Early Church Information File (ECIF): Difference between revisions

The ''Early Church Information File '' (ECIF) is an alphabetical card index of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) along with some of their neighbors. It focuses most on the years from 1830 to 1914. This file indexes over 1,200 sources which have an abundance of entries for Latter-day Saints. The ECIF contains 1,091,919 cards. Each person found in the ECIF is listed on about one to a dozen-or-so cards. Each card for an individual cites a different source document. Most source documents contain further details about that person. Cards for any one individual may be scattered under variations of his or her name. This file contains cards for most, but not all, Latter-day Saints from 1830-1914.  

These cards were originally preserved on 75 rolls of {{FHL|480808|title-id|disp=FHL Films 1,750,655 to 1,750,729}}. These microfilmed card images are now also made available on the Internet via a ''FamilySearch Historical Records '' collection mislabeled as ''{{RecordSearch|2078505|Utah, FamilySearch, Early Church Information File, 1830-1900}}''. The card images on this free Internet site can easily be browsed in alphabetical order, but the names on the cards are not <u>computer</u> indexed.  

Entries in the file often refer to an event such as a person's birth, marriage, or death. Entries may also refer to a biographical sketch. The ''Early Church Information File '' usually gives a person's name, the date of the event, and a source reference and library call number for the source. The original record may supply additional family history information as well.

You can use the ''Early Church Information File '' to:  

Microfilm numbers for the ''Early Church Information File '' are listed in {{FHL|480808|title-id|disp=this FamilySearch Catalog link}}. Names are listed alphabetically by surname and given name. For example, if you want to find index references to Perrigrine SESSIONS, the catalog shows you would look in microfilm 1,750,712.  

[[Image:{{ECIF1b}}]] [[Image:{{ECIF2b}}]] [[Image:{{ECIF3b}}]]Once you have located the appropriate microfiche, or film, locate the name you are searching for in the ''Early Church Information File''. Names may be typed in any order, but the cards are always arranged alphabetically by surname. For example, a name may appear as Perrigrine Sessions or Sessions, Perrigrine. An individual in the ''Early Church Information File '' may be listed on one card or on many cards depending on how much is written on the individual and how much of that material has been indexed.<br><br> ''On the right are three example cards found in the'' Early Church Information File ''for Perrigrine Sessions.''  

If you are at the [https://www.familysearch.org/family-history-library/welcome-to-the-family-history-library Family History Library], use the call number listed in the ''Early Church Information File '' to find the actual source. If the call number is not listed on the card, refer to the section below titled "Can't Find The Source On The Card?"  

Marriage records for three counties indexed in the ''Early Church Information File '' are not available through the Family History Library. You must contact the county clerk for the county marriage records of these counties:  

**''Ward       FHL Film Call Number''<br>  

**{{FHL|168440|title-id|disp=Ambrosia}} 001922 <br>  

**{{FHL|359735|title-id|disp=Bedford}} 034540 <br>  

**{{FHL|200550|title-id|disp=Burrville}} 025830 <br>  

**{{FHL|535412|title-id|disp=Cowley}} 034524 <br>  

**{{FHL|351572|title-id|disp=Daniels}} 007434 <br>  

**{{FHL|182308|title-id|disp=Elba}} 007450 <br>  

**{{FHL|230956|title-id|disp=Ephraim North}} 025933 <br>  

**{{FHL|3538|title-id|disp=Fillmore}} 025947 <br>  

**{{FHL|329832|title-id|disp=Glenwood}} 025980 <br>  

**{{FHL|511121|title-id|disp=Granger}} 025968 <br>  

**{{FHL|337047|title-id|disp=Grouse Creek}} 025963 <br>  

**{{FHL|123361|title-id|disp=Harris Grove}} 001923 <br>  

**{{FHL|510890|title-id|disp=Hyde Park}} 025989 <br>  

**{{FHL|333033|title-id|disp=Koosharem}} 026059 <br>  

**{{FHL|473116|title-id|disp=Lewisville}} 007240 <br>  

**{{FHL|233486|title-id|disp=Lynne}} 026261 <br>  

**{{FHL|500088|title-id|disp=Malad}} 007489 <br>  

**{{FHL|14550|title-id|disp=Salt Lake 16th}} Book 1 026585<br>  

**{{FHL|14550|title-id|disp=Salt Lake 16th}} Book 2 026679<br>  

**{{FHL|14550|title-id|disp=Salt Lake 16th}} Book 3 026679<br>  

**{{FHL|343684|title-id|disp=Salt Lake 16th}} Book 4 908218<br>  

'''''Welsh Branch Records ''''' are listed in the ''Place Search '' of the [https://familysearch.org/eng/library/fhlcatalog/supermainframeset.asp?display=localitysearch&columns=*,0,0 FamilySearch Catalog] by the town name. Look for:  

**''Source Listed       FHL Film Call Number''  

Before concluding that your ancestor's name is not in the ''Early Church Information File '' or in records of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, consider the following: