She told me a story of love and devotion; a story retold through four generations; a story of a bright young woman who married a widower. She spoke of their arrival in California, then Utah. Here her beloved husband died and all of their belongings were taken. “My great-grandmother was a teacher, fluent in many languages,” my elderly neighbor explained. She died a violent death at the hands of a fellow member of the Mormon Church; a man who served only a little prison time, then was pardoned. Anger, agitation, and bewilderment evident in her voice, she said her great-grandmother Olivia Coombs was slandered by people who covered up what really happened so this man could go free. Recognizing the negative impact on generations of her family, my neighbor pleaded, “Please find out what really happened.”1

Historians grapple with the records that survive over time. They look for and...

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