This guide contains many resources for researching your family history within the Church History Library.
Table of Contents
Overview
If you are researching an individual who has been associated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in any part of the world, the Church History Library may have historical sources that can help bring their story to life. The Church History Library houses many varied materials such as the following:
Personal papers (journals, memoirs, correspondence, etc.)
We also hold many other unique records that could offer historical context for your ancestors’ lives. Even if the library doesn’t have a source that specifically discusses your ancestor, you can learn about their circumstances through the recorded perspectives of fellow countrymen, townsfolk, local religious leaders, neighbors, emigrants, travelers, and others with similar occupations and social experiences.
The Church History Library has digitized many early periodicals published by the Church. Often, these early publications contain information on specific individuals.
Outward Bound, The Goconda, Leaving Liverpool, January 17th 1853 by George Ottinger.
The Saints By Sea database indexes Latter-day Saint emigration records and ship rosters from 1840 to 1932. It contains travelers’ biographical and historical information, including their names, ages, origins, and their ports of departure and arrival; the known number of Latter-day Saints aboard the various ships; and the names of their company leaders. It also includes narrative accounts of ships’ voyages and links to scholarly articles about the Latter-day Saint migration experience. This database is hosted by Brigham Young University.
The Church History Biographical Database is a deeply researched repository of biographical information on Latter-day Saints who lived during the first 110 years of the restored Church. It includes data from authoritative primary sources on over 61,000 pioneers who immigrated to Utah between 1847 and 1868, as well as information on over 44,000 missionaries who served between 1830 and 1940.
Mormons and Their Neighbors is an index listing more than 100,000 life sketches published in over 200 local and regional history books relating to Utah, New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, Southern California, Nevada, Idaho, Wyoming, northern Mexico, and southwestern Canada. The people indexed lived primarily between 1820 and 1981, and many non-Latter-day Saint pioneers and settlers are included as well. Index entries state whether a photograph accompanies the person’s life sketch and where to find the source publication. This digital index is hosted by the Harold B. Lee Library at Brigham Young University. (Many of the publications in the index can be found there or at the Church History Library.)
The four volumes of the Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia. Compiled by Andrew Jenson, this four-volume set includes a large collection of life sketches and photographs of early Church members. The volumes include a few selected entries about women in the early Church. The first volume was published in 1901 and the last in 1936. The index found in volume 4 covers the entire set. Digitized copies are hosted by the Harold B. Lee Library at Brigham Young University.
The four volumes of the Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia.
Compiled by Andrew Jenson and published in 1941, this volume contains brief histories of branches, wards, stakes, conferences, districts, missions, selected localities, and Church publications, as well as entries on miscellaneous subjects. These entries frequently name specific people, especially if they occupied a leadership position in a given unit; thus, if you know that an ancestor lived in a specific Church unit, its entry may mention them. Entries on local units also often include information on the area’s settlement. A digitized copy is hosted by the Harold B. Lee Library at Brigham Young University.
Compiled by Andrew Jenson, this volume gives brief chronological entries of Church-related historical events from 1805 through 1898. Names of early Latter-day Saints frequently appear; however, since the entries are usually short, additional research will likely be needed once a name is found. The digital copy is hosted on the Internet Archive
Pioneers and Prominent Men of Utah, Letter to President Brigham Young from Sarah Cooper of Richmond, Utah, in 1866, asking for money to help members of her family immigrate.
Pioneers and Prominent Men of Utah, Letter to President Brigham Young from Sarah Cooper of Richmond, Utah, in 1866, asking for money to help members of her family immigrate. Compiled by Frank Esshom and published in 1913, this volume contains about 5,900 photographs and 5,700 brief life sketches of pioneers and settlers in early Utah and the Intermountain West. This digital copy is hosted on the Internet Archive
This collection includes approximately 15,000 letters from Church members and others who were seeking personal guidance, spiritual advice, financial help, Latter-day Saint literature, and autographs from President Brigham Young. Most of these letters are searchable by name, location, or topic. To search them, enter the collection’s call number (CR 1234 1) into the Church History Catalog search bar followed by your search terms (for example, “John Smith”). For Brigham Young’s replies to letters he received, consult the letterbooks series in the collection. (Note that outgoing letters contained in the letterbooks series have not yet been indexed.)
The Journal History is a daily history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1830 to 2008. It is a scrapbook created from newspapers, meeting minutes, diary entries, and other sources. Individual members are frequently mentioned. Parts of the Journal History have been indexed, and it is available online through 1923. The link above connects to the research guide on the Journal History, which provides more specific information and help in navigating the collection.
This is a compilation of brief autobiographies written by Nauvoo-era members of the Quorums of Seventies. It contains basic biographical information as well as stories and personal remembrances gathered from Seventies Records, 1844-1975 (CR 499). This is not a complete record, as many Seventies did not comply with the request of their quorum leaders to submit a profile. It is available at the reference desk; ask a staff member for assistance. Bear in mind that these autobiographies are from the era when Quorums of Seventies were organized at the local level, not Churchwide, as is done today.
The Daughters of Utah Pioneers began publishing sets of multivolume books in 1939; there are now over 70 volumes available. The volumes describe Latter-day Saint pioneers’ hardships and experiences during their efforts to establish communities across the Intermountain West; southern Alberta, Canada; and northern Mexico. Volumes include life sketches, local histories, personal accounts, transcribed diaries and correspondence, newspaper articles, and photographs. All volumes are available in the library, and each volume has been indexed. The series includes the following:
Published by the Daughters of Utah Pioneers in 1998, this four-volume set contains over 4,600 photographs and 8,000 brief life sketches of Latter-day Saint pioneer women who settled in Utah and the surrounding regions.
Published by the Sons of Utah Pioneers in 1999, this four-volume set contains hundreds of life sketches and photographs of pioneer men who settled Utah and the surrounding areas.
This book provides rosters of Mormon Battalion members with genealogical and biographical information compiled from a variety of sources. Detailed bibliographic entries and selected extracts are cited for each battalion member. The volume was compiled by Carl V. Larson. The first edition was published in 1987, with an updated edition published in 1997.
The Church History Library houses thousands of published and unpublished records that are common to archives, such as journals, diaries, life sketches, autograph books, and other personal papers.
Use your ancestor’s name to search the Church History Catalog for potential archival material. If your ancestors did not keep diaries or write autobiographies, you may discover information about them contained in the correspondence, diaries, sketches, and papers of their neighbors, local Church leaders, ward members, friends, and business associates.
Researchers can request a digital copy of direct-line ancestors’ patriarchal blessings online. Sign in with your Church Account, and you will be taken to a form to verify your genealogical connection with the person whose blessing you request. (Note: You do not need to be a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to create a Church Account. Creating a Church Account will not result in the Church contacting you for purposes other than verifying and completing your patriarchal blessing request.)
Keep in mind that early Church members often received more than one patriarchal blessing. Also, while the Church History Library holds approximately 4.6 million patriarchal blessings, not every blessing ever given has been preserved; sometimes, the only copy of a blessing is the one provided to its recipient.
The Church began taking a membership census in 1914; the next census was taken in 1920, and censuses were taken every five years thereafter until 1960. Because of World War II, no census was conducted during 1945.
Census information identifies basic information about family makeup, priesthood offices held by male members, addresses, and ward or branch of residence. The census records have been indexed by name and more than 8.2 million records are searchable in the collection at FamilySearch.org. These records are also available in-person at the library on microfilm under the following call numbers:
From 1941 until July 1988, deceased Church members’ membership records were sent to the Church Historian’s Office for filing. These records typically contain details regarding priesthood ordinations and can assist in tracing a priesthood line of authority. These records are also available at the Family History Library.
Early Payson Ward (Utah) membership records, Thatcher Ward (Arizona) minutes of deacons quorum meetings, 1910. These minutes were recorded by Spencer W. Kimball, the quorum’s assistant secretary, who became President of the Church in 1973.
The Record of Members spans the years 1836 through 1976 in three different collections (CR 375 8, CR 375 2 1907-1970, and CR 375 2 1971-76). The records of individual volumes in this series may include membership and vital statistics; information about births, marriages, Church participation, and deaths; information about priesthood ordinances and actions; quorum records; names of missionaries and servicemen; and emigration reports. The information recorded varied over the years. These records are arranged by Church unit name and number.
While the finding aid for this collection is digitized, the records themselves must be accessed at the Church History Library; please ask a staff member for assistance searching them. This collection is also available on microfilm at the Family History Library. The Church History Library continues to acquire old membership record books and add them to the collection.
This collection contains basic information about Church members who were baptized and rebaptized in the Salt Lake Valley between 1847 and 1854. For further assistance navigating the collection, a non-digital index to the digital records is available at the library under the call number M234.3 W344r 2003.
Local Records
Local congregations have been recording their histories from the beginning of the Church. The Church History Library contains thousands of local records that could contain valuable material about your ancestors. For information on how to find local records in the Church History Catalog, please visit the Local Unit Records Research Guide, as well as Church History Library blog posts “Local and Corporate Records of the Church” and “More on Local Records.”
Most local records are only available to view at the Church History Library. This following is the kind of information you can find in local records:
Manuscript Histories (Series 2 and 3)
Manuscript Histories are unpublished compilations of historical information for local Church units. Initial information was gathered by staff members of the Church Historian’s Office starting in the 1890s. Quarterly historical reports from 1925 to 1967 and annual reports from 1968 to 1983 were added to previous Church Historian’s Office compilations. Annual reports from 1984 to 1999 were only submitted from stakes, districts, and missions; current annual reports from wards (2000–present) are submitted collectively by each stake and added to previous compilations. Information includes descriptions (in varying degrees of completeness) of historical events and activities, lists of callings and releases, newspaper clippings, newsletters, programs, sustaining sheets from ward and stake conferences, and photographs.
Minutes of Meetings
Minutes of various Church meetings in local units were recorded by designated clerks. Minutes of organization meetings—Relief Society, Sunday School, Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Association, Young Women’s Mutual Improvement Association, and Primary—were recorded and sent to the Church Historian’s Office through 1973, and minutes of sacrament meetings were sent through 1977. Minutes vary in detail but can provide insight into an ancestor’s Church activity, including prayers and talks given, callings received, and occasional remarks offered during meetings. Early minute books from the Intermountain West may contain some miscellaneous information, such as membership records, cemetery maps, burial records, funeral proceedings, school attendance records, irrigation information, business records, personal financial notations, and diary entries.
Other Local Unit Records
Many types of records from or about local units are potentially available, such as newsletters; dedicatory programs; histories; and photographs of ward members, events, and buildings. Many items are available only at the Church History Library. You will need to have basic information about the individual or the unit to assist in your search.
This ledger records the work done by carpenters and joiners during the construction of the Nauvoo Temple. It contains names of workers, dates they worked, and the amount of time they spent on the temple site. For further assistance navigating the collection, a non-digital index to the digital records is available at the library under the call number M282.1 N314 2000.
John Eames and his family emigrated from England to Utah in 1868. The family borrowed money from the Perpetual Emigrating Fund for their expenses. A promissory note and ledger entry document the family’s debt and efforts to pay it back.
This extensive collection contains ledgers, journals, receipt books, bonds, promissory notes, and other financial records of the Perpetual Emigrating Fund Company. This fund was created to assist emigrants with the expenses of traveling to Utah.
The four ledgers featured in the “Ledgers” collection have been made into a searchable index at FamilySearch.org. For further assistance navigating the collection, a digital index is available at the library under the call number CR 100 276. PDF copies of the index are available for download.
These indexes have been created to help researchers locate information in large collections or groups of records; they provide a list of names, locations, or topics that refer you to more records, articles, or other information. Please note that while many indexes have been digitized, the actual records may not be available online. You might need to visit the library to access information referenced in indexes.
This is an index of men employed in building and making furnishings for public buildings and Church structures, including the Salt Lake Temple. The men worked as carpenters, masons, blacksmiths, plasterers, machinists, painters, quarrymen, mason tenders, lumbermen, millwrights, and sawyers. The index includes each person’s initial hiring date. The individual records provide more information about approximate length of employment and can be accessed at the Church History Library in collection CR 5 7 using information obtained in the index. Ask a staff member for assistance in accessing records from the index.
Created by Church History Department staff and drawing from many sources, this digitized index lists members of the wards in Winter Quarters during the exodus and westward movement. It lists basic information about household composition. However, it only contains information for approximately 25 percent of Church members who passed through Winter Quarters.
This three-volume index records members of Quorums of Seventies who were called or ordained from 1835 to 1850. It contains basic biographical information (birth, parentage, ordination dates, quorum number, and so on). It has been digitized and is available to the public via the Church History Catalog.
This digitized index lists names of men ordained to the office of high priest during the Nauvoo era and the early years in Salt Lake City. This index lists basic biographical information (birth, parentage, and so on) taken from minutes and records available at the library.
This is a digitized index to members of 23 branches of the Church that existed in Iowa during the Nauvoo era and the trek west between 1839 and 1859. To use the index, locate an ancestor’s name and go to the corresponding branch records to obtain the name of their branch. Search the Church History Catalog by branch name to find the records referenced in the index.
