Diana J. Bigelow is an avid genealogist with a special interest in the emigrant's journey. Bicycling the Czech backroads gave her a first taste of the world that her immigrant ancestors left behind, but nothing prepared her for the vivid portraits of past lives emerging from the pages of 19th century Czech parish records. Her initial quest for her own family roots soon led to a broader understanding of the Czech peasant class and the cultural forces that shaped their lives. Bigelow draws on her years as a research scientist by applying the scientific method to query publicly available data in historical records. A combination of statistical and anecdotal evidence from parish vital records reveal fascinating insights and an unexpectedly intimate picture of past lives, largely unavailable in history books. She shares her findings and her research methods in her talks, her blog (Et Cetera, embedded in her website: www.dianajbigelow.com), and her latest book, Quitting Bohemia: Discovering the 19th Century World That Created the Czech Diaspora.   

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