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.  

This file is certainly '''not limited''' to people from Utah. The index is international in scope and should be among the first sources checked when searching for Latter-day Saint ancestors or their neighbors living in areas heavily populated by Latter-day Saints such as the United States Mountain-West. It indexes information from sources like:  

:*Marriage records of Utah and some of Idaho, Wyoming, Nevada, Illinois, and California.

:*[[Early Church Membership Records by Susan Easton Black|''Membership of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1830-1848'']].  

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.

*All Latter-day Saint sources that are available in the Family History Library.  

*Every large Latter-day Saint index.  

*[https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/126754?availability=Family%20History%20Library ''Index to Patriarchal Blessings, 1833-1963'']. (see [[Tracing Latter-day Saint Ancestors]].  

*Information on most living people.

==== Step 1. Select the microfilm numbers you need ====

Note that names that begin with Mc or M' are filed as if they were all spelled with Mac. For example, both McGhie and M'Ghie are filed as if spelled MacGhie. Abbreviated names like St. John are filed as if they were spelled out, for example, Saint John.  

1. '''''County Marriage Records'''''. About half the cards without call numbers are from county marriage records. Most of these marriage records can be found in the FamilySearch Catalog by doing a Place Search and reviewing the catalog entries for Vital Records (marriages).  

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:  

**Weber (Utah)

{{Anchor|ECIF wards}}

3. '''''U.S. Ward Records of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints'''''. The following table lists most, but not all, ward records for which call numbers are not provided on the ECIF cards.<br>  

**''Ward        FS Library Film Call Number''<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: