Excavating Nauvoo: The Mormons and the Rise of Historical Archaeology in America

Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments Numerous individuals unquestionably aid a project as long in duration as this has been. First among these is Robert L. Schuyler, who graciously agreed to write the foreword for the book. He has consistently supported and encouraged me in my research on the history of historical archaeology. I am sincerely grateful for the lasting influence he has had on my career. The library personnel of the University of Pennsylvania largely made it possible for me to write a book on the restoration of Mormon Nauvoo while living on the East Coast of the United States. I owe particular thanks to the staff of the inter-library loan office and to John Weeks and his staff at the University Museum library. Equally influential have been the number of individuals who have assisted me at the Archives of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City, Utah. Randall Dixon, William Slaughter, and Ron Read xvi acknowledgments have been especially supportive and helpful in my research. Truthfully, the book would not have been possible without their assistance. Ted Hild and his colleagues at the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency graciously entertained my questions and requests for documents, as did Susan Escherich and Patti Henry with the National Historic Landmarks programs in Washington dc. Likewise, Christina McDougal at the Torreyson Library of the University of Central Arkansas and Emily Lovick at Fort Smith National Historic Site were incredibly helpful in locating and forwarding information and images relating to Clyde Dollar. I also owe special thanks to the staff and friends of the Community of Christ Archives in Independence , Missouri, who helped track down images of the rlds excavations in Nauvoo. Especially helpful in this regard were Ron Romig, Ken Stobaugh, and Marvin Crozier. I was fortunate to be able to discuss the Nauvoo excavations with both Dale Berge and Paul DeBarthe, two of the principal archaeologists who worked at Nauvoo. I am grateful to both for sharing their insights and memories in person, over the phone, and through e-mail. Don Enders of the Museum of Church History and Art in Salt Lake City likewise made time for an oral history interview, in which he revealed important pieces of information about the lds archaeological program. Wendy Bacon graciously shared her personal photographs and reminiscences of her experiences excavating for the rlds in Nauvoo. Thanks to my good friends Jon and Sarah Moyer, I always had a place to stay and stimulating conversation when visiting Salt Lake City. Scott Thomas, another friend, came through at a critical time and helped locate a key source for the book. xvii acknowledgments Donna Pykles and Hilda Serr went far beyond normal familial obligations and helped photocopy and take notes on hundreds of pages of periodicals and other sources; their shared enthusiasm for my research made it all that more enjoyable. Richard Veit of Monmouth University and two other anonymous reviewers provided useful feedback on the manuscript, and I believe the book is much better as a result of their insightful comments. Last, Elisabeth Chretien, Joeth Zucco, and Marjorie Pannell have been nothing but superb as editors. They each responded patiently and promptly to a myriad of detailed questions while effectively guiding me through the publication process. Each of these individuals (and probably many more I have unintentionally left out) has contributed something to this endeavor, resulting in something far greater than what I could haveachievediflefttomyown.I,ofcourse,acceptfullresponsibility for whatever errors there may be in the final product. Finally, this project would not have been completed were it not for the enduring love and support of my wife, Chelise, and our four children, Emmalyn, Clayton, Jamison, and Lincoln. In addition to enduring many weeks without a husband and father while I was away on research trips, they have regularly expressed unwavering confidence in me at the times when I needed such encouragement the most. Even in the darkest hour, brought on by a catastrophic failure of my computer’s hard drive, Chelise selflessly devoted countless evenings to help edit the entire manuscript for a second time! She and our children are the source of true joy in my life. This book would mean nothing without them. ...