Additional Resources
Baptism and Confirmation Information in Early Records Research Guide
Temple Index Bureau (TIB)
This resource is a microfilmed card index to endowments performed for the living and dead from 1842 to 1970. Most of the cards contain a baptismal date, but it may not be the original date for early members. Many early Church members’ information states “in the Church,” which usually indicates that the original date was unknown or had been forgotten. It is available in the special-collections area of the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. A brief guide for this resource is also available at the Family History Library.
Early Church Information File (ECIF)
This resource is a searchable database containing vital and biographical information about early Church members. It is available digitally through FamilySearch or upon request at the Church History Library in Salt Lake City. A detailed description of the ECIF’s content is available in the Family History Library’s Wiki at the following link: https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Early_Church_Information_File_(ECIF)
Newspaper Death Notices and Obituaries
Newspaper death notices and obituaries often stated the name of the community and/or local unit in which the deceased’s funeral was held.
The Utah Digital Newspapers project is a free online database of digitized and searchable Utah newspapers beginning in June 1850. It can help you find death notices and obituaries of people living in Utah and the Intermountain West from 1850 to 1920 and beyond (a few newspapers that have been digitized on the website extend well beyond the 1920s). Because of interconnected family relations and friendships among early Latter-day Saint settlers in the West, news of a person’s death was often reported to the Salt Lake City newspapers so that it could be spread to the far reaches of the newspapers’ subscribers.
A few Utah newspapers, plus some from adjoining states, are scanned and searchable at a free database hosted by the Library of Congress called Chronicling America.
Autobiographical and Biographical Writings
Autobiographical writings and biographical sketches may contain clues regarding early baptism and confirmation information. You can search the Church History Catalog for journals, family histories, and other personal papers.
In addition to the holdings of the Church History Library, tens of thousands of biographical sketches are available at the Daughters of Utah Pioneers Museum in Salt Lake City, Utah. The Daughters of Utah Pioneers website contains a listing of the life sketches and photographs in their collection.
Other Utah and intermountain, university, state, and local historical societies may also house autobiographical and biographical sketches.