User:FosterCL

= Craig L. Foster  =

Craig has had an interest in history and genealogy since his youth. He earned two Master's degrees at Brigham Young University and has worked at the FamilySearch Library since 1991. He has worked as a British cataloger; in the VIP Services (formerly Library Public Affairs) Unit; and, since 2011, as a Research Specialist in British Reference. While Craig loves pretty much all British family history research, he has a particular interest in Scotland and Ireland. He is also very interested in and has researched and written about marriage practices and age at first marriage, generational family relationships, and naming patterns. Craig and his wife, Suzanne, are the parents of three children.

Education
Accredited Genealogist in both Ireland and Scotland from the International Commission for the Accreditation of Professional Genealogists
 * Master of Library and Information Sciences (1991)

Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah


 * Master of Arts in British History (1989)

Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah


 * Bachelor of Arts in History (1986)

Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah

Experience
Craig has thirty years of genealogical and historical research experience and has performed research in twenty states, the District of Columbia and five European countries.

Books
Craig L. Foster & Marianne T. Watson, American Polygamy: A History of Fundamentalist Mormon Faith (Charleston, South Carolina: History Press, 2019)

Newell G. Bringhurst &amp; Craig L. Foster, eds., The Persistence of Polygamy 3 volume series (Independence, Missouri: John Whitmer Books, 2011, 2014, 2015).

A Different God? Mitt Romney, the Religious Right, and the Mormon Question (Salt Lake City, Utah: Greg Kofford Books, 2008)

Newell G. Bringhurst and Craig L. Foster, The Mormon Quest for the Presidency (Independence, Missouri: John Whitmer Books, 2008).

Penny Tracts and Polemics: A Critical Analysis of Anti-Mormon Pamphleteering in Great Britain, 1837-1860. (Salt Lake City, Utah: Greg Kofford Books, 2002)

Selected Articles
Among Craig's numerous published articles and essays are:

“William Butler: Irish Convert and Builder of the Kingdom,” Journal of the Butler Society 4, no. 4 (Summer 2008): 644-651.

“Finding Famous Relatives is a Ball of Fun!” Crossroads 3 (March 2008): 93-94.

“The Persistence of Plural Marriage Within Mainstream Mormonism: The Example of the Barr and Mary Musser Family,” in Newell G. Bringhurst and John C. Hamer, eds., Scattering of the Saints: Schism Within Mormonism (Independence, Missouri: John Whitmer Books, 2007): 290-314.

“Where Have All the Pure-Bloods Gone?: A Look at Family and Lineage in The World of Harry Potter,” Lumos 2006: A Harry Potter Symposium (2006)

“What has become of the House of Black? The Disappearing Families in J. K. Rowling’s Books,” with Suzanne Foster in Galadriel Waters, ed., ''The Plot Thickens. . . Harry Potter Investigated  by Fans for Fans(Niles, IL: Wizarding World Press, 2004): 52-53. ''

“The History of Genealogy in America,” with Richard E. Turley, Jr., in Tien-Wai Lin, ed., Collected Articles on Collected Materials [published in Chinese and English] (Haikou City, China: Nanfang Publishing Co., 2002), 829-859.

“The Butler Murder of April 1869: A Look at Extralegal Punishment in Utah,” Mormon Historical Studies 2 (Fall 2001): 105-114.

“The Sensational Murder of James R. Hay and Trial of Peter Mortensen,” ''Utah’s Lawless Fringe: Stories of True Crime (Salt Lake City, Utah: Signature Books, 2001), p. 88-115. ''

“That ‘Canny Scotsman’: John Sharp’s Negotiations with the Union Pacific Railroad, 1869-1872,” Journal of Mormon History 27 (Fall 2001): 197-214.

“The Men of the Lot Smith Company of 1862,” Genealogical Journal 26 (1998): 147-162.

"Henry Caswall: Anti-Mormon Extraordinaire," BYU Studies 35 (1996): 144-157.

Encyclopedia Entries
Encyclopedia of Latter-day Saint History, Arnold K. Garr, Donald Q. Cannon, and Richard O. Cowan, eds.,

         (Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book Co., 2000) Encyclopedia of the American West, Charles Phillips and Alan Axelrod, eds., 4 v., (New York : Macmillan Reference

USA, 1996)

Conference Participation
Craig has presented at more than seventy conferences and symposia throughout the United States as well as Canada, Denmark, England, and Ireland.

Awards
T. Edgar Lyon Award of Excellence for an Article in Mormon History from the Mormon History Association

(May 1998) for “The Sensational Murder of James R. Hay and Trial of Peter Mortensen.”

Smith-Pettit Best Book Award from John Whitmer Historical Association for 2008 for

The Mormon Quest for the Presidency.

Associations and Organizations (Membership &amp; Participation)
Butler Society, an international society dedicated to Irish and family history (1976-present)

Vice-President for the United States (2012-present)

Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research (2006-present)

Chairman, Public Relations Committee (2009-2012)

Highland Family History Society (2012-present)

International Society for British Genealogy and Family History (2011-present)

Board of Directors (2020-present)

Irish Genealogical Research Society (2013-present)

John Whitmer Historical Association (2003-present)

Board of Directors (2008-2014)

John Whitmer Journal Board of Editors (2007-2014)

Articles Awards Committee (2006-2012)

Military History Society of Utah (1988-1996)

President (1993-1995)

Board of Directors (1990-1993)

Mormon History Association (1986-present)

Executive Secretary (1994-2001)

Articles Awards Committee (1990-1994)

Book Awards Committee, Best Family and Local History (2013-2016)

The Nauvoo Journal (later named Mormon Historical Studies)

Board of Editors (1993-2003)

Religious Conference Management Association (1997-2001)

Utah Library Association (1992-2002)

Chair of the Archives, Manuscripts &amp; Special Collections Roundtable (2000-2001)