Early Church Membership Records by Susan Easton Black

"Membership of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1830-1848"
Susan Easton Black and associates researched LDS historical resources and compiled a 50-volume set of information on early members of the church. It is a good beginning point to identify available information and sources for an early LDS ancestor. It is available in hard copy in the Family History Library and Brigham Young University collections and available on microfiche - FHL US/CAN Fiche 6031596. The publication is also available at World Vital Records, a subscription-based website. To access the online format:


 * Go to: http://www.worldvitalrecords.com/indexinfo.aspx?ix=usa_il_nauvoo_early_lds_members
 * Go to: World Vital Records

While this compilation is massive, it is not complete. This is indexed in the Early Church Information File.

"Early Members of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Also produced by Susan Easton Black was a 6 volume set of titled: Early Members of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The set is available in the Family History Library. This collection of records is also available at World Vital Records, a subscription-based website. To access the online format:


 * Go to: http://www.worldvitalrecords.com/indexinfo.aspx?ix=usa_il_nauvoo_reorg_members

There is a preface statement that many of the RLDS membership records were destroyed in a fire at church headquarters in January 1907.