User:NelsonKC/Sandbox/Utah, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Church History Library, Perpetual Emigrating Fund Company Financial Accounts - FamilySearch Historical Records

What is in This Collection?
The Perpetual Emigrating Fund Company was organized in October 1849. The "donations to the fund" helped outfit members "for the trek west" from 1850 to 1887. It also funded voyages to America starting in 1856. The fund was dis-incorporated in 1887 under the provisions of the Edmunds-Tucker Act. Approximately 30,000 people were assisted with all or part of their transportation expenses during the thirty-seven years of the Fund's operation. (Mormon Historical Studies, Fall 2000, p142)

There is no complete list of members who used PEF. Many members used the fund, and paid their debt; enabling other members to emigrate. However, in 1877 a list called Names of Persons and Sureties Indebted to the Perpetual Emigrating Fund Company from 1850 to 1877 was created. This was a list of everyone who used PEF but had not paid their debt. Then as part of the Jubilee year of the Church, the "Worthy Poor" were forgiven their debt.

The original financial ledgers of the Perpetual Emigrating Fund Company are available at the Church History Library as CR 376 2. Every person who benefited from the PEF were not included in the ledgers. The information that was included in the ledgers includes: Name of the person who emigrated from Britain. The amount they were loaned. Interest charged. The amount repaid.

What Can These Records Tell Me?
The following information may be found in these records:
 * Name of the person who emigrated from Britain
 * Amount they were loaned
 * Interest charged
 * Amount repaid

How Do I Search This Collection?
Before searching this collection, it is helpful to know:
 * Name of the person
 * Approximate date of the event

How Do I Analyze the Results?
Compare each result from your search with what you know to determine if there is a match. This may require viewing multiple records or images. Keep track of your research in a research log.

I Found the Person I Was Looking For, What Now?

 * Add any new information to your records
 * If available, check the image for additional information
 * Analyze the entry to see if it provides additional clues to find other records of the person or their family

I Can’t Find the Person I’m Looking For, What Now?

 * Try searching by surname only
 * The person may be recorded with an abbreviated or variant form of their name
 * Remember that spelling was generally not standardized until the early part of the 20th century

Research Helps
The following articles will help you in your research for your family in Utah.
 * Utah Guided Research
 * Utah Record Finder
 * Research Tips and Strategies
 * 1850-1905 &#124; 1900-Present

Related Family History Library Holdings

 * Emigration records, European Mission; 1849-1885, 1899-1923
 * Emigration records, Scandinavian Mission (Denmark, Norway, Sweden) 1852-1920
 * Utah immigration card index, 1847-1868

Related FamilySearch Historical Record Collections

 * Mormon Migration Database, 1840-1932
 * Utah Mormon Pioneer Overland Travel Database, 1847-1868
 * Utah, Pioneers and Prominent Men of Utah, 1847-1868
 * Utah, FamilySearch, Early Church Information File, 1830-1900
 * Illinois, Hancock County, Nauvoo Community Project, 1839-1846 (BYU Center for Family History and Genealogy)

Related Digital Books

 * Names of persons and sureties indebted to the Perpetual Emigrating Fund Company from 1850 to 1877 inclusive.Salt Lake City, Utah : Star Book and Job, 1877.
 * Daughters of Utah Pioneers. Living immigrant pioneers, July 24, 1953 : they crossed the plains before the railroad, May 10,1869.

Citing This Collection
Citations help you keep track of places you have searched and sources you have found. Identifying your sources helps others find the records you used.