Census Records of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

A census is a count and description of a population. A well-indexed census is one of the easiest ways to locate where ancestors lived and to identify the dates when they lived there so that you can search other records. Church census records give the name of the ward or branch where a family’s Church records or civil records may be found.

Utah Bishops’ Report (1852–1853)

In the winter of 1852–1853 the bishops of Utah took a census. They recorded the name of the head of each family in their ward or branch:

Registry of Names of Persons Residing in the Various Wards as to Bishops’ Reports, 1852–1853. Typescript, [19--?] (FHL book 979.2 K2r; film 823831; 6051208). Although it is incomplete, this names the head of each family alphabetically and lists which ward they attended. This is indexed in the Early Church Information File.

Church Censuses (1914–1960)

The Church took censuses to track members and Church growth throughout the world. The first Church wide census was taken in 1914. Beginning in 1920, the Church took a census every five years until 1960, except 1945. These census records were compiled in:

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Church Census Records, 1914–1960. Salt Lake City: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1962. (On 651 FHL films starting with 025708). Arranged alphabetically by the name of the head of the household. The five censuses for 1914 to 1935 were combined and microfilmed. There is a supplement for cards sent in late. The 1940 census was filmed separately with two supplemental films. The 1950, 1955, and 1960 censuses were filmed together.

Information in Church censuses consists of a card with information about each family in a ward or branch. Each person in the household is listed on the family card with their gender, age, priesthood office, and marital status. Each time the census was taken, additional information was included:

If you cannot find a family on a Church census follow these strategies:


 * Look for variant spellings of the surname.
 * Look for the wife as the head of household.
 * Check the supplemental films.

If you still cannot find the family, it may be because:


 * Some Church units did not participate.
 * The census taker may have missed the family.

Civil Census Records

Many early federal and territorial censuses for Utah may list a member’s ward or branch. Later censuses give each person’s address. With the address, you can determine which ward the person attended by using the sources listed in the "Historical Geography" section of this outline. For a detailed explanation of Utah census records, please see the Utah Research Outline (31081).

Many other state, provincial, and national governments also took censuses. For more information about these censuses see the "Census" section of the research outline for the state, province, or nation in which your ancestor lived.