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Summarized by Kent Larsen
Genealogy Authority and Ensign Editor Bill Linder Dies
(Bill Royce Linder, 63)
Washington Post pgB07 15Jun00 P2
WASHINGTON, DC -- Bill Royce Linder, former director of historical
information at the National Archives and a leading authority in genealogical
research died June 9th at his home in Arlington, Virginia of a heart attack.
He was 63.
Linder worked as director of the central reference division of the National
Archives from 1969 to 1982 before working as a systems analyst for the
General Services Administration for 13 years. He retired in 1995.
Throughout his career, Linder maintained his own genealogical research,
concentrating on American families. He wrote beginners guides to
genealogical research and family history, and helped form organizations to
support genealogical research.
Most recently, Linder collected and posted information on selected American
families on his Web site, familyhistoryhouse.com .
Linder was born in Kenedy, Texas in 1937, the oldest of four sons born to
Royce and Maxine Linder. He graduated from the University of Texas with a
degree in History and did post-graduate work at Brigham Young University. He
married Nancy Kathryn James in 1963, with whom he is the parent of five
children and twelve grandchildren.
While living in Utah, Linder served as editor of the Ensign. In 1969, he was
instrumental in establishing the first World Conference on Records, at the
time that he joined the National Archives. For five years he served as a
director of the National Institute on Genealogical Research in Washington,
DC, including the 1976 Bicentennial Session on Genealogy. Linder was also
Chairman of the National Genealogical Society, serving during the NGS' 1981
Atlanta and 1982 Indianapolis conferences.
In addition to these positions, Linder wrote the beginner's genealogy book
"How to Trace Your Family History," which has sold more than 50,000 copies.
He also wrote the privately published "Wofford Crossing Road" series and six
other privately published books. He assisted many dignitaries with the
development of the field of genealogy and lectured widely in the US and
abroad on Genealogy, including hosting yearly genealogy tours in London,
Salt Lake City and Washington, D.C.
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