Information about more than 100,000 pioneers and missionaries from 1830-1940 in Church history are now all in one place. The Church History Department’s Missionary Database and Pioneer Database have been merged into the Church history Biographical Database, online at BiographicalDatabase.ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
Elder LeGrand R. Curtis Jr., General Authority Seventy and Church historian, announced the database at RootsTech 2022 on Thursday, March 3.
“In developing this new database, we maintained the information, functionality, and ease of use from the Pioneer and Missionary Databases and added new features,” Elder Curtis said.
Events from each person’s life are displayed in a timeline, with any available information, such as parents and baptism information, with links to the sources. Filters have also been added to narrow results.
The Pioneer Database was launched in 1998 based on research gathered by historians on early Church members. The Missionary Database was launched in 2016 and includes information on more than 44,000 missionaries from 1830 to 1940.
“The Biographical Database is a powerful research tool. However, we’re not finished with it. For years to come, we will continue adding information to the database. For example, we are currently working to add data about the participants in the Mormon Battalion; we will also add information on early Latter-day Saints who lived in Nauvoo,” Elder Curtis said.
After those two have been added, additional datasets of other pioneers from around the world will be identified and added to the database, he said.
“I know that this new tool can bless our lives — and, by extension, our ancestors’ lives, as our hearts are turned to them,” Elder Curtis said.
Here is an overview, including demonstrations, of the Church History Biographical Database by Ryan L. Combs: