A history professor says his passion for the past led him to use historical research methods to enrich his family history
With a lifelong dedication and appreciation for history, Dr. Jim Tueller, a professor from the Faculty of Culture, Language & Performing Arts, said family history is above all history. He added his recent research project about family history work gave him more insights and fresh ideas about the importance of tying and sealing families forever.
Tueller said he is teaching students to research something that would mean everything to them. “I want to emphasize that the reading, researching and writing of family history follows the same methods that all fields of history follow in terms of looking for the right source and thinking critically,” he said.
Tueller said since BYU-Hawaii encourages professors to focus on doing research around the Asia and Pacific rim, it made him appreciate and be devoted to doing research for the school and students to read. “I wanted to make a book that my current or future students would read since everyone is familiar with family history on campus… My research is my family tree with a mix of historical details I teach in my classes,” he said.
Adoring history
Tueller said, “From the get-go, my passion for history is palpable, stemming from a lifelong fascination with the past.”
According to BYUH’s website, Tueller has been a faculty member since August 1997, teaching history for 35 years. Before arriving in Laie, he received his doctorate in history at Columbia University in New York City and taught at Bronx Community College, BYU in Provo and now BYUH, the website says.
Truman Schlag, a senior majoring in history from Laie, said he took Tueller’s history class, and it helped him identify and explain arguments and critiques about any historical topic they discussed in class. Throughout his tenure as a history major, Schlag said he learned proper academic research methods such as finding sources through legitimate websites and articles online. He added his experiences in Tueller’s class enhanced his skills in writing academic papers as well.
Elizabeth Muavaefaatasi Ameto, a senior majoring in history from Samoa, said her interest in history was sparked by a fascination with stories of the past, the intrigue of ancient civilizations and the desire to understand how historical events have shaped the world people live in today.
She said Tueller played a significant role in nurturing her interest by offering engaging lectures, encouraging class discussions and providing additional resources such as books, articles and documentaries. She added Tueller allowed her to explore various historical topics and encouraged independent research projects tailored to her interests.
Exploring ancestral connections
Tueller said his interest in family history follows naturally from his profession as a university professor of history. He said he enjoyed reading from a young age and finding out about the past, which includes his fascination for his own family history.
In 2019, he said BYUH honored him as the David O. McKay Lecturer where he used his family tree on his father’s side as a primary source for his academic lecture. The topic he chose was the history of his ancestors who immigrated to the United States from Switzerland in the 1870s and 1880s, he said.
He said his mother saved a photo of her grandparents in their early years when they were not married yet. One of the photos was of David Leland Heywood, 1871 – 1958, and Mathesulah W. Evans, 1868 – 1951. He said this photo and his mother’s story became his primary source in his research about his ancestors.
Knowing key contexts like this helped me appreciate who my ancestors were and researching them makes me feel that they are still loved and remembered.
Tueller said he found out his family history mostly came from Nothern Europe, Sweden, England and Scotland before they immigrated to the United States. “Knowing key contexts like this helped me appreciate who my ancestors were and researching them makes me feel that they are still loved and remembered,” he said.
Tueller said his discoveries from family history research helped him encourage students majoring in history to appreciate history through texts, stories, research and pictures.
Ameto said Tueller consistently encouraged her to think critically. She said he emphasizes the importance of examining historical sources with a discerning eye and being good at judging the quality of a source. She said he challenged her to analyze the causes and consequences of historical events. Tueller encouraged her to produce her thoughts and think deeply about how history in the past can shape the future and how she analyzes such events, she added.
Family history research
Tueller said he has been teaching HIST 200, “The Historian’s Craft,” a historical methods class at BYUH since 2003. He said students learn how to be historians and he encourages them to use the methods to research their interests. He said the students who explore their family history, find primary sources such as firsthand or direct evidence of events and people, and read secondary sources such as sources made available by other researchers, scholars and historians, about the time and place of their ancestors often write some of the better papers.
The research he is doing will be attributed to the book he is planning to publish, he said. The book will be a combination of a history and a how-to manual that includes examples and methods including research findings and personal stories that will be used to exemplify and inspire future readers to do the same, he added. •