People Who Came Before Us

A writer with deep Mormon roots explores his family's ancestry going back hundreds of years. Their story moves from frontier America and the polygamist colonies of 19th century Mexico, to the witch trials and Mayflower landing of colonial New England, to the royal courts and castles of medieval Europe. The author, Donn Walker, is a former journalist and reporter for the Los Angeles Times, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel and the Deseret News of Salt Lake City. He earned a master's degree in journalism from Columbia University in New York. His ancestors were among the first to join the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints after it was founded in upstate New York in 1830. Their stories, along with those of dozens more of the author's ancestors, unfold over the pages of this book, which includes more than 300 photos, maps and illustrations.