Church History Library Research Tips: How to Find Family in the Biographical Database in Four Simple Steps
The Church History Biographical Database is an incredible resource to research ancestors and other historical figures who lived during the Church’s formative years. Learn how to find your ancestors in four simple steps.
The Church History Library offers several useful resources for finding and researching ancestors who were part of the early Church. The lives of early Church members and Church history are tightly woven together, which is why the library developed the Church History Biographical Database. Drawing from the library’s vast collections of records, journals, photographs, and more, the biographical database provides a focused stepping point for finding valuable information about specific ancestors.
What Is the Church History Biographical Database?
Created in 2022 by combining the Mormon Pioneer Overland Travel Database with the Early Mormon Missionary Database and adding Mormon Battalion participants in 2023, the Church History Biographical Database contains information on over 100,000 individuals who lived between 1830 and 1940, with many more individuals and datasets to be added in the future. Simply type a name into the database search bar to find personal information—such as their birth, baptism, pioneer travels, missionary service, and death—displayed on a timeline.
If the person you are searching for has been added to the database, their information will appear, along with a list of source records.
The Biographical Database is always growing, and we welcome your contributions. For example, an estimated 60,000 to 70,000 immigrated to the Utah Territory as pioneers, so potentially 10,000 to 20,000 individuals may still need to be identified and added to the database. Research of these pioneers, missionaries, and more is ongoing. If you are aware of primary source records that document an individual that is not currently included in the Biographical Database, or that provide additional details about an individual in the database, please click the Feedback tab on the righthand edge anywhere on the site.
Teaming up with FamilySearch to “Show My Ancestors”
A helpful feature for finding your ancestors in the Biographical Database is the “Show My Ancestors” link, which can be found to the right of the search bar. The Church History Library worked closely with FamilySearch to enable you to easily narrow your search to display only direct ancestors based on information from your FamilySearch family tree. If you haven’t already created a family tree on the FamilySearch site, you’ll want to start there. The process is quick and straightforward.
The Four Steps to “Show My Ancestors”
Using the “Show My Ancestors” feature is very easy. It only takes four steps to access your ancestors in the database.
- Go to the Church History Biographical Database.
- Click on the “Show My Ancestors” link to the right of the search bar.
- Click on the “Activate Ancestor View” button.
- Log in to your FamilySearch account.
Once you enter your login credentials for FamilySearch, you’ll be redirected back to the Biographical Database automatically, where a list of your ancestors found in the datasets will appear. Once activated, the filter on the left-hand side of your screen will show that you are currently only viewing your ancestors; under the “Results For” heading it will say “Show Only My Ancestors.” To deactivate this filter, simply click the X on the “Show Only My Ancestors” filter.
It is entirely possible that no ancestors will appear once you’ve linked your FamilySearch account with the Biographical Database. If no ancestors appear in the search results, it simply means that your ancestors are not yet included in the database as early missionaries, pioneers, or Mormon Battalion participants. With many more data additions planned, some of your ancestors may appear in the future.
Researching Ancestors with the Church History Biographical Database
If you do have ancestors found within the database, you can click on their profiles to learn about them. From photographs, birth dates, death dates, and simple summaries of their lives, the Biographical Database offers a great deal of information to assist your research.
As you continue to scroll down through their profile, a timeline shows major events in their lives, like baptism dates, pioneer journeys, and more. Further down the page is a section titled, “Sources”. Click the categories of sources to find links to the original records that were used to include your ancestor in the Biographical Database.
Discover Your Ancestors in the Church History Biographical Database
The Church History Biographical Database is a rich resource for learning about family members who lived during the formative years of the Church. This free tool can help you draw closer to those who came before you and provide context for their lives. Many of the men and women found in the database were instrumental in establishing and growing Christ’s restored church. They stand as examples of true discipleship and faith.
There are many additional articles to explore about the database and it's the individuals it documents. If you have any questions about finding information about researching your ancestors in the records of the Church History Library, we invite you to reach out to our team of Research Consultants through our Ask Us service.
Happy researching!