Marvin S. Hill papers
Collection
Identifier: ACCN 1496
Scope and Contents
The Marvin S. Hill papers (1788-2006) consist of manuscripts, dissertations, theses, articles, correspondence, book reviews, papers, interviews, journals, documents, newspaper clippings, congressional proceedings, speeches, archival materials, and microfilm. It is significant to note that not all of Hill's research endeavors resulted in publication. One example is Hill's uncompleted biography of Joseph Smith, which his co-author and sister, Donna Hill, eventually published in 1977. Manuscript evidence of this project can be found in box 22 while research materials are located in boxes 23-38 and 56-57 and in reels 69-77 and 79-81. Information related to Hill's aborted study of the most eminent leaders in Mormon society has been filed in boxes 40-54 and 57-59 and in the three cassettes. Materials related to restrictions, which the L.D.S. Church and the B.Y.U. Library placed upon archival access, can be viewed in box 6. Publications pertaining to the attacks upon and justifications for the "New Mormon History" are housed in boxes 6-7. The unpublished manuscript entitled "New York Mormonism: The Foundation Stones" appears in box 14. Correspondence and assorted materials concerning Ezra Taft Benson's endorsement of the John Birch Society and the L.D.S. Church's reponse to his activities can be accessed in boxes 51-52.
Dates
- 1788-2006
Creator
- Hill, Marvin S. (Person)
Conditions Governing Access
Twenty-four hour advanced notice encouraged. Materials must be used on-site. Access to parts of this collection may be restricted under provisions of state or federal law.
Conditions Governing Use
The library does not claim to control copyright for all materials in the collection. An individual depicted in a reproduction has privacy rights as outlined in Title 45 CFR, part 46 (Protection of Human Subjects). For further information, please review the J. Willard Marriott Library’s Use Agreement and Reproduction Request forms.
Biographical / Historical
Marvin S. Hill was born in 1930 in Washington D.C. where he attended high school. In 1955 he graduated from Brigham Young University with a B.A. and M.A. in history. Hill continued his post-graduate training at the University of Chicago where he studied with Martin E. Marty and Sidney E. Mead, the latter of whom strongly influenced Hill's approach towards historical research and methodolgy. Before graduating with a doctorate in American intellectual history from Chicago in 1968, Marvin taught history at Chicago City Junior College, Hammond Indiana Junior College, and East Carolina College. Joining the history department at Brigham Young University in 1966, Hill remained on the staff as a Professor of American History until his retirement in 1993. Throughout a highly productive career, Marvin was the recipient of several prestigious awards. Yale University granted him a post-doctoral research fellowship in 1972. Three years later, Marvin and Dallin H. Oaks received the Mormon History Association's annual award for the best book in Mormon history. The book was entitled Carthage Conspiracy: The Trial of the Accused Assassins of Joseph Smith. In 1977 the Mormon History Association deemed Hill's co-authored study of the Kirtland Ohio economy as the best article in the field of Mormon history. A banner year for Marvin was the year of 1989.. During that year he was granted two awards, one from the John Whitmer Historical Association and the other from the Mormon History Association. These awards were for the best article and the best book in Mormon historical studies. The book's title was Quest for Refuge: The Mormon Flight from American Pluralism. The last scholarly award which Professor Hill received occurred in 1990 when the John Whitmer Historical Association honored him with a special citation for his "Quest for Refuge" publication. Marvin has published numerous articles in Church History, B.Y.U. Studies, Dialogue, Journal of Mormon History, Utah Historical Quarterly, New York History, Sunstone, and the Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society. Hill's professional service was also noteworthy. He served as a member of the Mormon History Association's Council, was elected the Association's President, and worked on the editorial boards of the Journal of Mormon History and Dialogue. Within the community of Mormon scholars, Professor Hill achieved the reputation as a defender of the revisionist school of Mormon historiography known as the "New Mormon History." One of Hill's research projects fell victim to the verbal warfare engendered by the historigraphical controversies associated with the emergence and challenge of the New Mormon approach to historical writing. In the midst of working on a book-length project centering on the ten most prominent figures in the history of the Mormonism, Marvin was informed that further access to archival materials pertinent to his study would no longer be available. Consequently, his investigation of Mormon leaders was jettisoned.
Extent
43.45 Linear Feet (68 boxes, 4 oversize boxes, and 13 microfilm reels)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
The Marvin S. Hill papers (1788-2006) consist of manuscripts, dissertations, theses, articles, correspondence, book reviews, papers, interviews, journals, documents, newspaper clippings, congressional proceedings, speeches, archival materials, and microfilm.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donated by Marvin S. Hill and Julie Myers, 1994-2007.
Separated Materials
Three cassette tapes (A1062), which include materials concerning Brigham Young, Ezra Taft Benson, James Moyle, and the Historian's Letterpress Books, and a CD have been transferred to the Multimedia Division of Special Collections.
Processing Information
Folders 1-6 were processed by Lisa DeMille in 1994, 2002 and 2007.
Boxes 2-68 were processed by Roger V. Paxton in 2011.
- Articles
- Brodie, Fawn McKay, 1915-1981 -- No man knows my history
- Essays
- Hill, Marvin S. -- Archives
- Hill, Marvin S. -- Critical examination of No man knows my history
- Hill, Marvin S. -- First vision controversy
- Hill, Marvin S. -- Review of No man knows my history
- Latter Day Saint churches -- History -- 19th century
- Smith, Joseph, Jr., 1805-1844 -- First vision
Creator
- Hill, Marvin S. (Person)
- Title
- Marvin S. Hill papers
- Author
- Finding aid written by Lisa DeMille.
- Date
- 2007
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- The finding aid was written in English.
Revision Statements
- 2019, 2023: (last modified : 2023)
- 2023: Alex Thomsen updated container list in Excel and Gina Giang added resource in ArchiveSpace.
Repository Details
Part of the J. Willard Marriott Library Special Collections Repository
Contact:
295 South 1500 East
Salt Lake City Utah 84112 United States
801-581-8863
special@library.utah.edu
295 South 1500 East
Salt Lake City Utah 84112 United States
801-581-8863
special@library.utah.edu