R E S E A R C H   G U I D A N C E

Membership of the LDS Church, 1830–1848
Research Outline
   

Table of Contents
What Is Membership Of The Lds Church, 1830-1848?
How Membership Of The Lds Church, 1830-1848 Can Help You
What Membership Of The Lds Church, 1830-1848 Does Not Include
Getting Started
Step 1. Select The Microfiche Or Book You Need
Step 2. Locate The Name
Step 3. Interpret And Copy The Information
Where To Find More Information
Compact Disc Edition


WHAT IS MEMBERSHIP OF THE LDS CHURCH, 1830-1848?

It is a 50-volume (95-microfiche) list created by Susan Easton Black. It contains information about people who were members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day SaintsLook this term up in the glossary. (Mormons) and lived in the United States, Canada, or Great Britain from 1830 to 1848. Although it does not list every member of the Church who lived during that time, it does index data from over 300 sources of information on early Latter-day Saints.

The work indexes and compiles information from such sources as—

All or parts of several major indexes are also included in this work, for example—


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HOW MEMBERSHIP OF THE LDS CHURCH, 1830-1848 CAN HELP YOU

Membership of the LDS Church, 1830-1848 can help you—

  • Find out what information has already been gathered about your ancestor.
  • Identify possible family connections.
  • Find birth, marriage, and death information.
  • Find the names of an ancestor's relatives.
  • Locate individuals in a specific geographic area.
  • Obtain useful biographical information.


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WHAT MEMBERSHIP OF THE LDS CHURCH, 1830-1848 DOES NOT INCLUDE

It does not include—

  • All sources about Latter-day Saints to 1848.
  • Every early LDS membership record.
  • All Latter-day Saint sources available at the Family History Library.
  • Information on members who joined the Church after 1848, even if they were included in the sources indexed.
  • References to every major Latter-day Saint index.


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GETTING STARTED

Three Steps to Follow When Using Membership of the LDS Church, 1830-1848

  1. Select the microfiche or book number you need.
  2. Locate the name.
  3. Interpret and copy the information.


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STEP 1. SELECT THE MICROFICHE OR BOOK YOU NEED

MicroficheLook this term up in the glossary. Numbers. You may use the Family History Library CatalogLook this term up in the glossary., on either computer or microfiche, to find microfiche or book numbers of specific volumes of Membership of the LDS Church, 1830-1848.

The catalog lists microfiche numbers and the surnames that are included in each microfiche. Select the number of the microfiche that has your ancestorLook this term up in the glossary.'s surname (surnames are arranged alphabetically). For example, to find Catherine Quail, select FHL fiche 6031596, number 67, which contains surnames starting with Q.

Book Numbers. In the Family History Library you can find the printed version of this index under the call number FHL book 289.3 Ea85m. This set has fifty volumes. Entries are arranged alphabetically by surname. Select the volume that contains your ancestor's name. For example, to find Catherine Quail select volume 35.

Note: Names that begin with Mc are filed without a space between Mc and the rest of the name. For example, Mc Daniels would be filed under MCDANIELS. Names that begin with the word Saint are abbreviated to St., as in ST. JOHN.


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STEP 2. LOCATE THE NAME

The people listed alphabetically on the top of each page were either members of the Church from 1830 to 1848, or they were members' children who were age eight or younger.

For example, if a father was baptized in 1838, all of his known children born between 1831 and 1838 are included (since they would be age eight or younger).


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STEP 3. INTERPRET AND COPY THE INFORMATION

Information on each member may include vital statisticsLook this term up in the glossary., church ordinancesLook this term up in the glossary., and biographical information. Located under each piece of information is a reference showing where the information was taken. See Figure 1 to view an actual entry.

s0 QUAIL, CATHERINE Female # Print-Date 6-30-87
  Reference
Pioneers of 1847 Easton S
Roster of Pioneers of 1847
Family Group Sheet-Father
Utah Federal Census Year 1851
Nauvoo Social History Project Smith James
s1 Birth-DataBirth-Date March 2 1837
Reference
Pioneers of 1847 Easton S
Birth-Place Peel Isle of Man ENG
Reference Pioneers of 1847 Easton S
s2 Parents-DataFather's-Name Quayle John
Reference
Family Group Sheet-Father
Mother's-Name Killip Catherine
Reference Family Group Sheet-Father
s3 Marriage-Number 1Spouse's-Name Carson John
Reference Family Group Sheet-Father
s6 Death-DataDeath-Date November 6 1850
Reference Family Group Sheet-Father
s8 Temple-Ordinance-DataEndowment
Date February 12 1858
Reference Family Group Sheet-Father
Figure 1 The entry for Catherine Quail as found in the microfiche edition of Membership of the LDS Church 1830-1848

Susan Easton Black tried to find all the following kinds of information for each individual but sometimes it was not all available If information is missing from an individual's list that information was not in the sources she used

  • Vital statistics

-Names and name variations
-Birth date and place
-Father's name
-Mother's name
-Marriage date and place
-Spouse's name
-Children's names
-Children's birth dates and places
-Death date and place
-Burial date and place
  • Church ordinances

-Baptism dateLook this term up in the glossary. and place and the name of the officiator
-Confirmation dateLook this term up in the glossary. and place and the name of the officiator
-Rebaptism date and place and the name of the officiator
-Patriarchal blessingLook this term up in the glossary. date and place and the name of the officiator
-Missionary serviceLook this term up in the glossary. dates, places, and companions
-Priesthood ordinationLook this term up in the glossary. dates and places and the names of the officiators
  • Temple ordinances

-Baptism dateLook this term up in the glossary. and place
-Endowment dateLook this term up in the glossary. and place
-SealingLook this term up in the glossary. to parents date and place
-Sealing to spouse date and place
  • Biographical information

-Residency Look this term up in the glossary.dates and places
-OccupationLook this term up in the glossary. dates and places
-Other comments of a biographical nature
Every effort was made to put the information about the same person together. However, it is possible the following kinds of mistakes may have been made:

  • Information about two individuals may have accidently been merged and treated as information about a single individual.
  • Information from separate sources about a single individual may have been treated as if it were information about two separate individuals.

Copy the information that you feel fits your ancestor. If you are not sure whether a piece of information applies to your ancestor, check the original sourceLook this term up in the glossary.. Use the Family History Library CatalogLook this term up in the glossary., the library's LDS Records Research Outline, and the Utah Research Outline to help identify original sources. Many of these sources are available through the Family History Library or through Brigham Young University. Some may also be available at a public or academic library.

Many entries have numbers on the left. These numbers are not important and can be ignored. For example, pay no attention to the s0, s1, s2, s3, s6, or s8 in Figure 1.


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WHERE TO FIND MORE INFORMATION

Use the following references to find additional Latter-day Saint records and indexes.

  • The Early Church Information File (ECIF). This set of 75 microfilms includes references to about 1,200 sources. Membership of the LDS Church, 1830-1848 usually contains more biographical information than the Early Church Information FileLook this term up in the glossary.; however, the Early Church Information File often cites more sources for an individual.
  • Early Members of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Check this list, also by Susan Easton Black, if the person you are seeking may have become a member of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

In addition, the LDS Records Research Outline describes other sources and strategies for finding information about early members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

CAN'T FIND A NAME?Before concluding that your ancestor's name is not in Membership of the LDS Church, 1830-1848, consider the following:

  • The name may be spelled differently. Try searching for alternate spellings.
  • The name may be listed under a nickname, middle name, or initials.
  • A woman may listed under her maiden or married surname.
  • The index does not contain every name found in the original records. Search the original records in which a person's name should appear to see if it was omitted from the index.


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COMPACT DISC EDITION

Many indexes including both Membership of the LDS Church, 1830-1848 and Early Members of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints are also available on compact disc for personal computers. They are part of the LDS Historical Library CD (Orem, Ut: Infobases, 1993).

Paper publication: 1993.

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Version of Data: 6/8/2001]