William George Hartley (born 10 February 1942; died 10 April 2018) was an American historian and author. He wrote many books primarily on family history research, histories of specific families and 19th-century Latter-day Saint history.

Biography

Hartley graduated from Arroyo High School in

San Lorenzo, California San Lorenzo ( Spanish for "St. Lawrence") is a census-designated place (CDP) located in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area in Alameda County, California, United States. The population was 29,581 at the 2020 census. It is an unincorpora ...

in 1960. He served a mission for

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ch ...

(LDS Church) in the Eastern States

Mission Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to: Organised activities Religion *Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity *Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...

and the

Cumorah Cumorah (; also known as Mormon Hill,A. P. Kesler"Mormon Hill" ''Young Woman's Journal'', 9:73 (February 1898)."Thomas Cook History, 1930", in Dan Vogel ed. (2000). ''Early Mormon Documents'', vol. 3 (Salt Lake City: Signature Books ) pp. 243– ...

Mission from 1962 to 1964. Hartley received both his bachelor's and master's degrees from

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-d ...

(BYU). He did course work towards a Ph.D. at

Washington State University Washington State University (Washington State, WSU, or informally Wazzu) is a public land-grant research university with its flagship, and oldest, campus in Pullman, Washington. Founded in 1890, WSU is also one of the oldest land-grant uni ...

. Hartley was a member of the LDS Church, for which he served as a member of a

stake high council In Mormonism, a high council is one of several different governing bodies that have existed in the church hierarchy on many Latter Day Saint movement denominations. Most often, the term refers to a stake high council in a local stake, but other h ...

, a Sunday school teacher and a counselor in an elders quorum presidency. He also served for a time as

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...

of the Sandy 37th

Ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

. Hartley and his wife, the former Linda Perry, are the parents of six children.

Historical work

In 1972 Hartley began working at the Church History Department and served for a time as a director of the James H. Moyle oral history project. In 1980, Hartley transferred to the newly created Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Latter-day Saint History at BYU and was appointed associate professor of history. He also served as director of the Family History and Genealogy Research Center at BYU. Besides teaching courses at both BYU and its Salt Lake Center, Hartley also taught at the LDS

Institute of Religion An Institute of Religion is a local organization that provides religious education for young adults (ages 18–30) who are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Local institutes may function in church meetinghous ...

located adjacent to the University of Utah. Hartley was active in the

Mormon History Association The Mormon History Association (MHA) is an independent, non-profit organization dedicated to the study and understanding of all aspects of Mormon history to promote understanding, scholarly research, and publication in the field. MHA was founded i ...

and served as its president in 2000–2001. At the time of his death, Hartley was working on the Joseph Smith Papers Project. He had served as an editor of the first Documents volume with

Grant Underwood Grant Revon Underwood is a historian of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and a professor at Brigham Young University (BYU). He is also the author of ''The Millennial World of Early Mormonism'' and the editor of ''Voy ...

and Robert Woodford.

Published work

Hartley's book ''My Best For the Kingdom: John Lowe Butler, Mormon Frontiersman'' won an award from the

Association for Mormon Letters The Association for Mormon Letters (AML) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1976 to "foster scholarly and creative work in Mormon letters and to promote fellowship among scholars and writers of Mormon literature." Other stated purposes have inc ...

in 1994. Hartley's ''Anson Bowen Call: Bishop of Colonia Dublan,'' which he coauthored with Lorna Call Alder and H. Lane Johnson, won the 2008 Mormon History Award for best international Mormon history.

Notes

Sources

Association for Mormon Letters awardsHartley's vita

Biography
at Joseph Smith Papers Project website (accessed May 11, 2012)

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hartley, William G. 1942 births 20th-century Mormon missionaries American Latter Day Saint writers American Mormon missionaries in the United States Brigham Young University alumni Brigham Young University faculty Church Educational System instructors Historians of the Latter Day Saint movement 2018 deaths Washington State University alumni American leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 21st-century American historians 21st-century American male writers Historians of Utah People from San Lorenzo, California Latter Day Saints from California Latter Day Saints from Utah Historians from California American male non-fiction writers