Kathryn M. "Kathy" Daynes (born 1946) is a professor of history at Brigham Young University

Brigham Young University

Brigham Young University is a private university located in Provo, Utah. It is owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , and is the United States' largest religious university and third-largest private university.Approximately 98% of the university's 34,000 students...

 (BYU) and a historian of Mormonism

Mormonism

Mormonism is the religion practiced by Mormons, and is the predominant religious tradition of the Latter Day Saint movement. This movement was founded by Joseph Smith, Jr. beginning in the 1820s as a form of Christian primitivism. During the 1830s and 1840s, Mormonism gradually distinguished itself...

, specializing in Mormon polygamy. She was president of the Mormon History Association

Mormon History Association

The Mormon History Association is an independent, non-profit organization dedicated to the study and understanding of all aspects of Mormon history to promote understanding, scholarly research, and publication in the field...

 in 2008-2009.

Daynes began her studies as an undergraduate at BYU in 1964. However she interrupted her studies and resumed them about ten years later at DePauw University

DePauw University

DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana, USA, is a private, national liberal arts college with an enrollment of approximately 2,400 students. The school has a Methodist heritage and was originally known as Indiana Asbury University. DePauw is a member of both the Great Lakes Colleges Association...

, where she received her bachelors in history. She then went on to receive an M.A. and a Ph.D. in history, both from Indiana University

Indiana University

Indiana University is a multi-campus public university system in the state of Indiana, United States. Indiana University has a combined student body of more than 100,000 students, including approximately 42,000 students enrolled at the Indiana University Bloomington campus and approximately 37,000...

, completing the latter in 1991. Daynes has been an instructor or faculty member at BYU since about 1991.

Daynes is married to Byron (Bill) Daynes, a professor of political science at BYU. They are the parents of three children. Daynes was appointed the director of the Center for Family History and Genealogy at BYU in 2007.

Writings

She is the author of the book More Wives than One: Transformation of the Mormon Marriage System, 1840-1910. Among her major articles are "Annual Tax Rolls from the Revolution to 1850: Mining Deep for Genealogical Gold" in the Genealogical Journal 28, no. 4 (Dec. 2000), "Single Men in Polygamous Society: Male Marriage Patterns in Manti, Utah" in Journal of Mormon History 24 (Spring 1998), p. 89-111 and Family Ties: Belief and Practice in Nauvoo in the John Whitmer Historical Association Journal, 8 (1988) p. 63-75.

In addition to her studies on Mormon polygamy and its social aspects, Daynes has written on broader topics in the history of families and marriage in the United States.

Sources

• Daynes' vita
• American Historical Review review of Daynes' book
• Center for Family History and Genealogy newsletter
• "BYU professor fills LDS history post" Deseret News, Jan 24, 2008.

External links