Illinois, Hancock County, Nauvoo Community Project, 1839-1846 (BYU Center for Family History and Genealogy) - FamilySearch Historical Records

   Nauvoo

What is in This Collection?
The foundation for the Nauvoo project was laid in 2011, and the website launched in 2012. The BYU Center for Family History and Genealogy is working to identify the residents of the Nauvoo, Illinois, area from 1839 to 1846, follow them over time, and document their later lives. There are still significant historical questions about Nauvoo that have never been answered. The data from this project will provide a much more accurate determination of the population of Nauvoo, and because the people will be followed over time, it will reveal how many of the Saints remained with the Mormons and how many left the church at the time of the martyrdom of Joseph Smith or at the time of their exodus to Utah. This project will help determine mortality rates among the pioneers, as well as how many crossed the plains or remained behind.

In addition to answering historical questions, the Nauvoo Community Project will produce quality genealogical documentation for the lives of early LDS Church members who lived in Nauvoo. The Center's project is being entered into a searchable database where research is available online to genealogists and historians. Original sources are being used to uniquely identify the residents, and links are being created to online images of censuses, death certificates, photos of grave markers, the Overland Pioneer Trail database, and much more. The database contains links to numerous primary source documents which provide high quality information to all site visitors.

This is an on-going project. If you do not find your family members who lived in Nauvoo, be sure to return to the site, since more residents are added daily.

This index will include the residents of Nauvoo, Illinois, from 1839 to 1846. Wherever possible, each resident will be documented from birth to death in the records of the time.

What Can these Records Tell Me?
Information contained in this collection may include:
 * The name of your relative
 * The birth date and birth place
 * The names of parents
 * The name of spouse
 * The death date and death place

How Do I Search the Collection?
Before searching this collection, it is helpful to know:
 * The name of your ancestor
 * The time period in which they were in Nauvoo

How Do I Analyze the Results?
Compare each result from your search with what you know to determine if there is a match. This may require viewing multiple records or images.

I Found the Person I Was Looking For, What Now?

 * Use the information to find other records such as birth, christening, census, land and death records.
 * Use the information to find additional family members.
 * Repeat this process with additional family members found, to find more generations of the family.
 * Church Records often were kept years before government records were required and are a good source for finding ancestors before 1900.

I Can’t Find the Person I’m Looking For, What Now?

 * Try viewing the original record to see if there were errors in the transcription of the name, age, residence, etc. Remember that there may be more than one person in the records with the same name.
 * Collect entries for every person who has the same surname. This list can help you identify possible relations that can be verified by records.
 * If you cannot locate your ancestor in the locality in which you believe they lived, then try searching records of a nearby locality in an area search.
 * Standard spelling of names typically did not exist during the periods our ancestors lived in. Try variations of your ancestor’s name, especially French or Latin versions.
 * Remember that sometimes individuals went by nicknames or alternated between using first and middle names. Try searching for these names as well.
 * Search the indexes and records of Illinois, United States Genealogy.
 * Search in the Illinois Archives and Libraries.
 * Search in the FamilySearch Library Catalog

Citing this Collection

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