Maureen Taylor is the author of the Family Photo Detective ( Family Tree Books, 2012) and The Last Muster series (Kent State University Press, 2010). She received her B.A. and M.A. in history from Rhode Island College and currently resides in Providence. A genealogist, author and speaker, she discovered a portrait which she believes to be the first American family photo, and the Wall Street Journal named her the “nation’s foremost historical photo detective.” She formerly worked at the Rhode Island Historical Society, The New England Historic Genealogical Society, and Houghton Mifflin.
The author of sixteen books and a contributor to several magazines, her books related to Rhode Island include: Picturing Rhode Island : Images of Everyday Life, 1850-2006 (Beverly, Mass. : Commonwealth Editions, 2007); Runaways, Deserters, and Notorious Villains : From Rhode Island Newspapers. 1, The Providence Gazette : 1762 – 1800. Rockport, Me. (Picton Press, 1998); Runaways, Deserters, and Notorious Villains : From Rhode Island Newspapers. 2. (Rockport, Me. : Picton Press, 2001); Rhode Island Passenger Lists : Port of Providence, 1798-1808, 1820-1872 : Port of Bristol and Warren, 1820-1871: Compiled from United States Custom House Papers(Baltimore, MD : Genealogical Pub. Co., 1995); Rhode Island Historical Society. Collections, Register of Seamen’s Protection Certificates from the Providence, Rhode Island Custom District, 1796-1870 : From the Custom House Papers in the Rhode Island Historical Society(Rockport, Me. : Picton Press, 1998).
