John William Fitzgerald papers
Scope and Contents
Correspondence, diaries, subject files, and collected writings. Correspondence revolves around the Black priesthood issue of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and was primarily written in the 1960s and 1970s. Correspondents include Sonia Johnson, Samuel W. Taylor, Walter Martin, the General Authorities of the L.D.S. Church, as well as others involved in the Black Mormon priesthood issue. Material from Fitzgerald's personal life includes family diaries, including missionary diaries of Fitzgerald's grandfather, John Fitzgerald (1876-1877), and of his father, William C. Fitzgerald (1906-1907); personal journals, including a 1944 journal in 1944 kept while a chaplain the army, and later journals (1952-1978); chaplaincy material; and personal writings, much of which addresses the Mormon Church and the Black priesthood issue. Fitzgerald's subject files cover a wide range of topics. Published and unpublished reprints, essays, and addresses pertain primarily to Mormonism and religious issues. Also includes two boxes of cassette tape recordings of lectures and interviews.
Dates
- Creation: 1876-1985
Language of Materials
Collection materials are in English.
Restrictions
Open to public research.
Copyright
It is the responsibility of the user to obtain permission to publish from the owner of the copyright (the institution, the creator of the record, the author or his/her transferees, heirs, legates, or literary executors). The user agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Utah State University Libraries, its officers, employees, and agents from and against all claims made by any person asserting that he or she is an owner of copyright.
Permission to publish material from the John William Fitzgerald papers must be obtained from the Special Collections Manuscript Curator and/or the Special Collections Department Head.
Biographical Note
John W. Fitzgerald spent the majority of his adult life as a professional educator. He served both as a seminary teacher in the L.D.S. Church, and as a principal in Salt Lake County's Granite School District. He also served professionally as a chaplain in the United States Army during World War II and continued this service with the Utah National Guard until his retirement in 1967. During his adult life Fitzgerald was a student of history and of the social policies that surrounded him. Through this constant intellectual activity he came to question the L.D.S. Church's position on not allowing black men into the priesthood. He became both an informed and a critical observer of this issue. Fitzgerald was excommunicated from the L.D.S. Church, in the early 1970s for this criticism. Fitzgerald was also openly active in other social issues of the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, as can be seen through his personal writings. His papers are a compilation of the above experiences and of items from his family and historical interests. Although the black issue carries a major undertone in the collection, the papers are also rich in Fitzgerald's personal observations and his personal writings.
Extent
44 boxes (23 linear ft.)
Abstract
Correspondence, diaries, subject files, and collected writings. Correspondence revolves around the Black priesthood issue of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and was primarily written in the 1960s and 1970s. Correspondents include Sonia Johnson, Samuel W. Taylor, Walter Martin, the General Authorities of the L.D.S. Church, as well as others involved in the Black Mormon priesthood issue. Material from Fitzgerald's personal life includes family diaries, including missionary diaries of Fitzgerald's grandfather, John Fitzgerald (1876-1877), and of his father, William C. Fitzgerald (1906-1907); personal journals, including a 1944 journal in 1944 kept while a chaplain the army, and later journals (1952-1978); chaplaincy material; and personal writings, much of which addresses the Mormon Church and the Black priesthood issue. Fitzgerald's subject files cover a wide range of topics. Published and unpublished reprints, essays, and addresses pertain primarily to Mormonism and religious issues. Also includes two boxes of cassette tape recordings of lectures and interviews.
Arrangement
The collection has been divided into four series. The first grouping are the correspondence files. Most of Fitzgerald's correspondence was filed alphabetically by correspondent. This system has been kept intact with the added touch of placing the letters into chronological order. In addition to the above filing system, a small block of unfiled correspondence was placed into a chronological-alphabetical order. The second series, diaries and personal papers, is arranged chronologically. The third series, Fitzgerald's subject files, are arranged alphabetically by subject. The final series, published and unpublished reprints, essays, and addresses pertaining primarily to Mormon and religious issues, has been arranged alphabetically by author.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of John W. Fitzgerald in 1986.
Processing Information
The collection has been housed in acid free folders and then placed into acid free hollinger boxes.
Genre / Form
- Mormon missionary journals--1876.
- Mormon missionary journals--1906.
- Mormon missionary journals--1934.
Topical
- African American Mormons.
- Chaplains, Military--Diaries.
- Ex-church members--Utah--Mormon Church.
- Mormon Church--Controversial literature.
- Mormon Church--History--Sources.
- Mormon missionaries--Diaries.
- Mormonism (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints)
- Race--Religious aspects--Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
- Race--Religious aspects--Mormon Church.
- World War, 1939-1945--Chaplains--Diaries.
- Title
- Guide to the John William Fitzgerald papers 1876-1985
- Author
- Finding aid created by Special Collections and Archives.
- Date
- ©2008
- Description rules
- Finding Aid Based On Dacs (Describing Archives: A Content Standard, 2nd Edition)
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Finding guide is in English in Latin script.
- Sponsor
- Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) grant, 2007-2008
Revision Statements
- September 3, 2008.: Template information was updated to reflect Utah Manuscript Association best practices.
- 2009: Template information was updated to reflect Archives West best practice guidelines.
Repository Details
Part of the Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library, Special Collections & Archives Repository
Merrill-Cazier Library
Utah State University
3000 Old Main Hill
Logan Utah 84322-3000 United States
435 797-8248
435 797-2880 (Fax)
scweb@usu.edu