Two First-Rate Pioneers
Bary and Jan Gammell August 26, 2015 By Glen N. Greener
Indexing of genealogical records has been an important program in the Utah State Corrections facilities for years, but there were no indexing programs in county jails. Two years ago, after a successful pilot program in two jail facilities, Bary and Jan Gammell took on the task of creating the manuals, technology guides, and procedures to give county jail inmates the opportunity to index historic records. Then the Gammells set out to . . .
Indexing of genealogical records has been an important program in the Utah State Corrections facilities for years, but there were no indexing programs in county jails. Two years ago, after a successful pilot program in two jail facilities, Bary and Jan Gammell took on the task of creating the manuals, technology guides, and procedures to give county jail inmates the opportunity to index historic records. Then the Gammells set out to . . .
start indexing programs at each of the selected prisons and jails. That involved working with corrections officials, law enforcement, local volunteers, and church leaders.
The Gammells work as volunteer service missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. They pioneered the FamilySearch indexing program for the inmates and support those facilities with great success.
Now, the inmate indexing program involves 170 volunteers working with over 600 inmate indexers per month. More than 4,000 inmates have participated in the last two years.
Between 400,000 and 600,000 names are indexed and arbitrated every month. Some facilities have extraordinary periods of productivity. Inmates at the Kane County Jail in Kanab, Utah, indexed and arbitrated 1 million names in one month.
The Gammells work as volunteer service missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. They pioneered the FamilySearch indexing program for the inmates and support those facilities with great success.
Now, the inmate indexing program involves 170 volunteers working with over 600 inmate indexers per month. More than 4,000 inmates have participated in the last two years.
Between 400,000 and 600,000 names are indexed and arbitrated every month. Some facilities have extraordinary periods of productivity. Inmates at the Kane County Jail in Kanab, Utah, indexed and arbitrated 1 million names in one month.
Kane County Jail in Kanab, Utah,
The statistics are not as important nor as impressive as the affect this work has on the lives of inmates. A typical email the Gammells receive from other volunteers quoted inmates they heard talking about indexing: “One said he got hooked when he was indexing military records and had been touched by the service of the men whose records he was doing. Another had been doing immigration records and found a woman with the same name as his grandmother. Then one inmate said, I promise you if you keep coming here each time that this work will change your life.”
Prisoners Rescuing Prisoners: Indexing at Utah State Prison
The opportunity to participate in the indexing program is open to all inmates. Those privileges become very important to them. There are many stories of lives changing through learning to serve in this way. Some inmates start off with skeptical and tough demeanors and soon discover a sense of satisfaction and peace through service and a sense of history.
The Gammells have driven over 40,000 miles in their pioneering journey. They have found many friends among volunteers, county sheriffs and deputies, and corrections officials from Arizona to Idaho. Their work has touched thousands of lives for the better—not to mention the millions of names added to FamilySearch databases. The Gammells are also an important resource if you want to know where to find the best pie or fried chicken in scores of towns in remote areas.
In terms of distance covered, time spent, and good works, Bary and Jan Gammell are first-rate pioneers.
The Gammells have driven over 40,000 miles in their pioneering journey. They have found many friends among volunteers, county sheriffs and deputies, and corrections officials from Arizona to Idaho. Their work has touched thousands of lives for the better—not to mention the millions of names added to FamilySearch databases. The Gammells are also an important resource if you want to know where to find the best pie or fried chicken in scores of towns in remote areas.
In terms of distance covered, time spent, and good works, Bary and Jan Gammell are first-rate pioneers.