[Ger-Poland-Volhynia] Church Records of Latter Day Saints

[Bronwyn Klimach]

The IGS and other secondary sources are often a most valuable pointer to
where to find register entries, but should never be taken as 'fact'.  The
Mormons provide such a valuable service to genealogists via their filming
work which is so readily shared that it seems a shame human error (or
carelessness) in their secondary sources can detract from this.  Their
Family History Centre in London is staffed by such helpful and
pleasant people that it is always a pleasure to go there to do research; I
suspect it is the same in most of their centres.
We all need to cross-check information sent to us from whatever source
against original records.
Happy researching,
Bronwyn Klimach.



On 6/27/06, Nancy Gertner <nancygertner at mac.com> wrote:
>
> I also have found errors in LDS records, but think this first
> statement is a little too general, so that it may be misleading.
>
> The LDS Church has a repository of records unparalleled by anyone else.
>
> The accessibility is facilitated worldwide via their branch Family
> History Centers.
>
> The records that may be most prone to the errors Jennifer mentioned
> are the ancestry records that were submitted by a church member to
> fulfill a requirement to document their genealogy.
>
> In fulfilling this 'homework' assignment and perhaps meeting a
> deadline, errors are perpetuated.
>
> These are Secondary Records if they are not the actual records
> (Primary Records) that documented the event, like the church record
> of a baptism or death or funeral or marriage.  Researchers should
> always question the accuracy of Secondary Records.  Especially if
> they don't cite any reference for the data.
>
> An example of errors that I found for my ancestors were stating that
> the birthplaces of my immigrant great-grandparents was the same as
> their place of death.  This shows them born in Minnesota in the 1840s
> and 1850s, before statehood and before it was even a territory, and
> the prairie where they homesteaded in the 1870s was was probably
> populated only by Bison and other native species.
>
> Nancy
>
> On Jun 27, 2006, at 12:04 PM, Jennifer K. Walker wrote:
>
> > I have found the records of the Mormon Church/Latter Day Saints to
> > be full
> > of errors.  I have checked and rechecked much of the information
> > that is
> > there, and ultimately have concluded that, as far as my research is
> > concerned, their records are not reliable.
> >
> > I discussed this with a distant cousin of mine who was also
> > researching our
> > family, after she converted to the Mormon Church.  She made the
> > point that
> > new converts MUST research their family in order to become members
> > (in an
> > effort to pray for all those who have died previously, so that they
> > can be
> > brought into Heaven.)  As a result many of those who have submitted
> > their
> > records have done so hastily and without much scrutiny of the
> > records.  It
> > is these records which are maintained by the church.
> >
> > Jennifer Walker
> > ---------------------------
>
>
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