Library of Congress Collection of Mormon Diaries

What is the Library of Congress Collection of Mormon Diaries
The Library of Congress Collection of Mormon Diaries is a collection of transcripts of biographies, diaries, journals, life sketches, and other documents pertaining to early members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the history of the state of Utah. The transcripts, chiefly typewritten, were made in 1936-1937 by the Utah Historical Records Survey of the Works Progress Administration Federal Writers' Projects. Transcripts were created in Logan, Ogden, Provo, Salt Lake City, St. George, and elsewhere in Utah. Transcripts usually list the name and locality of the possessor of the original diaries.

The collection consists of 13 rolls of microfilm, each containing from 4 to 100+ items. No special title boards or images separate items.

The collection is available at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City on microfilm, or as digital images that (as of 23 April 2020) must be viewed at the Library, a FamilySearch family history center, or a FamilySearch affiliated library.

Indexes
Three indexes exist for the collection. The first indexes the principal of each diary. The other two are every-name indexes.


 * 1) The inventory table, below.
 * 2) Name Index to the Library of Congress Collection of Mormon Diaries, by Utah State University, Merrill Library Special Collections & Archives.
 * 3) Early Church Information File (ECIF), by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Family History Department.

Name Index to the Library of Congress Collection of Mormon Diaries
The Name Index to the Library of Congress Collection of Mormon Diaries indexes all names in the diaries, not just the author. The first 11 pages are an alphabetical list of the diaries. Each entry gives the item author, item type, length, reel number, and item number. (The same information, sorted by reel and item, is included in the Inventory table, below.) In the example below, Elizabeth Hillyard Thompson is the item author, the item is a life sketch, 2 pages long, and is the 39th item on reel 8:

THOMPSON, Elizabeth Hillyard Sketch (2 p.) Reel 8:39

The remaining pages (pp. 12-391) contain an every-name index. Following each name is the page number and item author where that name appears. Here, the author's name may be abbreviated. In the example, below, Elizabeth Wool Hillyard appears on page 1 of the Elizabeth Hillyard Thompson diary, which has been abbreviated as E. H. Thompson:

HILLYARD, Elizabeth Wool p. 1 Thompson, E. H.

The Name Index to the Library of Congress Collection of Mormon Diaries is available online in text-only format on a Utah State University, Special Collections and Archives web page. It is easily searchable using a browser's Find function (control-F).

Early Church Information File
The Early Church Information File indexes the Library of Congress Collection of Mormon Diaries (and many other sources). However, the ECIF is not as complete as the Name Index to the Library of Congress Collection of Mormon Diaries. The ECIF can be searched online in the "Utah, FamilySearch, Early Church Information File, 1830-1900" collection. Unfortunately, some ECIF cards were missed in the online index. If a desired name is not found, browse through the ECIF images.

ECIF cards for the Library of Congress Collection of Mormon Diaries have this format:

LDS Film Microfilm: Area      Item: Diary of: Page: The above person appears in this source: Library of Congress Collection of Mormon Diaries. Washington, DC: filmed by the Library of Congress Photoduplication Service, 1950. 1950 microfilm of Univ. of Calif., Berkeley transcripts made in      1936-1937 by the WPA of diary, journal, and       life sketch manuscripts at various Utah             locations.

To see an example card, click here.

Using the Collection
To find an entry, 1. consult the name index, 2. note the page number and item author, 3. find the item in the inventory, 4. note the reel and item numbers, 5. determine the correct FHL film number, 6. view the film images, 7. search the images for the item, 8. advance to the specified page.

The Inventory table below contains image numbers for some film items.

As an example of using the collection, find Elizabeth Wool, using the Name Index to the Library of Congress Collection of Mormon Diaries to identify the diary and page number.


 * 1) Go to the name index online. Use control-F to search the page, looking for Elizabeth Wool under maiden or married name, Elizabeth Wool Hillyard.
 * 2) Note the page number is 1 and the diary is "Thompson, E. H."
 * 3) In the inventory table below, use control-F to search for a diary matching the abbreviation "Thompson, E.H." Searching the table shows the match is "Thompson, Elizabeth Hillyard."
 * 4) The row of the inventory table indicates the diary is on reel 8, item 39.
 * 5) That row also indicates the FHL film number for reel 8 is 485,339.
 * 6) Search the FamilySearch catalog for that film number. Navigate to the film note and select the camera icon to view the images.
 * 7) Before manually searching the film for item 39, check the Frame/Image column of the Inventory table for the frame/image number. The table does not have frame/image numbers for all items. In this example, the frame/image number is 856. Navigate to that image.
 * 8) Remembering the desired page number is 1; there is no need to advance to a later page.

As a second example, find Verda Burdick. Use the Early Church Information File (ECIF) to identify the diary and page number.


 * 1) Search the ECIF for Verda Burdick.
 * 2) The card indicates that Verda appears on page 4 of the diary of M. L. Burdick, which is item 88 of FHL microfilm 485,339.
 * 3) Search the FamilySearch catalog for that film number. Navigate to the film note and select the camera icon to view the images.
 * 4) Use the inventory table or browse the images to find item 88, an interview of Moses Leon Burdick.
 * 5) Advance to page 4.
 * 6) Since the interview questions are not specified in the transcript, consult the questionnaires later in this article. While question numbers don't always line up, it is often possible to figure out the matching questions. For example, response 40, "Jack Bell," is the name of Moses's first teacher.





Inventory
The 13 microfilm rolls contain the following items. The list of image numbers is incomplete. Readers are invited to contribute additional numbers while using the collection.

Interview Transcripts (Surveys)
Some items are interview transcripts (surveys). Transcripts contain numbered responses, but not the questions. At different times, different questionnaires were used. Two questionnaires are included in the diary collection and are reproduced below. Other interviews used similar questions.

W.P.A. Questionnaire

 * 1) Pioneer's name
 * 2) Address
 * 3) Present occupation
 * 4) Previous occupation
 * 5) Date of birth
 * 6) Place
 * 7) Present age
 * 8) If from a foreign land, give country and name of ship.
 * 9) Date left for Utah
 * 10) Place arrived
 * 11) Date of arrival
 * 12) Leader of company or train
 * 13) Method of travel (handcart, ox team, mule team, horseback, etc.)
 * 14) What was the method of making bricks in the early days and how were they cemented together?
 * 15) What was your first home constructed of?
 * 16) What form of lighting do you recall as being used in your first home in Utah?
 * 17) What type of fuel was used in your first home?
 * 18) What kind of food did you have in pioneer times?
 * 19) What type of clothes did you wear and how were they manufactured and from what?
 * 20) What comparisons can you give between cost of food and clothing in early days and the present time? (Such as one bushel of wheat, one sack of flour and one pound of sugar)
 * 21) Do you recall seeing any buffalo or hunting any wild game?
 * 22) Were fish and game plentiful upon your arrival in Utah?
 * 23) Was there any wild plant life at that time such as wild hay growing in the meadows or on the plains?
 * 24) What was the first type of cultivated plant life introduced in your vicinity?
 * 25) What were the first farm implements used on your farm?
 * 26) Did you bring them with you or purchase them here?
 * 27) From whom did you purchase them and at what cost?
 * 28) What was the first industry or industries created in your town?
 * 29) Did you have any early day mining experiences, if so where and at what time?
 * 30) Do you know of any early day hotels, boarding houses, or stage coach stations?
 * 31) First school attended in Utah.
 * 32) Location of school
 * 33) Name of first teacher
 * 34) First tuition paid
 * 35) School books used (title and author).
 * 36) Can you give the names of several books in your immediate family or in the homes of early day pioneers?
 * 37) What newspapers do you recall in your home or locality?
 * 38) Were they published locally?
 * 39) Do you recall the first telegraph station in your locality?
 * 40) Did you ride on the early day horse cars?
 * 41) Do you remember the first automobile you ever saw? (When and where)
 * 42) When did you first see a train?
 * 43) Do you recall your first ride on a train?
 * 44) Do you recall any early day theatrical entertainments?
 * 45) Were these local people or traveling stock companies?
 * 46) Do you remember any celebration in or[---illegible---]tion of any individual [---illegible---]?
 * 47) Were you acquainted with any outstanding women such as "Calamity Jane"?
 * 48) Do you recall any of the early day "Boothill" Cemeteries?
 * 49) Can you remember any early day characters buried there?
 * 50) Do you recall any tombstone inscriptions?
 * 51) Do you recall any of the early day disputes over water rights; if so give details?
 * 52) Have you had any association with any "Squatters" or "Nesters" (homesteaders) or their troubles with cattle barons?
 * 53) Do you recall any bank robberies, stage holdups, executions of horse thiefs [sic], cattle rustlers, etc., if so give details?
 * 54) What do you recall in connection with the voting to put the state of Deseret into the Union?
 * 55) Do you recall any political strife or violence in connection with early government?
 * 56) Have you had any interesting or outstanding religious experiences such as participation in the establishment of a local mission, stakes of Zion, United Order, etc.?
 * 57) Were you affiliated with any military organization or mobilization?
 * 58) What was your first contact with the Indians?
 * 59) What customs did you notice among the Indians?
 * 60) What was their method of shelter (tepees, etc.)?
 * 61) Did they ever harvest any crops (such as corn)?
 * 62) What places were their crops grown?
 * 63) Did the Indians have any method of irrigation?
 * 64) Did you ever learn any of their languages or dialects? (If so what language?)
 * 65) Do you recall the locality of a mound or prehistoric site?
 * 66) Give your experience in horse-trading with the Indians.
 * 67) What are your impressions of early Utah Days?
 * 68) Total number of your descendants.
 * 69) Names and addresses of any sons or daughters.
 * 70) Names of a few grandchildren.
 * 71) Have you written any books, diaries, journals, sketches or newspaper articles; if so give details?
 * 72) Whom did you marry? When? Where?
 * 73) Relate some of the interesting incidents of early days....

Questionnaire For Handcart Pioneers

 * 1) Full name and where born? Date of birth?
 * 2) When did you leave for America?
 * 3) Who had charge of the emigrating party?
 * 4) How many in your family party?
 * 5) How much money did the family have?
 * 6) On what ship did you travel?
 * 7) Describe experiences between landing and arrival at end of railroad.
 * 8) Where did you start from with handcarts?
 * 9) What time of the year?
 * 10) Why was the handcart company delayed? Why did they have to make such a late start?
 * 11) Did they expect to get through before snow fell?
 * 12) How many in your company?
 * 13) Who was the captain?
 * 14) What church officials were with the company
 * 15) What other companies did you travel with or near on the trail?
 * 16) Describe in detail daily experiences on the journey, as for instance, one complete day's travel, on any section of the route, from starting in the morning until camping at night.
 * 17) Give any humorous incidents you can remember.
 * 18) When did you first discover that troubles were ahead?
 * 19) What was the cause of the handcart disaster?
 * 20) Who was to blame?
 * 21) Was there a shortage of food?
 * 22) Describe in detail some of the troubles in the snow, near Devil's Gate, Rock Creek, Martin's Hollow, etc.
 * 23) What excuses did the leaders give for the disaster?
 * 24) What attempts were made to rescue the party?
 * 25) How may died in your company?
 * 26) Did they freeze or starved?
 * 27) What was done for them when they arrived in Salt Lake Valley?
 * 28) Where did you settle?
 * 29) Give any other information you remember, anything which impressed itself upon your journey at the time.
 * 30) When did you [illegible]. When? Where?

Record Location
The 13 rolls of microfilm in this collection were copied from films at the University of California at Berkeley, which obtained them from the Library of Congress in 1950. The films at Berkeley are titled "Mormon Biographies" and are numbered BANC MSS P-F 319 Reel 1 through 13.

The records at the Library of Congress are part of the "United States Work Projects Administration records, 1524-1975" collection, "Historical Records Survey: Archival and Manuscript Records, 1681-1937" group, "State File, 1681-1937" series, boxes B208 to B219. They have been reorganized since filming.

The transcripts were typed with four carbon copies. The original copies were sent to the Library of Congress. The first carbon copy was sent to the Utah State Historical Society. An almost complete copy was given to the Bancroft Library at the University of California at Berkeley. Parts of the remaining copies were shared variously with Brigham Young University, the University of Utah, and Utah State University.

Some of the original diaries were discarded by families in favor of the typewritten transcripts. Others might be found in public or private collections of libraries, universities, or historical societies.

The story of the creation of the transcripts is recounted by Mrs. Juanta Brooks, the first project leader, in "Jest a Copyin' - Word f'r Word," Utah Historical Quarterly, vol. 37 (Fall 1969), 379-384.