29 March 2015

Nauvoo Community Project

I was updating my files for relatives I am watching on FamilySearch. I came across Sylvia Eliza Sanford's page and noticed that the BYU Center for Family History and Genealogy attached a Research Log for Sylvia and a note that says For more information refer to http://nauvoo.byu.edu.


"Family history students at Brigham Young University's Center for Family History and Genealogy are working in conjunction with LDS Church Historic Sites to identify the residents of Nauvoo, Illinois, from 1839 to 1846. Wherever possible, each resident will be documented from birth to death in the records of the time. This data is available to all who are interested in the history of the community, as well as descendants seeking information about their families"
The Research Log is in a pdf format and contains information and links to records that pertain to the person being researched. 





As I looked through this research log I have found all of the information except for the1850 U.S. Census from the Utah Territory. I did not think to look here because as the Research Log shows Sylvia traveled to Utah in the William Snow/Joseph Young Company arriving in Utah in October of 1850. I thought they would have been enumerated in Illinois or Iowa but more likely they would have been left off the census as they traveled overland to Salt Lake.

The Nauvoo Community Project website has a search feature that allows you to look for ancestors, their families and any other people who lived in Nauvoo, Illinois.


This project is dated 2010 but the research done on my ancestor was completed on my birthday, 10 March 2015. This website is an invaluable resource for tracking early members of the LDS church.

On a personal note: I found myself unemployed from a reduction in force from the company I have worked at for the last 14 years. I actually was laid off just before RootsTech. Since then I have made finding a new job my full time job. As of today I have applied for 47 different positions, had five interviews and eight rejection letters. I did not intend to stop blogging but have found my regular schedule does not work for me anymore. I intend to continue blogging regularly and I apologize for my brief absence.