LDS AND UTAH RECORDS

©2011 by Donald R. Snow

Click on the link to go to that section of the Notes This page was last updated 2011-03-15.
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INTRODUCTION
LDS DATA ONLINE
LDS DATA NOT ONLINE (Electronic, hardcopy, and microfilm)
  • NAUVOO DATABANK -- see Class Notes on Nauvoo Databank at http://uvtagg.org, Class Outlines, Don's Listings
    • Large electronic collection of hundreds of journals, biographies, documents, records, and Church information
    • Available at a few FHCs in Utah and in Nauvoo and Kirtland
    • Parts are also posted on the Internet now -- see links in Class Notes on Nauvoo Databank
  • LDS FAMILY HISTORY SUITE CDs
    • History and info at https://wiki.familysearch.org/en/LDS_Family_History_Suite_
    • Two commercial CDs by Ancestry.com -- LDS FH Suite and LDS FH Suite 2 -- many FHCs have copies
    • Marie Taylor's web site shows links to the parts of these CDs that are online (Go to her web site and click on 7-LDS Ancestors > LDS Family History Suite)
    • The CDs contain many records, volumes, histories, and much family history
      • Susan Easton-Black:  Membership of the Early LDS Church, 1830-1858 -- also on some of the older LDS Infobase CD's and is now online at http://www.worldvitalrecords.com, a commercial site, but available free at all FHC's
      • Andrew Jenson:  Church Chronology, Biographical Encyclopedia, Encyclopedic History of the Church
      • Davis Bitton:  Guide to Mormon Diaries and Autobiographies
      • Frank Esshom:  Pioneers and Prominent Men of Utah -- includes text and pictures
      • Marvin Wiggins:  Mormons and Their Neighbors -- updated version available online at http://www.lib.byu.edu/Ancestry/
      • Pioneer Heritage Library -- includes many LDS history books and databases such as the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers book series
      • These are Folio 3 databases and standard setup doesn't work on a Windows XP machine, but they can be installed in Windows XP by using the setup program in one of the subfolders on the CD
      • Web site for Infobase information about LDS FH Suite -- http://seamons.com/projects/infobase_tech/
  • SELECTED COLLECTIONS -- set of 74 DVDs from the Church Historians Office
    • 400,000 images of personal journals, documents, and histories from Church Historian's Office
    • Expensive set; purchase through BYU Studies Office
    • Available in some libraries, e.g. FHL, BYU Library
    • Contains the Journal History of the Church 1847-1923 -- "scrapbook" of day-by-day chronology of the Church 1847-1923 -- index is on 58 films (FHL #1233503-1233550 and 1255971-1255980) and now on a 4-DVD set with images of the Card File Index and published by BYU Studies Office
    • Some additional indexing of the Selected Collections was being done on the website http://www.saintswithouthalos.com/, but that website doesn't seem to exist anymore.
    • 4 DVD's with corrections were sent to owners in Sep 2003
  • LDS MICROFILMS
    • Ancestral File Submission Sheets -- 606 microfilms of the hard copy submissions of notes and sources to the Ancestral File -- see the submission to get the film number if it came from hardcopy -- little known, but has lots of LDS FH data
    • Early Church Information File
      • Descriptive brochure online at Early Church Information File (#34544, Free)
      • Card file of 1.5 million references to early Church members from histories, journals, etc.; filmed on 75 rolls of microfilm in 1991 -- additions since then are only available in the FHL -- these are the references only, not the articles themselves
      • To find the index film you need see the Film Notes in Early Church Information File in FH Library Catalog ; or go to the FHLC and enter Early Church Information File in the Keyword Search and then click on View Film Notes
    • Endowment Index (1846-1969) -- sometimes called the Temple Index Bureau Card File or TIB -- card file with 30 million cards with endowment data primarily; filmed on 3081 films; temple data in it has already been extracted from original temple records and put into IIGI, but there may be more genealogical data on the cards, so it's worthwhile to check
    • Nauvoo Temple Endowment Register -- fiche (FHL #6051326, 3 fiche) and typescript index in hard copy at FHL
    • Archive Section of Family Group Sheets (1942-1969, hardcopy used to be available on 4th Floor of JSMB, but now only available on film) -- Family group sheets submitted for temple work -- is a primary source for temple work done, if it has the ordinance date stamped, not typed nor hand written
    • Patron Section Family Group Sheets (1962-1979, hardcopy used to be available on 4th Floor of JSMB, but now is only available on 4,018 FHL films starting with #540714)
      • Family group sheets submitted to share information -- take with a grain of salt
      • Filed alphabetically by husband's surname
    • Deceased Membership Records since 1941 -- can sometimes get information by phone from Deceased Membership Office (1-801-240-3500)
      • Some records have been filmed and are available in the FHL, but not in FHC's -- you can transcribe anything, but no photocopies allowed
      • Available in new FamilySearch
      • If needed, can get an LDS Church Birth Certificate -- phone number is 801-240-3577
    • Early Ward and Branch Records -- old "Form E's" from each unit, listed members; have been filmed and are being extracted -- See Jaussi and Chaston's Register of Genealogical Society Call Numbers to find the film number for the particular church unit
    • Church Census Records -- on 651 FHL films starting with #25708
      • 1914, then every 5 years from 1920 to 1960, except for 1945
      • Arranged alphabetically by head of household
    • Member Autobiographies
      • 4-page form that all Church members were asked to complete in 1924-1929
      • In hard copy in FHL and on 10 microfilms (FHL #1059454-1059463)
    • Patriarchal Blessings
    • Missionary Index, 1830-1979 -- fiche (FHL #6334932, 8 fiche) -- Missionary records in Church History Library
    • Histories of the Church, the Seventies, and Local Church Units
  • MISCELLANEOUS
    • Frontier Guardian -- LDS publication 1849-1851 in Kanesville (Council Bluffs), Iowa -- Reprinted as The Best of the Frontier Guardian Edited by Susan Easton-Black, including searchable DVD of all 81 issues; published by The University of Utah Press and BYU Studies 2009 -- many references to individuals
    • St. Louis Luminary -- LDS publication 1854-1855 in St. Louis, Missouri -- Reprinted as The Best of the St. Louis Luminary by Susan Easton-Black, including a searchable DVD; published by The University of Utah Press and BYU Studies 2010 -- many references to individuals
    • Mormon Battalion records -- records available in book, on film, and on CD of daily happenings taken from journals -- do a Google search for "Mormon Battalion"
    • LDS Church Almanac -- published by Deseret News in December, sometimes yearly, sometimes bi-yearly
      • Current one is 2011 Church News Almanac printed in Dec 2010
      • 1997 Church Almanac for the Utah Sesquicentennial has list of companies crossing the plains and their leaders
    • Annotated Record of Baptisms for the Dead 1840-1845, Nauvoo, Hancock County, Illinois -- by Susan Easton-Black and Harvey Bischoff Black, 2002
      • 7 volumes, including index volume
      • Includes information on proxies and work done in baptisms for dead in Mississippi River

UTAH DATA ONLINE
UTAH DATA NOT ONLINE (Electronic, hardcopy, and microfilm)
CONCLUSION
  • Lots of really good LDS and Utah on- and off-line resources -- do Google searches for LDS, Mormon, Utah, etc., to find more
  • Many databases available to verify, correct, and compile LDS and Utah information, to use in new FamilySearch, for example.

ASSIGNMENT
  1. Find the information on someone in the online Utah Death and/or Burials Index or Obituary Index).
  2. Find the information on someone in the Early LDS database.
  3. Find an online photograph of the St. George Temple by doing a Google Images search for St. George LDS Temple.  How many hits do you get?
Return to the Utah Valley Technology and Genealogy Group Home Page , or Don's Class Listings Page .