Dr. Clarice Boswell has resided in the Joliet, Illinois vicinity with her husband Hank since 1959. She is the mother of four children and seven grandchildren. Dr. Boswell received her early training in Nicholasville, Kentucky where her father was principal of the colored school. She attended Kentucky State College, a land grant Historically Black College, where she received a Bachelor Degree in Nutrition and Home Economics Education and met her husband, Hank.
After moving to Joliet, Illinois in 1959, Dr. Boswell worked as a Dietitian at Silver Cross Hospital before being employed at Joliet East High School as a Home Economics teacher. In 1962 Dr. Boswell entered Northern Illinois University where she earned a Master's Degree in Education while simultaneously working on a second Master's degree from Illinois State University in Counseling with an emphasis on Pupil Personnel Services.
In the fall of 1968 Dr. Boswell was assigned to the counseling department at Joliet East High School where she served until it closed in 1984. Dr. Boswell transferred to Joliet West High School as a counselor and career education advisor. In the fall of 1988, Dr. Boswell reentered Northern Illinois University to pursue a Doctorate Degree in Adult Continuing Education with a focus on Leadership, Education, Policies and Service. Dr. Boswell graduated in May 1991 with her Ed. D Degree. In the fall of 1990, Dr. Boswell was selected to chair the Department of Pupil Personnel Services at Joliet Central High School where she served for five years before retiring in June of 1995.
Dr. Boswell was so impressed with the historical research defining the struggle of Historically Black institutions that she continued her research to include the origin, struggle and journey of her family. The curiosity and origin of her family roots led the author to many sources including oral family history, pictures stored in the family archives and the 1876 family Bible that contained documented births, deaths, and marriages as far back as 1850. Suddenly, it all began to fit into a well-designed puzzle. All the pieces were there and thus the journey to write Lizzie's Story: A Slave Family's Journey to Freedom began.
