Selected Digital Collections
Pioneer-Era Journals Research Guide
This section highlights a few locations where digitized pioneer journals and related materials can be located. This is only a sample list and does not represent every institution, library, or archive that houses Latter-day Saint pioneer-related materials. Suggestions on how to find accessible online materials for each institution are provided in the description. Links to selected journal or diary collections housed at each institution have also been included. Some links redirect to websites not sponsored by the Church, and the Church does not endorse the content.
Church History Library
The easiest way to find pioneer journals at the Church History Library is by searching the catalog. The catalog can be searched by name or topic. If you do not have the name of a specific pioneer in mind, simply search the word “pioneer.” On the results page, select the filter for “Journals” (filters appear on the left side of the screen). Search results can be narrowed further by selecting additional filters. Selecting “Digital” will result in a list of items available for viewing online.
These are some noteworthy pioneer journal and diary collections at the Church History Library that have been digitized and are available to view online:
Wilford Woodruff journals and papers, 1828–1898 (MS 1352)
Eliza R. Snow journal, 1842–1882 (MS 1439)
William Clayton diaries, 1846–1853 (MS 1406)
Patty B. Sessions diaries and account book, 1846–1866; 1880 (MS 1462)
Horace K. Whitney journals, 1843; 1846–1847 (MS 1616)
Eliza P. Lyman journal, 1846 February–1885 December, 1927 (MS 1527)
Another tool offered by the Church History Library is the Church History Biographical Database. Doing a keyword search for “journal,” “diary,” “life sketch,” and so on will yield references to many pioneer journals.
FamilySearch
FamilySearch features digitized copies of original and transcribed pioneer journals. In order to access the materials on FamilySearch, it is required to have an account. Accounts are free and take only a few minutes to create. Click here to create an account.
Many transcriptions and life sketches can be found in the “Memories” on the profiles of individual pioneers. Others can be found in the FamilySearch Digital Library. More advanced researchers may choose to look for pioneer journals by searching the FamilySearch Catalog. Experiment with different key words and search terms while exploring these sites. Simply searching for “pioneer journal” may not yield as many results as hoped. Try searching by the word “pioneer” or “life sketch” or just “journal.”
L. Tom Perry Special Collections
Among the Digital Collections in the L. Tom Perry Special Collections at BYU is the Trails of Hope: Overland Diaries and Letters, 1846–1869 collection. This collection features journals, maps, and illustrations.
Utah State University, Special Collections and Archives
Among the digitized items at the USU Special Collections and Archives is the Historical Diaries collection. A researcher can enter the collection immediately and explore the contents. Or by scrolling down on the home page the researcher will find “Topic,” “Name,” and “Place” browsing lists, which simplify the search for pioneer journals. “Pioneer” does not show up under “Topic.” In this collection, “Early Settlers” includes pioneer-related materials. The topics of “Polygamy,” “Women’s Diaries,” and “19th Century Diaries” also include pioneer-era-related materials.
The Special Collections and Archives houses additional collections and items that have not been digitized. Click here to search their inventory catalog for additional materials. Some of their digitized pioneer journals include the following:
Mary E. Perkes journal (CAINE COLL MSS 1, Box 2, Folder 13)
John Clarke Dowdle Journal transcription, 1844–1908 (979.2 R426 v. 9)
Mary Ann Weston Maughan journal (979.2 R426 v. 1)
Mountain West Digital Library and J. Willard Marriott Library
Mountain West Digital Library is a collaborative digital library project that began in 2001. Since then, the program has partnered with many libraries, museums, and archives throughout most of the intermountain west and Hawaii. Among their digital holdings is the American Westward Migration collection. The physical contents of this collection are housed at the J. Willard Marriott Library at the University of Utah. The collection features many journals, transcripts, and other pioneer artifacts.
To access the digital items in the American Westward Migration collection, begin by clicking on the title of the journal or item of interest. A new page will open with additional information about the item. On that page, select Online Access. Doing so will redirect the researcher to the item’s page on the J. Willard Marriott Library website. The digital “Contents” of the collection will appear on the right. Click on one of the images and a viewer will open so the item or collection can be fully explored. Give the steps a try using the Diary of Joseph C. Kingsbury or Diary of Frederick Kesler, 1859–1874.
Beyond what is available on the Mountain West Digital Library, the University of Utah houses additional collections and items. Some are available digitally, and others are not. Additional online material from the J. Willard Marriott Library can be searched for on their Digital Library website. Finding aids and registers for nondigitized items can be found on Archives West. For example, click here to see the finding aid for the “Mormon diaries, 1820–1936” collection.
The Huntington Library and the Library of Congress
Not all Latter-day Saint pioneer journals are housed at institutions in Utah. For instance, the Huntington Library in California and the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., each have extensive collections related to the history of the Church.
Among the many holdings at the Huntington Library is the Mormonism and the West collection, which features hundreds of Latter-day Saint journals, life sketches, reminiscences, and so on. Not all of the items in this collection fall within the 1847–1868 time frame, so, when looking for pioneer content, pay attention to the dates in the item titles and descriptions.