From Jacqueline Kehoe: “When I first visited a year ago, I felt an intense sense of home. These streets I had never walked, these smells my nose shouldn’t recognize, this terra incognita — it all seemed strangely familiar and comforting. But how is that possible? I have Norwegian heritage, sure, but generations back. What makes…
Hidden History
When I was in college one of my professors said, “Objectivity correlates to a consensual subjectivity.” That statement has some very powerful implications for how we understand the nature of historical research. In genealogy we often see people captivated by long, mythical lines of descent, which they invariably believe were transmitted underground, undocumented, for centuries…
DNA Ethnicity, Problems
Whatever the definition of “ethnicity”, it does not fit comfortably into any of the present or past political boundaries of modern countries. Here is some food for thought. James Tanner, “DNA, Genealogy, and Political Entities“, Genealogy’s Star (Sept. 19, 2019). Retrieved Oct. 16, 2019. James Tanner, “What is Ethnicity and Why Do We Care?“, Genealogy’s…
John Grant Luce, 1847
When I moved to Salt Lake City in 1977 one of the first things I did on a day off was walk over to the Pioneer Monument on Main Street and South Temple. I wanted to see if there were any Luces on the list of the pioneers. The list is short, just the very…
Stephen Luce in Nauvoo, 1840
Stephen Luce must have been in Nauvoo in April 1840. I’m happy to have that piece nailed down. The confusion here is from an index card in the Early Church History Information file. It says Stephen Luce was ordained a Seventy on 9 April 1840 by Wilford Woodruff. That can’t be right. Woodruff was on his…