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Wilson, William A. (William Albert), 1933-2016

 Person

Dates

  • Existence: 1933 - 2016

Biographical History

William A. Wilson (1933-2016) was a folklorist in Utah.

William A. Wilson was born September 23, 1933, in Tremonton, Utah to Bill and Lucile Wilson. Wilson grew up in Downey, Idaho and graduated from Downey High School before attending Brigham Young University. While serving a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Finland, Wilson met his wife, Hannele Blomqvist. They were married in 1957. Wilson later graduated from BYU with a BA and MA in English, and received a PhD in Folklore from Indiana University. Wilson became a faculty member at BYU, serving as English department chair from 1986 to 1992, and as the director of the BYU Folklore Archives and the director of the Charles Redd Center for Western Studies. He researched and published on folklore and nationalism in Finland and the folklore of Latter-day Saints. Wilson died May 2, 2016.

Citation:
His Folklore and nationalism in modern Finland, c1976.

His Folklore and nationalism in modern Finland, 1974: vita (b. 9/23/33)

What's true in Mormon history : the contribution of folklore to Mormon studies, 2008: t.p.(William A. Wilson) p.4 cover (William A. "Bert" Wilson)

Mormon Literature & Creative Arts, website viewed 1 March 2011 (William A. Wilson; also known as William A. (Bert) Wilson; emeritus professor of English at Brigham Young University; chair of the BYU English Department; director of the BYU Folklore Archives; editor of Western Folklore; executive board American Folklore Society; president Utah Folklore Society; published widely on folklore and nationalism in Finland to folklore of Mormons; director Charles Redd Center for Western Studies at Brigham Young University; former director of Folklore Program at Utah State University; developed Fife Folklore Conference; past president of the Association for Mormon Letters)

PeopleSearch, website viewed 1 March 2011 (William Albert Wilson, age 77, previous cities Provo, UT and Logan, UT)

Phone call to author, 1 March 2011 (Birthdate: September 23, 1933)

UPB files, Mar. 1, 2011 (Wilson, William Albert, b. 1933)

Utah Valley Funeral website, via WWW, May 2, 2016 (William Albert "Bert" Wilson born in Tremonton, Utah to Bill and Lucile Wilson; grew up in Downey, Idaho; raduated from Downey High School before attending Brigham Young University. While serving a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Finland, Wilson met his wife, Hannele Blomqvist. They were married in 1957. Wilson later graduated from BYU with a BA and MA in English, and received a PhD in Folklore from Indiana University. Died April 25, 2016; )

BYU organizational history, July 18, 2022 (Department chair from 1986-1992)

Found in 2 Collections and/or Records:

Denise Jamsa collection of William A. Wilson oral history

 Collection
Identifier: FA 21
Scope and Contents

Collection of oral history interviews conducted by Denise Jamsa with her father William (Bert) A. Wilson about his life from 1996 to 2003. Most of the interviews were conducted in Wilson's home in Provo, Utah. A few interviews were conducted in Jamsa's home in Salem, Utah. Includes 40 MP3 audio files and the original mixed media transcriptions on PDF, created by Denise Jamsa.

Dates: 1996-2004
Found in: L. Tom Perry Special Collections / Denise Jamsa collection of William A. Wilson oral history

William A. Wilson and John B. Harris Missionary Folklore collection

 Collection — Multiple Containers
Identifier: FA 20
Scope and Contents Contains folklore stories and accounts from missionaries or relatives and friends of missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, separated in 17 bound volumes with no inner chronological organization. The stories date back to the 1870s, and they were collected between 1958 and 1994. Includes accounts of missionaries' language mistakes, funny stories, miracles, songs, and experiences with the priesthood, the supernatural, or other people. The interviews for the accounts...
Dates: 1958-1994
Found in: L. Tom Perry Special Collections / William A. Wilson and John B. Harris Missionary Folklore collection

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