Tracing LDS Families
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RESEARCH OUTLINE Tracing LDS Families CONTENTS publications, see the Family History Materials List (34083). In this outline the distribution center Introduction ............................. 1 item number is listed in parentheses that follow Basic Search Strategies.................... 3 the titles of publications on the materials list. Records Selection Table ................... 7 Archives and Libraries .................... 8 Using This Outline Biography ............................. 11 Census................................ 13 This section and the “Basic Search Strategies” and Church History ......................... 14 “Records Selection Table” sections of this outline Church Records......................... 15 describe the records at the library and suggest Colonization............................15 ways to do research effectively. This section Directories............................. 17 briefly describes major collections of records available at the Family History Library and how to Emigration and Immigration............... 17 ™ Genealogy ............................. 22 use FamilySearch and the Family History Historical Geography..................... 25 Library Catalog to find Latter-day Saint ancestors. History................................ 27 The Records Selection Table helps you choose Membership Records..................... 31 records to search based on the kind of information Military Records ........................ 35 you want to find about an ancestor. Missionaries............................ 38 Newspapers............................ 38 This outline also lists, in alphabetical order, the Obituaries ............................. 39 major record types that contain information about Patriarchal Blessings..................... 39 Latter-day Saints and their family history, such as Periodicals............................. 40 emigration and immigration records, genealogies, Priesthood Records ...................... 42 membership records, and temple records. The Temple Records......................... 44 names of the sections in this outline are usually Vital Records........................... 49 the same as the locality topics used in the Family For Further Reading...................... 51 History Library Catalog. However, records about Comments and Suggestions . .. 52 Church members have been cataloged many different ways, and you may have to search INTRODUCTION several places to find all the appropriate records. At the end of this outline you will find a short This outline introduces the strategies and records bibliography of sources under “For Further that can help you learn more about your ancestors Reading.” This section includes books with more from around the world who were members of The detailed descriptions of how to do research for Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It ancestors who were Church members and teaches terminology and describes the contents, important reference books that cover collections uses, and availability of major records of about Latter-day Saints. genealogical value for Latter-day Saints. It will help you decide which types of records to search This outline emphasizes the records created by and help you find temple ordinance dates. You can The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints use this information to identify names that need to and other records primarily about its members. be submitted for temple work, to Ancestral File, or The civil and private records created about the to the Pedigree Resource File or provide details lives of Church ancestors are explained in more about your ancestors for your family history. detail in other outlines. In addition to this outline, you will also need to use Records at the Family History Library the research outlines available for the state, province, and nation where your Latter-day Saint The Family History Library has many of the ancestors lived. For example, the Utah Research records listed in this outline. The library has more Outline (31081) and United States Research than 40,000 microfilms with information about Outline (30972) can help you locate many records Church members or their ancestors. The library’s about Church members in those places. For a list of major holdings of Latter-day Saint records include these research outlines and other Family History censuses, emigration and immigration records, genealogies, membership records, missionary Ancestral File. A file of over 35 million names records, patriarchal blessings, priesthood records, organized into families and pedigrees and temple records. The library also has printed records of many Church, mission, stake, ward, and International Genealogical Index. An index of branch histories; biographical collections; over 600 million names from vital records periodicals; and family histories. primarily from the British Isles, North America, and Finland Some of the sources described in this outline list the Family History Library’s book, microfilm, Family History Library Catalog. A description microfiche, and computer numbers. These are and classification of over two million microfilm preceded by FHL, the abbreviation for the Family reels and hundreds of thousands of genealogical History Library. These numbers may be used to books. You can search the catalog by family locate materials in the library and to order name; locality; author; or book, film, or fiche microfilm and microfiche at Family History number. Centers. SourceGuide. A collection of over 150 “how-to” You can use the computer number if you have research outlines for states, nations, or access to the Family History Library Catalog on genealogy topics; an extensive glossary of word computer disc (FamilySearch). The Computer meanings; and a catalog helper Number Search is the fastest way to find a source in the catalog. Family History Centers. A list of locations where you can order the microfilms described in the The Internet is growing in importance to Family History Library Catalog and genealogists. Internet sources are listed in this SourceGuide outline with their universal resource locator (URL) address. Web Sites. Internet sites related to family history. At www.familysearch.org there are links to FamilySearch™ thousands of other sites. FamilySearch™ at Family History Centers. Collaboration Lists. Lists of researchers interested FamilySearch is a collection of computer files in specific genealogical topics. See containing millions of names. It is a good place to www.familysearch.org for links to these lists. begin your family history research. Some of its records come from compiled sources, and some Family History Library Catalog have been extracted from original sources. The Family History Library and many Family History The key to finding a record at the Family History Centers have computers with FamilySearch. A few Library is the Family History Library Catalog. It FamilySearch resource files such as the U.S. Social describes each of the library’s records and Security Death Index and the U.S. Military Index provides its call number. The catalog is available are found on the Family History Library and at the library, at each Family History Center, and Family History Center version of FamilySearch but on the Internet at the following address: not on the FamilySearch™ Internet Genealogy Service. www.familysearch.org/Search/searchcatalog.asp Family History Library and Family History Center It is also available on microfiche and on computers with FamilySearch do not have access FamilySearch computers at the Family History to the Internet, computer online services, networks, Library. All Family History Centers have or bulletin boards. Those services are available at microfiche catalogs; some centers have many public and college libraries and at private FamilySearch computers. locations. Limited access to the Internet is available on a few computers in the Automated The microfiche catalog is divided into four Resource Center in the Family History Library. searches: FamilySearch™ Internet Genealogy Service. The • Locality (on yellow-labeled microfiche) Internet site www.familysearch.org allows you to • Subject (on blue-labeled microfiche) preserve your genealogy, order Family History • Surname (on red-labeled microfiche) Library publications, learn research strategies, and • Author/Title (on green-labeled microfiche) look for information about your ancestors in the following resources: The catalog on FamilySearch computers has four searches: 2 • Locality Search PATRIARCHAL BLESSINGS • Surname Search TEMPLE RECORDS - [TEMPLE] • Film/Fiche Number Search • Computer Number Search The subtopics used in the Subject Search are usually the topics with major sections in this The Internet catalog has five searches: outline, such as BIOGRAPHY, HISTORY or PRIESTHOOD RECORDS. • Place Search (same as Locality Search) • Surname Search Author Search or Author/Title Search. This is • Author Search sometimes used to find the records of Latter-day • Film/Fiche Search Saint ancestors by looking up: • Call Number Search Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, The Locality Search. To find the records described in LDS . this outline, you will often use the Family History L.D.S. Library catalog’s Locality Search, which lists Mormon . records by the location they cover. Most records are listed under a specific town or city, as follows: BASIC SEARCH STRATEGIES [STATE or PROVINCE], [COUNTY], [TOWN] Step 1. Identify What You Know about Some records such as federal records are listed in Your Family the catalog’s Locality Search under