Archaeologist
Museum Assistant Director
Department of Anthropology
W. S. Webb Museum of Anthropology
University of Kentucky
211 Lafferty Hall
Lexington, Kentucky 40506

I am a professional archaeologist, specializing in historical archaeology. I serve as assistant director for a public university-based anthropology museum,  doing everything from collections management to exhibit design, fielding questions from the public, identifying  people's artifacts, my own research and just about anything else that needs to be done.I also volunteer at the Hopewell Museum in Paris, Kentucky, which focuses on the history of Bourbon County, Kentucky (in which it is located and the fine arts and artists of the state. My web page has two purposes:

• publish papers and information about myresearch that may help, interest,educate, or otherwise be of use to peoplewith similar interests
• provide a place where I can post interesting or unidentified  artifacts,solicit information, or  promote beneficial intellectual interaction withother researchers.

Some of my research interests include:

Historic industry, particularly water powered mills, potteries and iron furnaces.

The Revolutionary Warand the early historic settlement era in Kentucky, especially frontier stations and forts.

African-American archaeology and history

Urban archaeology

Through the Webb Museum of Anthropology, I also provide research services to individuals interested in their family history, particularly as it relates to locating their landholdings. I love maps, deeds and other documents that describe where and how people lived. Locatingand studying sites is one of the main reasons I became an archaeologist. Duringmy professional career, I have met many people who became interested in theirfamily genealogy, learned a great deal about their family tree, and reachedthe point where they wanted to know exactly where their ancestors had lived.But deed research can be very confusing, particularly in Kentucky where mostof the land was surveyed by the metes and bounds system.Here is where I canhelp. My services include:

• Constructing "chains of title" that not only compile the records of transfer for the land your ancestor owned, but also produce maps that show acreage and landmarks.     
• Locating ancestralland holdings on the ground, using the chains of title and archaeologicalsurvey techniques.
• "Fleshing out" your family history by searching other public and private documents that are not easily accessible, particularly if you live out-of-state.

If you are interestedin my research services and fees, you can email me at:  omalley@pop.uky.edu

A littlemore about me...

I received my training in archaeological studies at the The University of Texas At Austin (B.A., Archaeological Studies, 1974), and at the University of Kansas(M.A., Anthropology, 1979). I have conducted both prehistoric and historic research under grant and contract funding for over 20 years. Currently, I prefer to work in historical archaeology and historic research. I have been employed at the University of Kentucky since 1979. Some of my publications include:

O'Malley, Nancy

1998 Frontier Defenses and Pioneer Strategies in the Historic Settlement Era. pp.57-76. In The Buzzel About Kentuck: Settling the Promised Land, edited by Craig Thompson Friend.  The University Press of Kentucky, Lexington.

Amos, Chris and NancyO'Malley

  1991 Milling andRelated Industry in the Boone Creek Drainage.  University of Kentucky,Department  of Anthropology, Archaeological Report No. 262,Lexington.

O'Malley, Nancy

  1996 Kinkeadtown: Archaeological Investigation of an African-American Neighborhood in Lexington, Kentucky.  University of Kentucky Department of Anthropology, Archaeological Report 377, Lexington.

O'Malley, Nancy

1999 Peter Evans' Mill: Nineteenth Century Industry in Fayette County,Kentucky. University of Kentucky Department of Anthropology, Technical Report 408, Lexington.

O'Malley, Nancy, Donald W. Linebaugh, Jeanie Duwan and R. Berle Clay

1999 "A Brilliant and Pleasant Light": Nineteenth Century Gas Lighting atAshland, Lexington, Fayette County, Kentucky. University of Kentucky Department of Anthropology, TechnicalReport 413, Lexington.

O'Malley, Nancy

1999 The Civil Warin Kentucky: Archaeological Investigations at Ft. Duffield,West Point, Hardin County, Kentucky. University of Kentucky Department of Anthropology, TechnicalReport 418, Lexington.

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