Education
Hartley graduated from Arroyo High School in San Lorenzo, California in 1960. He did course work towards a Doctor of Philosophy at Washington State University.
Hartley graduated from Arroyo High School in San Lorenzo, California in 1960. He did course work towards a Doctor of Philosophy at Washington State University.
He has written many books primarily on family history research, histories of specific families and 19th-century Latter-day Saint history. Hartley received both his bachelor"s and master"s degrees from Brigham Young University (Brigham Young University). He also served for a time as bishop of the Sandy 37th Ward.
Historical work
In 1972 Hartley began working at the Church History Department and served for a time as a director of the James H. Moyle oral history project
He has also served as director of the Family History and Genealogy Research Center at Brigham Young University. Besides having taught courses at both Brigham Young University and its Salt Lake Center, Hartley has also taught at the Latter- Day Saints (Mormons) Institute of Religion located adjacent to the University of Utah. Hartley is currently working on the Joseph Smith Papers Project, and is an editor of the first Documents volume with Grant Underwood and Robert Woodford.