Floyd Mansberger, Director of Fever River Research, received his bachelor's degree from the University of Illinois (1977, in Anthropology) and his master's degree from Illinois State University (1981, in History).  Over the past 20 years, Mansberger has participated in a variety of cultural resource management projects such as archaeological and architectural surveys, archaeological excavations, and archival research as well as preparing historic structure reports for historic buildings.  Mansberger has published articles on his research in such journals as Illinois Archaeology, Transactions of the Pioneer America Society, Historic Illinois, Wisconsin Archaeologist, Agricultural History, Journal of the Illinois Geographical Society, and Western Illinois Regional Studies.  Additionally, Mansberger has contributed a chapter within the University of Illinois Press book entitled French Colonial Archaeology: The Illinois Country and the Western Great Lakes.  Mansberger has been recognized for his expertise in his field and presently sits on the State of Illinois' Historic Sites Advisory Council.  Mansberger can be contacted at fmansberger@comcast.net.

Brad E. Williams is a young veteran of archaeology with 12+ years in cultural resource management.  Brad joined Fever River Research in June 2006.  Prior to coming to Springfield, Brad earned his bachelor’s degree in Anthropology from Southern Illinois University Carbondale in 2002.  His undergraduate work focused on subsistence patterns and power relations in the late prehistoric southeastern U.S.  Brad has contributed to many projects including work through the Illinois State Museum Research and Collections Center, the Center for Archaeological Investigations at SIUC, Illinois Transportation Archaeological Research Program (ITARP) and American Resources Group, LTD.  Brad has also worked extensively with water and chemical flotation techniques as well as small-scale data recovery.  His professional interests include faunal analysis and interpretation, and spatial patterns in relation to food processing at nineteenth century farmsteads.  Brad is currently involved in analysis of ceramic and glass vessels from several nineteenth century sites in Illinois sites.

Bill Flescher received his bachelor’s degree (in Sociology/Anthropology) from Illinois State University in 1984.  During his undergraduate years, Bill worked as an assistant archaeologist for the Midwestern Archaeological Research Center (MARC), and cut his teeth on both historic archaeology and historic research.  During the 1980s, Bill worked for both the MARC and Resource Investigation Program (RIP; now Illinois Transportation Archaeological Research Program).  While at RIP, Bill worked throughout the State of Illinois, and it was during this time that he also learned a great deal about the prehistory of the state, working at sites such as Tree Row, Rockford Airport, and Sister Creeks.  During his years at MARC, Bill also worked at Hutsonville, the Drake Site, and the Gaylord Building (in Lockport).  Throughout these years, Bill also had a strong interest in photography, and brought his photographic skills to many an archaeological project.  During the late 1980s, Bill studied electronics, his other obsession, at Parkland College and worked a while in the custom design of computers and flight trainers.  Through the 1990s, he rejoined the ITARP (formerly RIP) program and continued with the district archaeology program, but also became refocused on computerized mapping.  As the senior cartographer at ITARP, he set up their mapping program, GIS program, and mastered the use of a total station transit.  In the late 1990s Bill decided that his field time in archaeology was getting shorter, and he wanted to participate in field projects.  It was at that time that he joined the Fever River Research team.  He worked full time with Fever River Research doing fieldwork for 1 1/2 years, and then opted for an electronics job with the University of Illinois.  Today, although he works full time in the Life Sciences Electronics Shop at the University, he also conducts large scale photography for Fever River Research on an as-needed basis.