Research Guide
Baptism and Confirmation Information in Early Records
Overview
Welcome to the research guide for finding baptism and confirmation information for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints between 1830 and the 1970s. This guide will provide you with how-to tips and tools, contextual information, and valuable resources for your research. It will help you navigate the complex and nuanced process of researching early Church records.
When searching for an original baptism or confirmation date for early members, it is important to consider the following factors:
- Membership information may not have been recorded, because of neglect or oversight.
- Records may have been lost or destroyed over time. Records can be lost when they are moved from place to place or damaged by water or weather.
- Records may be held in private ownership or by other libraries or archives that host Latter-day Saint document collections. Some records are kept as family heirlooms or donated to other institutions.
- Many early Church members were rebaptized and reconfirmed as a sign of recommitment to the gospel. This practice caused many congregational clerks to disregard the original dates and record only subsequent dates.
On-site resources can be viewed at the Church History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah. You can access the item or collection information in the
Research Strategy
When pursuing research for baptism and confirmation information, you should work from known information to the unknown, rather than vice versa.
For example, you may know that the individual was baptized in England but you don’t know the name of the branch where he or she lived. You may also know the names of branches or wards (local unit congregations) where the person lived subsequent to his or her baptism. Begin by tracking the individual’s name in the known local units. Using this approach, you may come across clues that lead back to the branch in England where the person joined the Church. It is even a possibility that the original baptism or confirmation date will be recorded in the subsequent local unit records if the individual was not subsequently baptized.
Coupled with working from the known to the unknown, another vitally important aspect of finding baptism and confirmation information is determining where the individual was living at the time he or she joined the Church. Membership records at both the Church History Library and the Family History Library are filed by name of the branch or ward (local unit), and these generally reflect the name of the geographic locality where the person was centered. Most of the resources listed in this guide are here to help you identify where an individual lived.
MormonPlaces is an interactive database and gazetteer listing important locations (including local units) in the early Church. It is a good place to start when looking for the location where an individual may have lived. This website is hosted by Brigham Young University. This is not a Church-sponsored website, and the Church does not endorse the content.
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For example, you may know that the individual was baptized in England but you don’t know the name of the branch where he or she lived. You may also know the names of branches or wards (local unit congregations) where the person lived subsequent to his or her baptism. Begin by tracking the individual’s name in the known local units. Using this approach, you may come across clues that lead back to the branch in England where the person joined the Church. It is even a possibility that the original baptism or confirmation date will be recorded in the subsequent local unit records if the individual was not subsequently baptized.
Coupled with working from the known to the unknown, another vitally important aspect of finding baptism and confirmation information is determining where the individual was living at the time he or she joined the Church. Membership records at both the Church History Library and the Family History Library are filed by name of the branch or ward (local unit), and these generally reflect the name of the geographic locality where the person was centered. Most of the resources listed in this guide are here to help you identify where an individual lived.
Membership Records
Church membership records vary greatly in content. They may contain the individual’s name; birth date and place; baptism and confirmation dates, along with the officiator’s name; marriage and death dates; and sometimes priesthood ordination dates. These records were not standardized until the 1870s, when preprinted books with designated columns were distributed. Even with standardized documentation, some clerks were more conscientious record keepers than others.
A large percentage of the Church’s membership record books from throughout the world were microfilmed in the 1960s–1970s. Copies of the microfilms are available for research at both the Church History and Family History Libraries. The Church History Library houses the most comprehensive collection of membership records. Membership records acquired after the 1960s–1970s microfilming project are available only at the Church History Library; they are listed in the library’s online catalog under the name of the branch or ward.
Beginning in 1907, the Church required an annual statistical and genealogical report to be submitted from branches, wards, and missions. The ward report was designated and nicknamed Form E, and the mission report was nicknamed Form 42-FP. The Form E and 42-FP reports cover the years 1907–1976.
The reports listed the names of individuals in the ward, branch, or mission and when they were born, blessed as children, baptized, or confirmed; received priesthood ordinations; married or divorced; departed for or returned from missions; and died. (When searching for information in the reports, be flexible and creative with spellings of names. There are many transcription errors.)
The following are the major Church History Library collections of membership records:
Included in this group of records are the annual Form E and 42-FP reports that were initiated in 1907 and submitted annually by branches, wards, and missions to Church headquarters. Form E reports were submitted by a stake’s branches and wards, and 42-FP reports were submitted by a mission’s branches. Remote digital access may be granted on a use/need basis. Contact us through the
These records are a continuation of the Form E and 42-FP reports but were renamed Transcript Record of Members reports (1971–1972) and Ordinance and Action Records (1973–1976). Available upon request at the Church History Library in Salt Lake City.
From 1941 until July 1988, deceased Church members’ membership records were sent to the Church Historian’s Office for filing. These records typically include details regarding priesthood ordinations and can assist in tracing a priesthood line of authority. Available upon request at the Church History Library. Also available at the Family History Library.
Additional Records
Other records are listed in theYou can also search the
Other institutions that collect Latter-day Saint materials also house scattered collections of membership records and congregational minute books:
Kirtland, Ohio
This is an index to a partial list of Church members living in Kirtland, Ohio, and nearby areas in the 1830s. It was compiled by Milton V. Backman Jr., Keith Perkins, and Susan Easton Black. The lists in this volume suggest that the individuals mentioned were members of the Church, but there is no baptismal information included. This record can provide clues about where individuals were living during the Kirtland period. Available upon request at the Church History Library.
Nauvoo, Illinois
Membership records from theThis collection of information hosted by the Family History Library lists many of the members of the Church who were baptized between 1830 and 1848, with an emphasis on Church members in Nauvoo. This collection was primarily compiled from secondary and tertiary sources; it is a good place to start one’s research, but it should not be considered authoritative. Also available upon request at the Church History Library in Salt Lake City (
This is a three-volume resource listing members of Quorums of the Seventy who were called or ordained from 1835 to 1850. Many records of the Seventy and high priests quorums contain original baptism and confirmation dates. The volumes are located in the reference area at the Church History Library in Salt Lake City. Ask a staff member for assistance.
This is a compilation of brief autobiographies written by Nauvoo-era members of Quorums of the Seventy. Although all Seventies were asked to submit a bio, only a few did. Some of them include baptism and confirmation dates. It is located behind the reference desk at the Church History Library in Salt Lake City. Ask a staff member for assistance.
Nebraska/Iowa
This index compiled by Ronald G. Watt contains information on individuals who lived in the Council Bluffs area from 1846 to the early 1850s. Many early baptismal dates (and some children’s blessings) are recorded in the membership records of that era.
The Iowa Branch Index identifies the branch in which the individuals resided. You can use the index to locate the branch and other local unit records in the Church History Library’s online catalog and examine the records to see if more extensive information was recorded.
Note: The index contains entries for approximately 7,000 individuals—a fraction of the estimated number of Latter-day Saints who lived in or passed through that area from the mid-1840s to the 1850s.
This is a reconstructed index created by the Church History Department to the wards in Winter Quarters during the exodus and westward movement. It lists basic information about household composition. It is not comprehensive.
Utah/Intermountain West
There is no master index available for determining the local unit where an individual lived in the Utah period. For Utah and Intermountain West locations, you can useNote: The 1890 United States census was burned in a fire and is not available for most United States locations, including Utah.
City directories can also be consulted to determine residential addresses in parts of Utah. City directories are available at the Church History Library.
Salt Lake City Directory, including a Business Directory, of Provo, Springville, and Ogden, Utah Territory (979.2251 S176 1867 )Utah Gazetteer and Directory of Logan, Ogden, Provo and Salt Lake Cities, for 1884 (979.205 U89g 1874–1925 )- Ogden City Directory (
979.2281 O34 1883–1987 ) Salt Lake City Directory (979.2251 S176 1893– )Provo City and Utah County Directory (979.2241 P969 1902 )- Additional directories may be available for research at other libraries and archives.
Included in the 1985 Deseret News Church Almanac
Many members were rebaptized and reconfirmed either immediately before immigrating to the United States or soon after arriving in the Salt Lake Valley, as a sign of their renewed commitment to the Church.
This index records basic information about Church members who were baptized and rebaptized in the Salt Lake Valley between 1847 and 1854. It is located at the Church History Library, in the reference area. Ask a staff member for assistance.
This website hosted by the University of Utah is a database containing information on early black Latter-day Saints from 1830 to 1940. It provides baptism dates (when known), links to primary sources, and a comprehensive time line.
Early Members outside the United States
There is no master index to baptism and confirmation information for early members converted around the globe. Knowing the location where an individual lived will help you know where to search in local member records from Church units around the world.
Most baptisms outside of the United States in the early Church were performed by missionaries. If you know the name of the missionary who performed the ordinance or the mission where an individual lived at the time of their baptism, you may be able to find information in the
The Missionary Database records the service of approximately 40,000 Latter-day Saint missionaries for the century following the organization of the Church. Individual missionary pages contain personal information, where and when they served, and photographs, when available. Profiles may also contain links to digitized journals, letters, and so forth made available by the Church History Library, the Harold B. Lee Library at Brigham Young University, and FamilySearch.
Currently, the only unique indexes available are for the British Isles and Italy. New records will be added to this guide as they become available.
British Isles
This is a partial, alphabetical index to selected early British membership records. It contains names drawn from selected branch and ward membership records kept in Utah stakes and the British Mission, circa 1839–1915. This index is commonly named the “Minnie Margetts Index.” Available upon request at the Church History and Family History Libraries.
Italy
Daniel B. Hill Richards’s bookChurch Censuses
In 1852 the Church conducted a census of heads of household living in Utah. The record is commonly referred to as the 1852 Bishops’ Census (CR 1234 1). An index to this collection is available at the Church History Library (M257.14 P949 1967 no. 1).
In 1914 the Church enumerated a census of members and then conducted subsequent censuses in 1920, 1925, 1930, 1935, 1940, 1950, 1960, and 1962. Because of World War II, no census was taken in 1945.
Presiding Bishopric stake and mission census, 1914–1935 (CR 4 311)
Presiding Bishopric mission census, 1940 (CR 4 312)
Presiding Bishopric stake census, 1940 (CR 4 313)
Presiding Bishopric mission census, 1950 (CR 4 314)
Presiding Bishopric stake and mission census, 1950 (CR 4 315)
Presiding Bishopric stake and mission census, 1950–1960, 1962 (CR 4 316)
In 1914 the Church enumerated a census of members and then conducted subsequent censuses in 1920, 1925, 1930, 1935, 1940, 1950, 1960, and 1962. Because of World War II, no census was taken in 1945.
Additional Resources
Temple Index Bureau (TIB)
This resource is a microfilmed card index to endowments performed for the living and dead from 1842 to 1970. Most of the cards contain a baptismal date, but it may not be the original date for early members. Many early Church members’ information states “in the Church,” which usually indicates that the original date was unknown or had been forgotten. It is available in the special-collections area of the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. A brief guide for this resource is also available at the Family History Library.Early Church Information File (ECIF)
This resource is a searchable database containing vital and biographical information about early Church members. It is available digitally through FamilySearch or upon request at the Church History Library in Salt Lake City. A detailed description of the ECIF’s content is available in the Family History Library’s Wiki at the following links:Newspaper Death Notices and Obituaries
Newspaper death notices and obituaries often stated the name of the community and/or local unit in which the deceased’s funeral was held.The
A few Utah newspapers, plus some from adjoining states, are scanned and searchable at a free database hosted by the Library of Congress called
Autobiographical and Biographical Writings
Autobiographical writings and biographical sketches may contain clues regarding early baptism and confirmation information. You can search theIn addition to the holdings of the Church History Library, tens of thousands of biographical sketches are available at the Daughters of Utah Pioneers Museum in Salt Lake City, Utah. The
Other Utah and intermountain, university, state, and local historical societies may also house autobiographical and biographical sketches.