The Department of Family and Local History Studies was a research and teaching institute at Brigham Young University and part of the College of Family, Home, and Social Sciences. It was formed in 1978 from the Institute of Genealogical Research in the College of Social Sciences. The department taught classes on genealogical research and prepared students to conduct family history work. In 1985, it became the Center for Family and Community History.

The Center for Family & Community History (1985-1990) was a research institute at Brigham Young University. It was responsible for coordinating genealogical academic programs, as well as conducting research and promoting family history work.

G. Wesley Johnson Jr. was born April 28, 1932, to George Wesley Johnson and Matilda Zoe Hansen, in Mesa, Arizona. Wesley attended Brigham Young University and Harvard University, then went on to receive a PhD in history at Columbia University, where he edited, co-edited, or co-authored books and essays on twentieth-century African political history. Wesley began his teaching career in history at Stanford University in 1965, then moved on to teach at the University of California, Santa Barbara, in 1972. In 1984, he began teaching history and political science at Brigham Young University, and was also a professor of business history for the Marriott School of Business.

Wesley was also instrumental in building and then directing the Family and Community History Center at BYU, as well as the Mormon Outmigration Leadership History Project. After retiring in 1997, he continued to administer the Project with his wife, Marian Ashby Johnson, until it was completed in 2007. Wesley founded "Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought," with Eugene England, and "The Public Historian: Official Journal of The National Council for Public History." On November 16, 2018, Wesley passed away in Provo, Utah.