Born in 1942 in Evanston, Illinois, Frank Baumgardner has had a lifelong interest in history. After completing his undergraduate degree (Pre-Med & Liberal Arts) at Davidson College in North Carolina, Frank attended Tulane University to study US and Latin American History. He received his teaching credential in 1967 and proceeded to share his knowledge as a high school and junior college teacher at Bakersfield High School. It was here that he met his beloved wife of 52 years, Jeannette Mahan, and his sons Joel and Will were born in 1969 and 1972 respectively. His passion for U.S. history continued with a graduate degree at San Jose State University and University of California at Santa Barbara. 

 

During the late 60’s he returned to school to receive his Licensed Vocational Nurse license and worked at various nursing roles throughout Northern California until the early 1990s. Eventually, he returned to teaching as a high school substitute teacher. Since then he’s been the writer in residence, researching and writing the stories of early California and its people and places.