A family history project for the Denton, Texas, community has taught Joe Price of Brigham Young University’s Record Linking Lab that when youth have a purpose, “they can really do amazing work,” he said.
Youth from two stakes in Springville, Utah, are teaming up with the Denton Texas Stake to link residents of 1900-1940 census records from the Denton area to the FamilySearch Family Tree.
“The goal is to make sure that everyone that lived in Denton, Texas, up until 1940, has a profile on the family tree,” said Price. “And then we’re working to find photographs for as many people as possible so that it can be a really rich discovery experience for people that discover their families.”
Price, who oversees the BYU Recording Linking Lab, is a high councilor in the Springville Utah Spring Creek Stake and organized the project to help youth connect family history to missionary work.
The project is being done in honor of Elder Luke Carter, one of two missionaries who died in a car accident in May while serving in Denton, Texas. The Carter family lives in Springville.
During two weeknight activities in September and November, youth from the Springville Utah Spring Creek South Stake and Springville Utah Spring Creek Stake added more than 4,000 families from Denton census records to the family tree.
Price explained how it works: “We have the census records, so we know who was living there at 10-year intervals, and that’s kind of our target group. … We can check to see who’s already on the tree, and if they’re not on the tree, then we look for a record hint that might help add them.”
Participants use customized record hints from the Recording Linking Lab’s automated tools as well as Goldie May, an automatic research log, to connect census records.
“By moving through censuses, you’re picking up kids that might have gotten missed, you might be finding a mother-in-law that’s living with a family, you might be picking up an uncle or aunt,” Price said. “Each time you attach a record, there’s the potential of adding people to the tree.”
The project document contains various tasks based on experience level and is open to the public. “We’ve set it up so anyone can help with those additional tasks,” Price said. The hope is that this project becomes a missionary tool in Denton for community members to learn more about their ancestors.
Paul Carter, Elder Carter’s younger brother, participated in the activity and spoke during a devotional about how much this project means to him, his family and the people in Denton where his brother served.
“It’s really cool to be able to do something like this big,” said Paul, a 17-year-old from the Spring Creek 1st Ward. “It definitely grants me a testimony of family history and that families continue even after we die.”
Travis Gervais, a 16-year-old from the Spring Creek 7th Ward, hadn’t done much family history prior to this activity and found it to be easier than he expected.
“Family history is something we think of that could be really hard or it takes a lot of time, but this showed me that this was an easy way I could get involved,” Travis said. “And it’s definitely something I plan on continuing to do. … It really helped me to see that I can make a difference. … These are real people.”
Elise Stolle of the Denton Texas Stake said leaders and youth are planning a family history activity for this project in January or February.
“It’s exciting to see all the work that can be done on both sides of the veil,” she said. “It’s also an incredible way to honor the missionaries who served in our stake and blessed so many while they were here.”
Price said he hopes the project helps youth “feel part of the gathering and to have the confidence and skills to make meaningful contributions to gathering on the family tree.”
The project can also provide inspiration for others to do family history to “prepare the ground” for missionaries serving from their families, wards and stakes, he added.
The bigger picture, Price said, “is that all of us can find a purpose.”
