Utah Mormon Pioneer Overland Travel Index - FamilySearch Historical Records

United States Utah

What is in the Collection?
This collection is a database from the LDS Church History Library containing a compilation of names obtained from rosters and other reliable sources of individuals who immigrated to Utah from 1847-1868. Most companies are listed with the name of its captain and a brief summary of the company's experience during their journey. Many company pages include a list of diaries, journals, letters, and reminiscences written by company members, as well as contemporary reports about the company. The content of several thousand of those narratives have been transcribed and are included in the database.

What Can these Records Tell Me?
The Mormon Pioneer Overland Travel Index may contain the following information:


 * Full name of ancestor
 * Event type
 * Event date
 * Birth date
 * Death date
 * Pioneer Company name
 * Gender
 * Previous residences
 * Names of other family members
 * Relationships
 * Photographs when available
 * Other biographical details

How Do I Search the Collection?
To begin your search it is helpful to know at least some of the following:
 * The name of your ancestor.
 * The approximate year your ancestor migrated Utah.
 * The place where your ancestor lived prior to immigration.
 * The names of family members and their relationships.

Fill in the requested information in the initial search page. This search will return a list of possible matches. Compare the information in the list to what you already know about your ancestor to determine if it is the correct person. You may need to compare several persons in the list before you find your ancestor.

Search by Name by visiting the Collection Page

For tips about searching on-line collections see the on-line article FamilySearch Search Tips and Tricks.

What Do I Do Next?
Whenever possible, view the original records to verify the information and to find additional information that might not be reported. These pieces of information can lead you to additional records and family members.

I Found Who I was Looking for, What Now?

 * Use the information to find other records such as birth, christening, census, marriage, land and death records.
 * Use the information to find additional family members.
 * Repeat this process with additional family members found, to find more generations of the family.
 * Church Records often were kept years before government records were required and are a good source for finding ancestors before 1900.

I Can’t Find Who I’m Looking for, What Now?

 * Try viewing the original record to see if there were errors in the transcription of the name, age, residence, etc. Remember that there may be more than one person in the records with the same name.
 * Collect entries for every person who has the same surname. This list can help you identify possible relations that can be verified by records.
 * If you cannot locate your ancestor in the locality in which you believe they lived, then try searching records of a nearby locality in an area search.
 * Standard spelling of names typically did not exist during the periods our ancestors lived in. Try variations of your ancestor’s name while searching the index or browsing through images.
 * Remember that sometimes individuals went by nicknames or alternated between using first and middle names. Try searching for these names as well.
 * Search the indexes and records of Utah, United States Genealogy.
 * Search in the Utah Archives and Libraries.

Citing this Collection
Citing your sources makes it easy for others to find and evaluate the records you used. When you copy information from a record, list where you found that information. Here you can find citations already created for the entire collection and for each individual record or image.

Collection Citation:

Record Citation (or citation for the index entry):