Tracing Latter-day Saint Ancestors: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 13:00, 18 December 2023

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The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Tracing Latter-day Saint Ancestors

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	The usage of "Mormon" and "LDS" on this page is approved according to current policy.

The purpose of this page is to review different record types needed to help those researching ancestors who were members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The types of records to search depends on when the ancestor joined The Church.

Tracing Early Members of the Church[edit | edit source]

Prior to the organization of the Church in 1830 and the arrival of the first Latter-day Saints in Utah in 1847, membership records for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are few and scattered. Early membership records contain very little information, but became progressively better after the Saints settled in Utah. A good online resource is the Early Church Information File (ECIF). This file is an alphabetical card index of early Latter-day Saints focusing on the years from 1830 to 1914. This file indexes over 1,200 sources which have an abundance of entries for Latter-day Saints.

Early Church Information File (ECIF) - an alphabetical index to early Latter-day Saints, for more information about the resources listed, visit the Wiki page

More resources and information on early membership records can be found on the Membership Records of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Wiki page.

Tracing Mormon Pioneers to Utah before 1868[edit | edit source]

There are many records relating to members of the Church moving to Utah, whether they were coming from Nauvoo, Illinois, or from a European country. Databases have been created to track the migration of the Latter-day Saints. Listed below are a few of these databases.

Mormon Pioneers Crossing the Plains[edit | edit source]

The Church’s movement to the valley of the Great Salt Lake is the largest organized migration movement in American history spanning from 1846 until 1925. Below are some online databases regarding early Mormon Pioneers coming to Utah. More resources can be found on the Latter-day Saint Emigration and Immigration Wiki page

Utah Mormon Pioneer Overland Travel Database, 1847-1868: a database of Church members who crossed the plains along the Mormon Trail
Pioneer Ancestors Search
Early Latter-day Saints: a database of pioneers of the Mormon Trail
Tracing Mormon Pioneers - For more information about this database, go to this Wiki page.

Go to Latter-day Saint Emigration and Immigration Wiki page for more information.

Crossing the Ocean - Immigration From Europe[edit | edit source]

Mormon Migration: a database documenting those Church members who crossed oceans to gather in Utah
Tracing Scandinavian Latter-day Saints

Go to Latter-day Saint Emigration and Immigration for more information.

Tracing Latter-day Saint Polygamists[edit | edit source]

Many early members of The Church practiced plural marriage. There are specific research tips and records that can help you research them.

Membership Records[edit | edit source]

There have been several different types of membership records created by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. After settlement in Utah, membership records improved over time and usually include information about births, marriages, deaths, and Church ordinances. The type of membership records that exist are the journal type (1830-1877), long book form (1877-1900), three-part form (1900-1920), box type (1920-1941) and card type (1941 to present). For more details and examples of what these membership records contain, visit the Membership Records of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Wiki page.

Unfortunately, membership records are only available on microfilm and are not digitized. You must visit the FamilySearch Library in Salt Lake City, Utah to see these records. Some FamilySearch Centers may have copies of membership records for selected wards and branches.

Latter-day Saint Record Finder[edit | edit source]

Go to the Latter-day Saint Record Finder table to see a list of possible information you may wish to find about your Latter-day Saint ancestor and the corresponding records that may contain the information you seek.

Caution Regarding Genealogies and Life Sketches[edit | edit source]

Many genealogies and life sketches of members of the Church have been handed down for several generations. Some of these genealogies, family stories, and life sketches were compiled from oral histories and can contain many errors mixed in with factual information. If you are the recipient of one of these genealogies, it is suggested to document this information. Family group records should have sources supporting the information on it. Do not rely on someone else's research, but instead cite sources and find evidence. Careful documentation reduces errors, unwanted duplication, and may help uncover an overlooked ordinance, a missing family members, and other important family events.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-=== Featured Article ===
+{{Latter-day Saint-sidebar}}{{breadcrumb
+| link1=[[United States Genealogy|United States]]
+| link2=[[United States Church Records|U.S. Church Records]]
+| link3=[[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints|The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]]
+| link4=
+| link5=[[Tracing Latter-day Saint Ancestors|Tracing Latter-day Saint Ancestors]]
+}}
+{| style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border: none;"
+|<div id="fsButtons"><span class="online_records_button">[[Latter-day Saint Online Genealogy Records]]</span></div>
+{| style="float:right;
+|-
+|{{MormonLDSRemoval}}
+|}
+The purpose of this page is to review different record types needed to help those researching ancestors who were members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The types of records to search depends on when the ancestor joined The Church.
-Today's featured article is:
+== Tracing Early Members of the Church ==
+Prior to the organization of the Church in 1830 and the arrival of the first Latter-day Saints in Utah in 1847, membership records for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are few and scattered.
+Early membership records contain very little information, but became progressively better after the Saints settled in Utah. A good online resource is the Early Church Information File (ECIF). This file is an alphabetical card index of early Latter-day Saints focusing on the years from 1830 to 1914. This file indexes over 1,200 sources which have an abundance of entries for Latter-day Saints. <br>
+*{{RecordSearch|2078505|Early Church Information File (ECIF)}} - an alphabetical index to early Latter-day Saints, for more information about the resources listed, visit the [[Early Church Information File (ECIF)|Wiki page]]
-* '''[[Perpetual Emigration Fund|The Perpetual Emigration Fund]]''' - With the creation of the new Perpetual Education Fund, some members have expressed interest in finding out about their ancestor's participation in the historical Perpetual Emigration Fund. This article will help you discover if your ancestors were assisted by the fund during their immigration to Utah.
+''More resources and information on early membership records can be found on the [[Membership Records of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints|Membership Records of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Wiki page.]]''
-=== Contribute Content ===
+== Tracing Mormon Pioneers to Utah before 1868 ==
+There are many records relating to members of the Church moving to Utah, whether they were coming from Nauvoo, Illinois, or from a European country. Databases have been created to track the migration of the Latter-day Saints. Listed below are a few of these databases.
-'''''    Articles That Need Editing'''''
+==== Mormon Pioneers Crossing the Plains ====
+The Church’s movement to the valley of the Great Salt Lake is the largest organized migration movement in American history spanning from 1846 until 1925. Below are some online databases regarding early Mormon Pioneers coming to Utah. More resources can be found on the [[Latter-day_Saint_Emigration_and_Immigration#Crossing_the_Plains|Latter-day Saint Emigration and Immigration Wiki page]]<br>
+*{{RecordSearch|2517340|Utah Mormon Pioneer Overland Travel Database, 1847-1868}}: a database of Church members who crossed the plains along the Mormon Trail
+*[https://www.familysearch.org/campaign/pioneers#/ Pioneer Ancestors Search]
+*[http://www.earlylds.com/ Early Latter-day Saints]: a database of pioneers of the Mormon Trail
+*[https://user.xmission.com/~nelsonb/pioneer.htm Tracing Mormon Pioneers] - For more information about this database, go to this [[Tracing Mormon Pioneers|Wiki page]].
+''Go to [[Latter-day Saint Emigration and Immigration#Crossing_the_Plains|Latter-day Saint Emigration and Immigration Wiki page]] for more information.''
-*** '''[[LDS Emigration and Immigration]]'''[[Image:2629806.jpg|The Salt Lake Temple]]<br />
+==== Crossing the Ocean - Immigration From Europe ====
-*** '''[[LDS Genealogy]]'''<br />
+*[http://mormonmigration.lib.byu.edu/ Mormon Migration]: a database documenting those Church members who crossed oceans to gather in Utah
+*[https://user.xmission.com/~nelsonb/scand.htm Tracing Scandinavian Latter-day Saints]
+''Go to [[Latter-day_Saint_Emigration_and_Immigration#Crossing_the_Ocean|Latter-day Saint Emigration and Immigration]] for more information.''
-'''''    New Articles Needed'''''
+== Tracing Latter-day Saint Polygamists ==
+Many early members of The Church practiced plural marriage. There are specific [[Latter-day Saint Polygamy Research|research tips and records]] that can help you research them.
-*** '''[[Members of the United Brethren Baptized by Wilford Woodruff]]'''<br />
+== Membership Records ==
-*** '''[[Finding the Source of IGI Batch Numbers|Finding IGI Original Sources]]'''<br />
+There have been several different types of membership records created by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  After settlement in Utah, membership records improved over time and usually include information about births, marriages, deaths, and Church ordinances.  The type of membership records that exist are the journal type (1830-1877), long book form (1877-1900), three-part form (1900-1920), box type (1920-1941) and card type (1941 to present).
-*** '''[[LDS Family History Suite 2|LDS Family History Suite 2: Then and Now]]'''<br />
+For more details and examples of what these membership records contain, visit the [[Membership Records of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints|Membership Records of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] Wiki page.
-=== Did You Know? ===
+Unfortunately, membership records are only available on microfilm and are not digitized. You must visit the [https://www.familysearch.org/en/library/ FamilySearch Library] in Salt Lake City, Utah to see these records. Some [https://www.familysearch.org/centers/locations/ FamilySearch Centers] may have copies of membership records for selected wards and branches.
-* The '''[http://www.xmission.com/~nelsonb/pioneer.htm Tracing Mormon Pioneers]''' website has indexed over 1,000 sources related to searching for your LDS ancestors. Included on the site is a tutorial that will help walk you through the steps to locating records about your pioneer families. [[Tracing Mormon Pioneers|Click here to read more.]]
+== Latter-day Saint Record Finder ==
+Go to the [[Latter-day Saint Record Finder|Latter-day Saint Record Finder table]] to see a list of possible information you may wish to find about your Latter-day Saint ancestor and the corresponding records that may contain the information you seek.
-=== Useful Websites ===
+== Caution Regarding Genealogies and Life Sketches ==
+Many genealogies and life sketches of members of the Church have been handed down for several generations. Some of these genealogies, family stories, and life sketches were compiled from oral histories and can contain many errors mixed in with factual information. If you are the recipient of one of these genealogies, it is suggested to [[Document AS YOU GO!|document this information]]. [[Family group record: roadmap for researchers|Family group records]] should have [[Cite Your Sources (Source Footnotes)|sources]] supporting the information on it. Do not rely on someone else's research, but instead [[Genealogical Proof Standard|cite sources and find evidence]]. Careful documentation reduces errors, unwanted duplication, and may help uncover an overlooked ordinance, a missing family members, and other important family events.
-* [http://www.lds.org/churchhistory/library/pioneercompanysearch/1,15773,3966-1,00.html Mormon Pioneer Overland Travel]
-* [http://www.xmission.com/~nelsonb/pioneer.htm Tracing Mormon Pioneers]
-* [http://www.lib.byu.edu/Ancestry/ Mormons and Their Neighbors]
-* [http://overlandtrails.lib.byu.edu/ Trails of Hope: Overland Diaries and Letters, 1846-1869]
-* [http://winterquarters.byu.edu/ The Winter Quarters Project]
-===  ===
+__NOTOC__ {{Place|Latter-day Saint}}
+[[Category:Tracing Latter-day Saint Ancestors]] [[Category:The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]]   [[Category:FamilySearch_Help_Center-Historical_Records_Strategies]]
+|}