1812 Conference

Sideshow or Main Event: Putting the War of 1812 into Regional Contexts

Speaker Biographies

A native of Kent, England, Dianne Graves studied languages before embarking on a career that has spanned international education, travel and public relations.
 
She is the author of A Crown of Life: The World of John McCrae, the well-received biography of the Canadian doctor-soldier-poet who wrote the famous poem "In Flanders Fields." Her second book, Redcoats and River Pirates: Sam and Ellen's Adventure at the Windmill is an historical novel for young readers set on the banks of the St. Lawrence in the 1830s.  Her latest book, In the Midst of Alarms: The Untold Story of Women and the War of 1812 recounts the experiences of many women who were caught up in that conflict, and examines their lives during what was a turbulent time in the history of North America.
 
She has been a consultant for film, television, heritage and writing projects, and is a frequent guest speaker in Canada and the United States. Dianne is married to Canadian military historian and author, Donald E. Graves, and resides with her husband and their two cats in an old farmhouse close to Ontario's scenic Mississippi River Valley.

Constance “Connie” Brennan Barone, a native of Sackets Harbor, moved back to the village ten years ago as site manager at the Sackets Harbor Battlefield State Historic Site. As a college student, her summer work at the Sackets Harbor Village’s museum launched her forty year career in the museum field. Today, she strives to advance Sackets Harbor’s rich cultural heritage for local residents and visitors alike.

Alexander V.  Campbell was born and raised in Cornwall, Ontario.  He received his Ph.D. in history from the University of Western Ontario.  His first book, The Royal American Regiment: An Atlantic Microcosm, 1755-1772 was published by the University of Oklahoma Press in 2010.  He teaches history in Ottawa and works as a research consultant specializing in Aboriginal issues.

Dennis Connors has worked in historical agencies since 1972 and as curator of history at the Onondaga Historical Association in Syracuse, NY since 1999. Other experience includes Executive Director of the OHA (1992-1999), Supervisor of Historic Resources for Onondaga County Parks, and Executive Director for the Landmarks Association of Central New York.  Recently he was a contributing author for the New York State Encyclopedia Project and has authored and edited five books on Syracuse area history.  Mr. Connors has a history degree from the State University of NY at Buffalo with a concentration in Museum Studies.

E. Jane Errington is a Professor of History at Queen's University where she explores issues of identity and the creation and development of colonial settler societies. In The Lion, the Eagle and Upper Canada (1985), Wives and Mothers, School Mistresses and Scullery Maids (1995), and Emigrant Worlds and Transatlantic Communities (2007), as well as in numerous articles, she examines the social and intellectual history of Upper Canada in the first half of the 19th century.

Major John R. Grodzinski is an assistant professor of history at the Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston, Ontario. He completed his undergraduate degree at McMaster University in Hamilton and his MA and PhD at the Royal Military College of Canada. His interests include the era of smoothbore warfare, North American colonial conflicts and naval warfare in the age of sail.

Matthew J. Mac Vittie currently serves as the Assistant Curator of History for the Onondaga Historical Association in Syracuse NY where he resides. Previous to that, he held administrative and educational roles with NYS Department of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, and the Executive Director of The John Wells Pratt House Museum in Fulton NY. He has been active in the research, interpretation, and living history of the War of 1812 in both the United States and Canada.

Jonathan Moore is from Kingston and attended Queen's University and the University of St. Andrews, Scotland. He is a Senior Underwater Archaeologist with Parks Canada's Underwater Archaeology Service based in Ottawa. Since learning to dive in 1988 Jonathan has explored the history and archaeology of Kingston's War of 1812 shipwrecks.

James Robertson is a Ph.D. Candidate at McMaster studying the religious and military history of Canada. Although these areas seem a strange composition, the religious aspect of the War of 1812 provides an excellent example of how the three have converged in the history of this nation. He has contributed academic articles and book chapters on this topic as well as other issues related to western culture and Christianity, the impact of the Crusades, Muslim-Christian dialogue, and the role of missionaries in Canada's western expansion. A native of British Columbia, he currently lives in Hamilton and misses the Rocky Mountains more than he can possibly communicate.