Ronald W. Walker papers
Content Description
The Ronald W. Walker papers are a collection of personal papers and research materials. They include notecards which contain his research on Brigham Young and Heber J. Grant, former Presidents of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; his personal journals kept from 1976 to 2016; his research materials he collected over the years concerning topics such as Mormonism, the Utah War, the Mountain Meadows Massacre, and others. These consist of Walker's own material he created, such as drafts of book chapters, journal articles, book manuscripts, and electronic files, as well other authors' and historians' material such as journal articles, indexes and bibliographies all with Walker's own annotations. There are also other notes and items concerning what Walker collected. Materials dated approximately 1950-2016.
Dates
- approximately 1950-2016
Creator
Conditions Governing Access
Donor restricted until 2022. Permission to use materials must be obtained from the Supervisor of Reference Services.
Conditions Governing Use
It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain any necessary copyright clearances. Permission to publish material from the Ronald W. Walker Papers must be obtained from the Supervisor of Reference Services and/or the L. Tom Perry Special Collections Coordinating Committee.
Biographical History
Ronald W. Walker (1939-2016) was a Mormon author and historian, he was also a history professor at Brigham Young University.
Ronald W. Walker was born in Missoula, Montana in 1939 and was raised in California where he graduated High School. Walker then attended Brigham Young University and received his bachelors of science in 1961. He served a full time mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1961-1963 in the Church’s Southern States mission. He returned to Brigham Young University and got his master of arts in 1965. He went on to attend Stanford University where he met and married his wife, Nelani Midgley and they went on to have seven children. In 1968 he received his master from Stanford and then later a Ph.D. from the University of Utah in 1977. Walker worked for the Institute of Religion for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) till he joined the LDS Church Historical Department in 1976. In 1980 he transferred to Brigham Young University to become a professor of history and would later serve as president of the Mormon History Association during 1991–92. Walker is best known for his writings especially for his writing on the Mountain Meadow Massacre. He wrote eight books and over 50 journal articles in his prolific career. Ronald W. Walker passed away on May 9th 2016.
Extent
141 boxes (70.5 linear ft.)
57 media boxes (34.2 linear ft)
5 folders (0.5 linear ft.)
1 oversize box (0.5 linear ft)
Language of Materials
English
Arrangement
Arranged in four series: 1. Ronald W. Walker notecards on Church presidents, approximately 1950-2016. 2. Ronald W. Walker personal journals, 1976-2015. 3. Ronald W. Walker research materials, approximately 1950-2016. 4. Ronald W. Walker correspondence, approximately 1950-2016.
Custodial History
Donated by The Ronald W. and Nelani M. Walker Family, in April 2017.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donated; The Ronald W. and Nelani M. Walker Family, April 2017.
Appraisal
20th and 21st Century Western and Mormon Americana “LDS scholarship and historiography,” including the historical collections of leading LDS scholars, scientists, historians, etc. Materials to be collected include historically important manuscript and archives collections. (20th Century Western and Mormon Manuscripts collection development policy II, B. 5. III.)
General
Folder 202 is a folder of Ronald W. Walker photographs located in box 183 to be taken out and placed in the cold vault. Folder 203 is a folder of Ronald W. Walker negatives located in box 183 to be taken out and placed in the freezer.
General
Ronald W. Walker's laptop contains a database called "Wordcruncher," that the family would like exported. We will need to do this and burn the files to an M-disc at a later date.
General
A copy of Ronald W. Walker's laptop hard drive is on a M-disc located in series 3, subseries 12, box 187, folder 5.
General
A copy of Ronald W. Walker's electronic materials including CD's, floppy discs, zip dics, and JAZ drives, are on an M-disc located in series 3, subseries 12, box 187, folder 7.
Processing Information
Processed; Nate Burroughs, Manuscript Processing Specialist, and John M. Murphy, curator; 2017.
- 15 maps
- Title
- Register of Ronald W. Walker papers
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Nate Burroughs Manuscript Processing Specialist
- Date
- 2017 November 29
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English in Latin script.
Repository Details
Part of the L. Tom Perry Special Collections Repository
1130 HBLL
Brigham Young University
Provo Utah 84602 United States