worked and functioned. I look forward to learning more about the flax-to-linen process through the eyes of the archive and sharing those experiences with our blog followers. 

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Flax to Linen Team Biographies 2024-2025

Hello- I am Erica McAvoy, a PhD student in history at the University of New Hampshire. My research interests include seventeenth and eightee...