News of the Family History Library 35 North West Temple Street, Salt Lake City, Utah 84150 Vol. 2, No. 6 November/December 1990 News of the Family History Library is published six times yearly by the Family History Department of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. ISSN 1052-8644. Not available by subscription. General information about the hours and services of the Family History Library is available at 801-240-2331. Comments are welcome. Please address them to Editor, News of the Family History Library, 35 North West Temple Street, Salt Lake City, UT 84150. From the Director Genealogists are experiencing a ground swell of interest in sharing the results of their research. Enthusiasm has come easily as they become aware of new technological advances, such as large pedigree-linked computer files, which are potentially helpful to researchers everywhere. We hope Ancestral File will become a resource which accurately identifies our connections back to the forefathers common to so many pedigrees. With its ability to automate, store, and correct genealogical data, such a file will assist a broad spectrum of ancestor hunters. Automating information about the founding fathers of individual nations should be on the agenda for cooperation in the genealogical community. Many families in the United States, for example, claim a proud heritage from individuals who lived before the Revolutionary War. And where are the linked records that can build Ancestral File to capacity? They are in the personal files of untold numbers of family organizations, hobbyists, families, professional genealogists, and various organizations with genealogical interests. Many of these organizations need genealogical evidence and pedigrees to satisfy membership requirements. Others simply maintain biographical or membership files or collect ancestral pedigrees which may be six- or seven-generation lineages, complete with source references. In spite of the work of the numerous patriotic and hereditary organizations which collect multi-generational pedigrees, many genealogists still struggle through years of research to establish a connection to a single colonial ancestor. Ancestral File can potentially eliminate much of this struggle. In this issue of the News we focus on the records of hereditary lineage societies and also provide an update on Ancestral File. -David M. Mayfield Compiled U.S. Lineage Society Records After the American Revolution, prominent citizens began to form exclusive social and service organizations and join hereditary and patriotic societies. Many societies were organized in the late 1880s and 1890s when membership became very popular. Societies restricted membership to those who could show their descent from an individual who served during a military conflict, immigrated from a particular country, or lived during the colonial period. Today there are a total of about 425,000 members in the 70 largest active lineage societies. One of your ancestors or relatives may have submitted application papers -including a pedigree- in order to join such a society. Often these records include multi-generational pedigrees and information from family Bibles, vital records, military records, and histories. Family History Library Holdings The Family History Library has numerous microfilms and books containing lineage society records. These records include application papers, yearbooks, ancestor rolls, membership rosters, and society publications. They are listed in the locality section of the Family History Library Catalog under one of the following headings: United States - Societies United States - Genealogy state - Societies state - Genealogy The library has major microfilmed collections from the following United States lineage societies: Colonial Society of Pennsylvania (members have ancestors who lived in North America before 1700). Holdings include applications of living and deceased members as of 1968 listed alphabetically by members' names (18 microfilms). Daughters of the Cincinnati (members are women descendants of officers of the Continental Army or Navy). Holdings include 962 application packets, as of 1973, and ancestor and member indexes (15 films). General Society of Colonial Wars (members' ancestors served in the military or in a legislative office between 1607 and 1775). Holdings include 14,200 lineage papers and 62 volumes of supplemental papers submitted by 1967 and indexes to ancestors and to lineage papers (209 films). General Society of Mayflower Descendants (members are descendants of a passenger on the 1620 voyage of the Mayflower). Holdings include: Bowman Files of Mayflower Descendants by 23 key immigrants (232 microfiche); the Mayflower Register by Emmett Woodworth; 110,000 index cards of descendants as of 1957 and 160,000 index cards from 1957 to 1966 (35 films); and 84 volumes of alphabetically arranged family group records submitted to the California Society by 1975 (53 films). General Society of the War of 1812 (members' ancestors served the United States in the War of 1812). Holdings include 3,180 applications submitted by 1964 and indexes arranged alphabetically and by society number (14 films). Holland Society of New York (members' ancestors settled in New Netherlands prior to 1675). Holdings include membership files as of 1977 arranged alphabetically by names of members (47 microfilms) and manuscript genealogical files arranged alphabetically by family name (41 films). Huguenot Society of Pennsylvania (members' ancestors were Huguenots who immigrated before 1788). Holdings include 2,820 applications submitted before 1967 and an ancestor index (12 films). National Society, Daughters of the American Revolution (members are women with male or female ancestors who were loyal to the cause of American independence). Holdings include 671 volumes of DAR Grandparent Forms compiled by 1960 and 13 alphabetical series arranged by the names of the grandparents of DAR members (367 films). National Society, Daughters of the Revolution of 1776 (members' ancestors gave civil, military, or political aid to American independence). Holdings include 8,800 application papers and 2,700 Junior Auxiliary papers as of 1969. Card index at the Suffolk County, New York, Historical Society (85 films). National Society of New England Women (members' ancestors were born in New England prior to 1789). Holdings include 15,600 applications submitted before 1972 and indexed in three parts by -colony- chapters and by names of members (59 films). National Society of the Colonial Dames of America, State of New York (membership rules are set by various state societies). Holdings include 3,320 membership files as of 1977 (105 films). National Society of the Colonial Dames of the XVII Century (current members have ancestors who rendered civil or military service in a British colony before 1701). Holdings include 13,200 applications in 59 volumes; 22 volumes of supplemental papers submitted by 1975; indexes to ancestors, memberships, and chapters (72 films); and family files and index (83 films). National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution (members' ancestors were active with the Americans in the Revolutionary War). Holdings include 99,980 applications as of 1977 and indexes of ancestors and applicants (483 films). Order of Founders and Patriots of America (membership is based on descent from an ancestor who lived in the colonies before 1657 and a second ancestor, with the same surname as the first, who served during the Revolutionary War). Holdings include 4,100 applications as of 1978, indexed by names of members (25 films). The Relationship of Lineage Society Records to Genealogical Databases Using a sample of 126 colonial ancestors randomly selected from the numerous rolls of lineage societies, we discovered the following after a search of three of our predominant databases: Thirty-five percent of the ancestors were found in the Family Registry (which contains 300,000 names, mostly U.S.). Thirty percent were in the U.S. portion of the International Genealogical Index (19.5 million U.S. names). Thirty percent were found in Ancestral File (7.6 million worldwide names). Thirteen percent of the names were in all three files. Despite the size of the existing genealogical databases, the addition of colonial names from lineage society application papers and the personal files of genealogists would greatly improve the databases. Furthermore, societies would benefit by contributing their information to a central computer database. We learned that 25 percent of the 126 ancestors were found on the ancestor rolls of only one of the seven societies surveyed. However, of the 75 percent of the ancestors on the rolls of more than one society, 45 percent were listed by at least four societies. If these societies had coordinated their research, 43 of the ancestors in this study would not have had to be researched at least four times. Any given society member could have thousands of present-day descendants who could also benefit if lineage society information were added to a central database such as Ancestral File. The seven lineage societies studied were the Colonial Dames of America, Children of the American Colonists, Daughters of the American Colonists, Daughters of Colonial Wars, Descendants of Colonial Governors, Founders and Patriots of America, and Colonial Dames of the XVII Century. The ancestors selected were born between 1580 and 1680 and had descendants who had researched the pedigree in order to join a lineage society. The need to identify and automate genealogical information on colonial ancestors is evident. Genealogical software such as Personal Ancestral File and databases such as Ancestral File provide the way. We urge all who are interested to contribute colonial family information and pedigrees to Ancestral File so that researchers who cannot now find needed information in records prior to 1850 (when census and other records may have little research value) will have an avenue to success. Current Organizational Information Current addresses, functions, and membership requirements of fraternal, ethnic, veteran, hereditary, patriotic, and other organizations are listed in the Encyclopedia of Associations, 23rd edition, published annually (Detroit: Gale Research Co., 1989- ; FHL Ref. book 973 E4gr). Addresses, membership requirements, and annotated descriptions of the library's holdings are in the new edition of the Register of U.S. Lineage Societies, compiled by Jayare Roberts and Dorothy Hebertson (Salt Lake City: Family History Library, 1990; FHL book 973 C43r; microfiche 6,050,647). Update: Ancestral File Ancestral File is now available in approximately 670 FamilySearch workstations in hundreds of LDS family history centers. Updating Previous Contributions If you have made corrections or additions to your family information since your original contribution to Ancestral File, feel free to submit the new information on a diskette in GEDCOM format. You will not need to state any Ancestral File number. The address is the same as for an original contribution. Ancestral File Unit, 2WW 50 East North Temple Street Salt Lake City, Utah 84150 Contributing Pre-1500 Names Because of the complexity of medieval research, the library has organized a Medieval Families Unit that has done research on pre-1500 family lines for years. This information is in Ancestral File. Before adding the pre-1500 names you may have on your pedigree, please search the file and, if necessary, coordinate your research with the Medieval Families Unit. Medieval Families Unit, 2WW 50 East North Temple Street Salt Lake City, Utah 84150 (Telephone: 1-801-240-2399) Determining What Information to Add Compiled Research. You may want to search the following resources for previous research about your ancestors: The International Genealogical Index lists 147 million names of deceased individuals found primarily in birth and marriage records. The Family History Library Catalog lists over 85,000 compiled genealogies. A Surname Search may reveal books or newsletters for your name. The Family Group Records Collection consists of about 8,000,000 family group records for families from all over the world. The main section, compiled between 1942 and 1970, is alphabetical and available on microfilm which may be loaned to family history centers. (See the author/title section of the Family History Library Catalog on microfiche under Family Group Records Collection.) Original Research. If you cannot find the information you need by searching compiled records, you may want to research original ones. The Family History Library Catalog describes over 1,600,000 microfilms containing original records such as christenings, marriages, censuses, wills, pensions, and passenger lists. Other libraries with genealogical collections will also help you identify and link ancestral families. You will find 13,000 listings of libraries and societies, including almost 1,000 genealogical societies, in Directory of Historical Organizations in the United States and Canada, 14th edition, edited by Mary Bray Wheeler (Nashville: American Association for State and Local History, 1990. FHL book 970 H24d). Personal Ancestral File is a registered trademark and Ancestral File, Family History Library Catalog, Family Registry, and the International Genealogical Index are trademarks of Corporation of the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.