Church History Library Research Tips: All About Manuscript Histories and Historical Reports
Manuscript histories and historical reports are a great resource for researching church history. Learn how to navigate and utilize these useful documents through this article.
The Church History Library holds manuscript histories and historical reports from branches, wards, stakes, conferences, districts, and missions (collectively referred to as local units). Manuscript histories are scrapbook-style documents compiled by the staff of the Church Historian’s Office (precursor to today’s Church History Department) using reports, correspondence, newspapers, and other types of records, much like the Journal History of the Church. Historical reports are quarterly and annual reports first created by local units and then submitted to the Historian’s Office.
Andrew Jenson, an employee of the Historian’s Office, began gathering information that would be used in the manuscript histories in the late 19th century, though the actual compilation wouldn’t happen until a few decades later. Around the same time, in the early 1920s, local units were tasked with keeping quarterly reports. Both continued until the 1960s when they were replaced by annual historical reports. In the early 1980s, the practice of having branches and wards submit these reports was discontinued, while stakes and districts continued to submit their reports, including some information on wards and branches. Beginning in 2024, most local units, except missions, transitioned to using the new online Unit History tool.
Manuscript histories are often organized chronologically, sometimes include citations, and can be more readable than detailed historical reports, which are valuable for providing specific details not included in the manuscript history. Historical reports are often grouped by organization or topic and are not necessarily arranged chronologically within the covered period (three months or a year).
In the Church History Library's collection, local records (including manuscript histories and historical reports) are organized into series based on their record typing. The call numbers for these collections begin with LR (Local Record). Manuscript histories were cataloged as series 2 in a unit’s records. Historical reports were also included in series 2 until the 1980s, when they began being cataloged separately as series 3. You can learn more about local records and their series in our “Understanding CHL Collections” guide.
The collection contents (left) of the Eastern States Mission records, with examples from the manuscript history (center) and the quarterly report portions (right).
An excellent example of these records, and one that easily shows the division between creation methods, is the Eastern States Mission collection (LR 2475 2). Volumes 2 through 10 are the manuscript history compiled in Salt Lake City, volumes 11 through 20 are quarterly reports, and volume 21 is annual reports. You can see in the image above how the years progress from volume 2 to 10 before jumping back to 1928 with volume 11. Volume 1 is also worth pointing out, as it is an index to the manuscript history section.
Another example is the Pasadena California Stake collection (LR 6784 2), where you can see the transition from manuscript histories to quarterly reports within part 1 of volume 1. Below, the image on the left is a page of the manuscript history, compiled by the Historian’s Office, citing “Stake reports of Dec. 31, 1939” as the source of the information. The image on the right is the beginning of the historical reports, prepared by stake leaders and submitted to the Historian’s Office.
These records can include newspaper clippings, newsletters, lists of individuals sustained to and released from callings, programs, and photographs, covering events, meetings, and activities. The amount of detail in a manuscript history depends on what information could be gleaned from existing records by the Historian’s Office, while a historical report relies on the thoroughness of the unit secretary, clerk, and other leaders. Both types of records can provide information about an individual’s Church service, meetinghouses, local events, and various other topics, painting a picture of the lives of Latter-day Saints around the world.
You can find manuscript histories and historical reports, as well as other records related to Church units, in the Church History Catalog. A number of these records have been digitized and are accessible online. Other histories and reports require an in-person visit to the library. To protect the private and sensitive information often present in these sources, access is carefully managed in accordance with library policies. Ongoing efforts to expand digital access to these records and more are announced in the monthly “Newly Accessible Collections” articles on the Church History blog.
These records can be an invaluable resource in researching local Church history, and hopefully this post has helped you better understand how to effectively navigate the manuscript histories and historical reports. If you have questions about these types of records, or your Church history research in general, please contact our Public Services team via our Ask Us service.