What LDS Church Records Are Available?

Transcription

1 What LDS Church Records Are Available? Gordon H. Wright Document your sources As you record your family history research the source(s) should be included with the information for your ancestor. This will allow you and others to easily retrace the original source. Examples Marriage Record, Summit County, Utah, Marriage License Record Book 2, Page 168, License #338, Film #480,881, FHL Marriage Record, Marriage Book #143, Page 291, Uinta County Court House, 225 9th Street, Evanston, Wyoming Ward Membership Records These records provide vital information about individuals who lived in ecclesiastical units of the LDS Church. You should know the name of the ward or geographic area your ancestor lived. The ward membership records can lead to other sources such as a death certificate or marriage license. The older the ward membership record, the less information you will find. Information Found in Ward Membership Records Ward membership records include: the name of the ward and stake and record of members and years and index. The vital information includes: name, date of birth, place of birth, father s name, and mother s name, date of baptism and confirmation and who performed the ordinance. Miscellaneous information: date of blessing, priesthood ordinations, marriages & divorce, missionary service; relocation to other ecclesiastical areas. Location at Family History Library Available only at the Family History Library in book format (Book) Register of Genealogical Society, by Laureen R. Jaussi & Gloria D. Chaston, Section 5; LDS Church Records of Membership; US/Can A3j v2 Sample Documentation Woodland Utah Ward Records, Summit Stake, Record of Members , #429; Record of Members , #79, Film #27,429, FHL Minutes from Various Ward Church Meetings Microfilmed minutes from various ward church meetings are only located at the Church History Library (CHL). You need to know the name of the ward your ancestor attended. Ward minutes cannot be photocopied but can be copied by hand. Take a pencil and paper. A variety of information can be found in ward minutes and can be used when RS 1-1

2 writing individual and family histories. Ward meeting minutes can be helpful when little information is known. The ecclesiastical units (wards) of the Church have been given a number which can be found in the CHL catalog. After locating the ward number, use the identification number shown in parentheses to locate the type of minutes you are interested in researching. Available Minutes General Minutes / Sacrament Meeting Early to 1977 (11); Melchizedek Priesthood Minutes / High Priest, Seventies, Elders Early to 1973 (13); Relief Society Minutes early to 1973 (14); Sunday School Minutes Early to 1973 (15); Young Men s M.I.A. Minutes (16); Young Women s M/I/A/ Minutes (17); Primary Minutes early to 1973 (18); Miscellaneous Minutes / Genealogy Committee Minutes, Religion Class Minutes (19) Publication / Newsletters (20) Information Found in Various Ward Meeting Minutes You may find some of the following information: when a person was blessed, baptized, priesthood ordinations, comments made when an individual spoke in a Church meeting, missionary farewells and homecomings, sustaining and releasing from Church various callings, funeral services, and the dedication of Church facilities. Sample Documentation Funeral Services, Hinckley Utah Ward, Deseret Utah Stake, Sacrament Meeting Minutes, Film #3816, Series #11, 1931, Page 46, Church History Library, 15 East North Temple, Salt Lake City, Utah Journal History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Journal History was started April 6, 1830 and contains a variety of information from many different sources. It has information about individuals and about Church history events. The Journal History is located at both the Family History Library and the Church History Library. It is indexed by subject and name. (Example: Beehive House; Woodruff, Wilford) Information in the Journal History can be photocopied. Family History Library Index is located on films #1,259,729 (A Anderson, Oliver Martel) to #1,259,975 (Zion s Co-Operative Association). When the subject or name is located it will appear on index card(s) giving a date(s) and a page(s) telling where the information is located. The dates and pages need to be copied. Example Thomas Morris 1847, December 31, Page , December 31, Page , September 25, Page , November , December 12, Page , September 22, Page , December 4 RS 1-2

3 Once the date(s) and page(s) are located the second group of films needs to be used. They are located on films #1,259,729 (April 6, 1830 February 27, 1837) and goes to film #1,259,975 (January 3, 1973 June 24, 1973) Church History Library Index is also on microfilm. For many years it was located in a large card catalog but recently was transferred to DVD. The index on DVD is alphabetical. The information is contained in large notebooks arranged by date and page. Documentation Elders Clarke and Whittle were stationed in Oahu; Elders H.W. Bigler and Thomas Morris at Molokai (JH, September 22, Page 4) Early Church Information File (ECIF) The Early Church Information file is an alphabetical index of individuals and contains a variety of information that has been gathered from many sources from 1830 to the mid- 1900s. To use this index, search by the name of the person. These records are located at the Family History Library. Information Found in the ECIF The Early Church Information File indexes such sources as: ward membership records, ward histories, family histories, local histories, journals, collective biographies, priesthood records, missionary records, periodicals, cemetery records, immigration records and marriage records of Utah and some of Idaho, Wyoming, Nevada, Illinois and California. The Early Church Information File begins with film #1,750,655 (Aabbost, Ellen Allen, Joseph W) and goes to film #1,750,729 (Young, Brigham Zysling, Kornelisk) Church Censuses ( ) The Church took censuses to track members and Church growth throughout the world. The first census was taken in Beginning in 1920, the Church took a census every five years until 1960, except Church censuses were recorded on a card that had information about each family in a ward or branch. Each person in the household is listed on each card. Each time the census was taken additional information was included. Location of Census Records The censuses are on microfilms at the Family History Library and are arranged alphabetically. The 1914 to 1935 censuses appear together on microfilms starting with film #245,288 (Tuckett, Ai) and goes to film # (Zabriskie). The 1940 census was filmed separately and appear on microfilms starting at #367,353 (Aagard) and goes to film #367,399 (Ziemer, Lu). The 1950, 1955 and 1960 censuses appear together and begin on microfilms and starts on film #427,814 (As) and goes to film #471,5465 (Youngberg F Zywczok). (Book) Register of Genealogical Society, by Laureen R. Jaussi & Gloria D. Chaston; Section 2, Church Census, US/Can A3j v2, FHL Family History Library Catalog Early Endowment House Records RS 1-3

4 Before temples were available in Utah for individual endowments and couple sealings the ordinances were performed in the Endowment House which was located where the present day Visitor s Center at Temple Square is located. Information Found in the Endowment House Records A variety of information can be found including: vital information, date the ordinance(s) were performed, and by whom performed. This information cannot be microfilmed but can be copied. Take paper and pencil pens are not allowed. Dates of Ordinances Performed in the Endowment House Ordinances performed in the Endowment House: Baptisms for the Dead: July 25, 1867 October 26, 1876 Endowments for the Living: / Sealing to Spouse: How to Access Endowment House Information The information is located in Special Collections at the Family History Library at Salt Lake City and is available to temple worthy members only. You must show your temple recommend before you can use these records. There are indexes for the various temples which use dates for the ordinances. Once the film number for the temple is located there is usually an index for the earlier records at the beginning of the record. The Endowment House Books has an index with names at the beginning of each book. If you are trying to verify an ordinance date you can usually locate the information by following dates in the books. Miscellaneous LDS Church Records Missionary Journals at BYU Harold B. Library available online. Patriarchal Blessings located at Church History Library Obituary Index File to The Salt Lake Tribune and The Deseret News (Films #821,636 - #821,699) Membership of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , 50 volumes (FHL, (Books Ea 85m) Online Resources Family History Library Card Catalog: Church History Library and searchable index: then click on Resources Available BYU Family History and Genealogical Resources: BYU Digital Collections: includes early Mormon journals, early LDS newspapers, and family histories. Source: RS 1-4

5 Gordon H. Wright, RS 1-5