What Is The Location Accuracy Of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Record of Members?
Please refer to William Cavanagh (KWNX-853).
He has two Research Helps for a 25 March 1881 Baptism and 26 March 1881 Confirmation. The record is Miscellaneous-The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Records of Members (Worldwide), 1836-1970.
The event place in the record is Utah, United States. This not correct. Based on his children's birth dates and places, he is in the United Kingdom, and probably in Scotland. William and his family have a lot of these record sources, and I'm concerned about the event place accuracy in the attached records.
Thanks, David
Answers
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There is a similar issue with the United States, Veterans Administration Master Index, 1917-1940 collection https://www.familysearch.org/en/search/collection/2968245
The collection mostly comes from the St. Louis, Missouri, Archives. Unfortunately, that St. Louis location is often interpreted as the veterans' service location.I'm sure there are other collections similarly affected by the repository location.
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@DavidNCraig Neither of these record hints are for a baptism or a confirmation. The event type is "Membership" and since there is no event date given, it must be assumed the records were created after he had immigrated to Utah. I would guess the records represent membership rolls in which there was a column to include birth and confirmation information.
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Copied from the research help-
Name
William Cavanagh
Birth Date
1 October 1854
Birthplace
Belfast Co, Antrim, Ireland
Baptism Date
25 March 1881
Event Type
Membership
Event Place
Utah, United States
Affiliate Publication Number
CR 375 8/b7113/f0001
Affiliate Publication Title
Record of Members, 1836-1970
Note
Confirmed 26 Mar 1881 By F Paton
How is this not a Baptism or Confirmation event?
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@DavidNCraig The "Event Type" is the primary event for which the document was created. All other events are secondary information found on the document.
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Hmmmmm, seems an unusual practice to create a Membership Record after immigrating to Utah. If out of country converts did not move to Utah, did they have a Membership Record? Is this Membership Record at a Church HQ level? Or a local Ward/Stake Membership Record?
Thanks and apologies for the many questions.
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FS Wiki article on Church membership records:
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The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints creates a membership record for every baptized member of the Church. While a member is living, this record is maintained at the local level under the stewardship of the bishop.
All membership records are permanently retained, including those of deceased members. Historically, deceased members’ records were transferred to archival collections until 1988, when the Church completed the transition to a fully digital system.
Since 1988, all membership records—living and deceased—have been preserved in the Church’s digital membership database, where they form part of the permanent historical record of the Church.
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@Bryan54
Thanks. As a member and former Ward Clerk, I'm aware of the current Convert Baptism and Membership Record process.
So back to this "Membership Event" question. Was there a Membership created in Scotland when William was baptized 25 March 1881? If so, is this record that event?
Or as SerraNola suggested, is this a "Membership Event" in Utah after immigration? If it is in Utah, is the "Membership Event" at a local Ward/Stake level? Or at a Church HQ level?
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