Dwight Robinson, one of our faithful family history center staff, told us an experience as a consultant in his ward. He had helped a fellow ward member find ancestors back through the early 1800s in several of his family lines, almost all of them located here in North Carolina in those early years.
He was impressed one day to try to search for possible links for this member's genealogy in the Pedigree Resource file discs we have at the center. He discovered that earlier than about 1850, almost all the names showed up on the discs and . . .
He was impressed one day to try to search for possible links for this member's genealogy in the Pedigree Resource file discs we have at the center. He discovered that earlier than about 1850, almost all the names showed up on the discs and . . .
almost all had birth and death dates consistent with what the member he had been helping had found locally. However, none of the names with birth dates after the 1840s showed any correlation.
Further research in the resource file revealed that one of the male ancestors had been endowed in the Nauvoo Temple during the brief period it was open. That was the clue. It became clear that, somehow, this man's parents had learned of the gospel and had traveled to join with the saints in Nauvoo. They had apparently been disowned by their non-member family in North Carolina, with their names simply removed from all family records. His father's brothers and sisters appeared on both local records and in the Pedigree Resource File, but his name did not appear at all on the local records in North Carolina.
Brother Robinson was able to provide the member he was helping detailed information about an extensive branch of his family that had joined the Church and were pioneers who had been members ever since the Nauvoo days. Needless to say, the member was delighted to learn of his Mormon pioneer ancestry. — Robert D. Collier, director, Asheville North Carolina Family History Center. From the LDS Church News
Further research in the resource file revealed that one of the male ancestors had been endowed in the Nauvoo Temple during the brief period it was open. That was the clue. It became clear that, somehow, this man's parents had learned of the gospel and had traveled to join with the saints in Nauvoo. They had apparently been disowned by their non-member family in North Carolina, with their names simply removed from all family records. His father's brothers and sisters appeared on both local records and in the Pedigree Resource File, but his name did not appear at all on the local records in North Carolina.
Brother Robinson was able to provide the member he was helping detailed information about an extensive branch of his family that had joined the Church and were pioneers who had been members ever since the Nauvoo days. Needless to say, the member was delighted to learn of his Mormon pioneer ancestry. — Robert D. Collier, director, Asheville North Carolina Family History Center. From the LDS Church News