John has always been interested in too widely different subjects – genealogy and geology. Combine that with an interest in all things military and that would explain a lot about his career(s)! He was born on an Air Force Base in Illinois but mostly lived in Michigan. He was the eldest son of the eldest son etc., so was basically raised with his grandparents and great grandparents. He knew 5 of the later generation, the last one passing away when he was a young teenager. His grandfather has much to blame for his genealogical interest, in that he would tell stories about the family while his father and grandfather played checkers. He was never once asked to play, but he sure learned how to.
Geology was another hobby that turned into a profession, and John obtained two degrees in it – the last one at BYU. He worked for the State of Utah (mapping), Phillips Petroleum (off-shore California), Texas Oil & Gas (California), the Department of Energy (Utah), and Hewitt Energy. During this time John inquired at the Family History Library, and was hired. He worked in the Correspondence Unit, then went to work on record linkage and its application to duplicate checking. He became the supervisor, the manager, and then was transferred to Ancestral File as a product manager and the manager of the Medieval Unit. He also can be seen on KBYU when he lectured on British military and Heraldry (became a fellow of two heraldic groups).
During this time he obtained his credentials in England and Scotland, was elected a Fellow of the Society of Genealogists, and a fellow of several other British societies. In his spare time he wrote many articles and books, and also worked with several Native American groups. After awhile, he decided to strike out and work with some outside companies where he further polished his skills. This even included genealogical lectures on cruise ships! John has lectured around the world, and has been to all of the Record Offices in Britain except one – Lincoln! Still he felt the tug of the Family History department, and decided to become a Church Service Missionary. After some time, an opportunity occurred where he could work with his favorite topic – medieval genealogy. One of the thrills of his life was to obtain a golden Reference tag, where he substituted weekly. Although only in the Medieval unit for a year, he thoroughly enjoyed it and misses the people there. He then moved into a group that helps define which strategic records needed to be obtained by the Department.
NGS Class: on Saturday, 1 May 2010 in the ICAPGen Track at 11:00 a.m.
Advanced Methodology: The Paradigm of Family History Research
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