Temples and Family History

For the millions of people who lived before the Restoration of Christ's Church, Temple
ordinances were not available during their lifetime. Even today, millions live and die without
ever hearing the name of Jesus Christ or without accepting the gospel he taught. Provision
must be made, then, for those who have died without that opportunity.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints teaches

that all saving ordinances are to be performed on earth
on behalf of the dead. Latter-day Saints stand as proxies
for their own ancestors in these ceremonies, including
baptisms and sealings for husbands and wives and for
parents and children. All Temple work is valid only if it is
willingly accepted by each individual prior to the
Resurrection. Performing Temple ordinances receives
strong emphasis in the Church. Members of the Church
are taught that they have a religious obligation to trace
their own genealogies and perform Temple ordinances
for their ancestors.

"The doctrine of the eternal family is one of the most

sacred teachings for us. As I learn more about my own
ancestors, it increases my sense of identity and
deepens my commitment to honor their memory.
Perhaps there has never been a time when a sense of
family and identity and self-worth has been more important to our world"

President Gordon B. Hinckley, President

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

To help these members in tracing their genealogies, the Church has microfilmed vital records
throughout the world that identify hundreds of millions of persons who have died. The Church
provides access to these records through the Family History Library in Salt Lake City and in
over 3,000 local family history centers. The Church has also developed large databases of
genealogical information. Further information about these resources is available on the
Internet at http://www.familysearch.org/.

The Family History Library is the largest genealogical library in he world.

It is located in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA and is home to microfilms,
microfiche, papers, books and maps. The library is operated by the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, more commonly known as
the "Mormons." The Church has been microfilming genealogical records
from all over the world since the late 1930’s. The master copies of these
records are located in granite mountains near Salt Lake City, to protect
them from disasters, natural and otherwise. In addition to the main
library, there are approximately 3000 branch libraries located all over
the globe which have borrowing rights to most of the materials available
at the main library for a small fee covering postage and duplication of
the material. These branch libraries are known as Family History
Centres and are usually found by consulting with your local telephone
directory. These FHCs are manned by unpaid volunteers and the level
of knowledge of these volunteers varies immensely. While many avid
researchers plan to visit this ‘genealogical Mecca’ in Salt Lake at least
once during their genealogical lifetime, in most cases, it is really not
necessary. This article will explain the holdings of the Family History
Library and its cataloguing system.
Computerized Holdings: International Genealogical Index (IGI)
Many of the holdings of the library have been transcribed and indexed
by church member volunteers. The largest computerized index of
records is the International Genealogical Index (IGI), which is also
available on microfiche. This index contains birth, christening and
marriage records from all over the world. These records have been
extracted, transcribed and indexed by volunteers. These records are by
no means complete but are usually complete for individual parishes.
The patron enters the name of the ancestor they are looking for and the
IGI displays potential matching records of similar sounding names
regardless of spelling. If an ancestor is located, a reference is provided
for the original record which the patron can then order into the FHC for
further research.One point to note is that the original IGI is now quite
old. Updates have been made to it and are known as the Addendum. It
is important to search both the original index and the Addendum when
looking for an individual, in fact, the number of names in the addendum
now outweighs the number in the original. This index is also available
through the website http://www.familysearch.org although there are less
search options available online.
Scottish Church Records
For anyone with Scottish ancestry, the Scottish Church Records index
is indispensable. This index contains parish records (christenings,
marriages and burials?) in Scotland up to the 1850’s. While the
microfiche version of this index only contains Presbyterian (Church of
Scotland) records, the computerized version contains records from
other religious denominations also.
US Social Security Death Index
For those with American ancestors, there are two collections that might
be of assistance. The US Social Security Death Index is a list of
individuals who had a US SSN and that are deceased. It lists the last
known location of an individual as well as where the SSN application
was made. As this is an index, you will need to consult the original SSN
application to find out additional information, such as mother’s maiden
name, place and date of birth and so on. This index is also available
through the website http://www.familysearch.org.
US Military Index
The second US collection contains names of individuals who perished
in the Korea and Vietnam wars, although some names exist in this
index prior to this time.
Ancestral File
Ancestral File is the original of the shared family trees out there.
Patrons to the Family History Centre could submit a family tree in
Gedcom format to the database. The family tree would then be added in
the next release of Ancestral File. While patrons no longer submit their
family trees to Ancestral File (it has been superceded by Pedigree
Resource File) it is still a useful repository of family trees, many of which
have never been resubmitted into Pedigree Resource File. These
records are also available through the website
http://www.familysearch.org.
Pedigree Resource File
Pedigree Resource File replaced Ancestral File in the late 90’s as the
new repository for shared family trees. The problem with Ancestral File
was that another person could submit changes to someone else’s tree
leading to incorrect data overwriting correct data. Pedigree Resource
File did not allow that. Instead both trees were added to the database
allowing a researcher to make up their own mind as to which was
correct. While Pedigree Resource File is available for consultation both
on the web and at most FHCs, family trees may only be submitted
through the web site http://www.familysearch.org.
Vital Records Indexes
The Vital Records indexes were produced at a time when the
extractions and transcriptions were ahead of their entry into the IGI.
Rather than sit on the records for an extended period of time they were
released into the public domain to enable researchers to benefit from
them. Records exist for the UK, North America, Australia, Mexico,
Scandinavia and Europe. These records are available on CD at most
FHCs. These records are also available through the website
http://www.familysearch.org.
Census Records
The LDS church has undertaken 3 large transcription and
computerization projects for census records with the goal that anyone
living in the English speaking world in 1880-1 could be located (with the
exclusion of Australia/New Zealand). These census’ are the 1880 US
Federal Census, 1881 National Census for Canada, 1881 National
Census for Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales). There is a
national name index for each census enabling you to find a person
regardless of their location within the country. In addition you can
search on age, place of birth and place of residence as well as some
other criteria. Once you locate your ancestor, you are able to view a
transcription of the actual householder record, listing all members of the
household together with their information. You may also navigate to
adjacent neighbouring buildings. For each householder record a
microfilm number is provided enabling you to order the specific
microfilm containing the actual handwritten version of the record. These
records are also available through the website http://www.familysearch.
org. In addition to these main census records, a limited number of
records are available for the 1851 British Census. These records were
produced as a trial for the 1881 British Census project. Records are
available for Devon, Norfolk and Warwick and contain about 1.5 million
names.
Freedman Bank Records
This is one of the only databases of African-American individuals. After
the Civil War, the Freedman Bank was established to help freed slaves.
This database contains records pertaining to approximately 480,000
individuals who used the bank.
Mormon Immigration Index
Not just for those with Mormon connections. This database lists 93,000
US immigrant pioneers that travelled with some of the same companies
used by the members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints. Records contain letters, diaries etc as well as other genealogical
information.
Family History Library Catalogue
Like any library, the genealogical library in Salt Lake City has a library
catalogue listing all its holdings and providing a reference number for
each. The reference number can be a film, fiche, dewey decimal
number used for locating a book, or a location for some of the other
items like maps. For any item that has a film or fiche number, provided
that it is not restricted loan, you may order the film or fiche into the local
FHC for viewing. Any materials ordered in must be looked at on site.
The FHLC may be searched in the following ways:
• Film/fiche number
• Keyword
• Surname
• Locality
• Author
• Title
• Subject
• Call Number
While each search has its uses, the most useful is the Locality or Place
search. After you have entered a location the catalogue will show you
all materials available through the library for that location. The items will
be grouped into various collections such as Church, Census, Military,
Tax etc. For a full listing see the Appendix. For each item there is a
description, film/fiche/book number and there may be some notes
regarding the item. The trick to using the locality index, is to ensure that
you review the records at each administrative level. For example,
Stepney in East London is part of Middlesex which is part of England.
Records kept at the Stepney level might include church records and
local histories, records at the Middlesex level might include census
records, genealogies and histories, records at the England level might
include maps and gazetteers, as well as records kept at the national
level.
What kinds of records does the library have? For those of you that think
an American library won’t have records for small English places, think
again. For example, if I look up Stepney, Middlesex in the FHLC, there
are cemetery, church, poorhouse, school, taxation and other records
available. If I were interested in marriage records for St.Dunstan’s
church, I would find these under:
• Church Records. There are two items also referring to St Dunstan as
well as one that refers to St Dunston. By selecting the notes for each I
see that the marriage records come on 5 different microfilms. In this
particular case only one film has notes explaining the years it contains,
so I would have to view each film. However, in many instances specific
years are listed to enable you to order the exact film containing the
record you are looking for.
• Church Records – Indexes. I would then note that there are 64
microfiche available. By selecting the notes, I would see that the
marriage records from 1568-1864 were on a collection of 29 microfiches
with a reference number of 6901979 (Note: All 7-digit reference
numbers starting with a 6, refer to fiche. All other numbers refer to
films). I could then order this set of fiche into my FHC if they did not
already have it. Click here for a full FHLC listing categories

By Marina Garrison
About the Author
As a lecturer and writer, Marina Garrison's specialty is the integration of
genealogy and technology. She serves as Assistant Family History
Center Director for the Kelowna, British Columbia Family History Center
and is also responsible for staff training. Her speaking experiences
include 5 regional conferences and local genealogical groups
throughout British Columbia. You can e-mail Marina at
genealogy@hamersleyfamily.com or visit www.hamersleyfamily.com