User:Batsondl/Sandbox 5

{| style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border: none;" 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
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have very few scattered church membership records from the organization of the Church in 1830 before the explosion from Nauvoo in 1846 and the arrival of the first Latter-day Saints in Utah in 1847. Early membership records contain very little information. After settlement in Utah, membership records improve and usually include information about births, marriages, deaths, and Church ordinances. A good online resource is the Early Church Information File. The Early Church Information File (ECIF) is an alphabetical card index of Latter-day Saints 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.

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.
 * an alphabetical index to early Latter-day Saints, for more information about the resources listed, visit the Wiki page

Tracing Mormon Pioneers traveling to Utah before 1868
There are many records relating to members of the Church traveling to Utah, whether they were coming from Nauvoo or coming from a European country. Databases have been created tracking the migration of the Latter-day Saints. Below are listed just a few of these databases.

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 Siant Emigration and Immigration Wiki page Go to Latter-day Saint Emigration and Immigration Wiki page for more information.
 * Mormon Pioneer Overland Travel 1846-1868: 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|Tracing Mormon Pioneers] - Wiki page

Crossing the Ocean - Immigration From Europe
Go to Latter-day Saint Emigration and Immigration for more information.
 * Mormon Migration: a database documenting those Church members who crossed oceans to gather in Utah
 * Tracing Scandinavian Latter-day Saints

Church records – Types: Branch and Ward Records By Country How to access records

Key Latter-day Saint Research Links

 * Mormon Places: an interactive gazetteer of thousands of places of interest to the history of the Church


 * WorldVitalRecord Latter-day Saint databases genealogy, marriages, cemeteries, military, land, and priesthood records
 * Fold3.com Utah Territorial Case Files criminal and civil
 * Fold3.com Mormon Battalion Pension Files affidavits, letters
 * Mormon Battalion Association Muster rolls

Caution Regarding Genealogies and Life Sketches
Many genealogies 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 among true 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. Don't 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 and other family stories.

Resources

 * Latter-day Saint Online Genealogy Records
 * Members of the United Brethren Baptized by Wilford Woodruff
 * Finding the Source of IGI Batch Numbers
 * Early Latter-day Saints from Wales
 * Center for Family History and Genealogy at Brigham Young University
 * Tracing Mormon Pioneers - indexed resources and tutorial on locating records about pioneer families.


 * Handcart Pioneers
 * John E Forsgren Company (Forest Monarch) 1853
 * Latter-day Saint Record Finder
 * Latter-day Saint Research Sources at Ancestry.com
 * Latter-day Saint Research Sources at WorldVitalRecords.com
 * Mormon Pioneer Overland Travel, 1847–1868
 * Mormon Battalion Ancestors
 * LDS Family History Suite 2