Blog = Research Journal

-

Last fall I graduated from the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Scotland.  Their MSc program in Genealogical Studies permitted me to focus my dissertation research on three of my favorite topics: ENGLAND GENEALOGY, MISSIONARY WORK, and the MORMON MIGRATION.  My paper highlighted the journals/diaries of early Latter-day Saint missionaries as an underutilized resource for genealogists.  It also looked closely at the characteristics of early English converts to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in an attempt to learn more about those who did not migrate to "Zion."

As a result of the research conducted, I found myself uncovering the names of many people who had once been members of the Church, but who did not (for a wide variety of reasons), move with the massive migrations of Saints to the western U.S.  Migrant Saints are often well-studied.  Non-migrant Saints are less-studied, and in many cases, they have been lost to Church History.  The paper has been written and the degree awarded, but my work is not done.  Having uncovered many names of early non-migrant Saints, I now seek to research them more fully and to document their stories.  One. By. One.  I'm no longer on a deadline, but the responsibility of this discovery weighs on me.  These people are real.  Their stories are real.  The baptismal covenant they once entered into with God is significant.  They deserve to be more accurately documented.  A blog format seemed like a good way to journal the endeavor.

As an active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, gathering Israel is very important to me.  This means being involved in finding and connecting God's family (all of us) together in FamilySearch's Tree, and offering the covenantal ordinances available in Latter-day Saint temples to each individual.  Therefore, my goal is to:

  1. Research named branch members (the non-migrants) that I have discovered in missionary journals, and also research their family members.  Many of these people will not have had ordinances performed on their behalf yet, and even those who were once baptized may not have had that ordinance officially documented (thereby requiring that it be performed again).
  2. Add my findings and sources to FamilySearch's Tree.
  3. Track ordinances (make note of those that are potentially available for their living relatives to perform). *Even though I will only be able to perform ordinances for those who I happen to be related to, I will watch to see that the ordinances are eventually performed.  After all, it's love and time that I'm investing in these people ... I'd like to know they've been offered this gift.
Each member researched gets their own blog post (well, they'll share it with all the family members I uncover during the course of the research).  Wish me luck, I have a feeling this project is not going to end any time soon.

-Jana

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Hindley Family Follow-up Part 2

-
Image
Working on George Rostron & Eunice Hindley's other children (beyond Elizabeth, who was researched in the previous post)... Samuel Their oldest child, Samuel, was born in Manchester about 1863 (according to the 1871 and 1881 censuses where he is listed with his parents).  While no 1901 census is evident for him yet, a solid possibility appears on the 1891 , 1911 , and 1921 censuses for Samuel.  His wife, in this case, was Elizabeth Ann, they were the same age, and she was born in Hollinwood (next-door to Failsworth, where Samuel grew up).  The 1911 census makes it clear that they were married in 1884 and had no children.  A marriage was registered in the correct district in 1884 for a Samuel Rostron to Elizabeth Ann Schofield.  While this couple has not been conclusively proven to match, they represent a highly likely possibility. Eliza Ann The next child proved to be easier to follow.  Eliza Ann was living in the same 1871 and 1881 censuses with her...
Read more

Hindley Family Follow-Up

-
There were more Hindleys to research ... On closer investigation of Robert's descendants, many more can be added to the Tree: His daughter Eunice married George Rostron and had six known children.  Researching through these children led to the discovery of Elizabeth 's husband Robert Holt and their five children, Samuel, Alice, Ada, Ernest, and Robert Cyril. Robert Cyril With the youngest of these children having a unique name, it was easy to find him online, and unfortunately, he was killed at war: https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2494468/robert-cyril-holt/ He left a young widow, Sarah Louise Caine Holt, and daughter, Jean Elizabeth Holt (who eventually married Douglas Cunningham, and from the sound of their obituaries, has many living descendants). Ernest, Ada, Alice & Samuel There are many people by these names in the Manchester area during this time period ... a few too many to pin down where they went (yet).  Ada was still single (age 4...
Read more

Hindley Research PLAN

-
Image
As I can tell that Robert Hindley probably had a much bigger posterity than I've had the chance to research so far, and because I'm very curious about the potential ordinance quantity for the descendants of this one early saint, I will continue the research!  But it's time for some organization.  Here is a checklist to track my research of his descendants through each of his children.   JOSEPH is up next...
Read more