International Genealogical Index

International Genealogical Index
Name	International Genealogical Index
Type	genealogical database
Owner	The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Launched	1969
Language	English and multiple languages
Country	United States

International Genealogical Index

The International Genealogical Index is a large compiled database of names and vital events assembled from parish registers, family group sheets, cemetery records, and submitted pedigrees, created and maintained by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It was initiated to support genealogical research tied to activities at Salt Lake City, and has been used by researchers tracing connections to figures such as George Washington, Queen Victoria, Napoleon Bonaparte, Abraham Lincoln, and Charles Darwin. The index intersects archival collections from repositories like the National Archives (United Kingdom), the Library of Congress, the British Library, the Vatican Secret Archives, and the National Archives and Records Administration.

Overview

The index aggregates entries for births, baptisms, marriages, deaths, burials, and family relationships sourced from civil registrations, parish registers, family histories, and contributor submissions tied to organizations including FamilySearch, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and affiliated genealogical societies such as the Society of Genealogists (London) and the New England Historic Genealogical Society. Entries reference jurisdictions ranging from England and Wales and Scotland to Ireland, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Mexico, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, and draw on materials connected to historical figures like Winston Churchill, Benjamin Franklin, Marie Curie, Mahatma Gandhi, and Simon Bolivar.

History and Development

Work on the index began in the late 1960s under the auspices of leaders in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who prioritized genealogical compilation to facilitate rites connected to biblical and patristic traditions such as those researched by scholars at institutions like Harvard University, Yale University, Princeton University, Oxford University, and Cambridge University. Early contributors included parish clerks from dioceses of the Church of England, volunteers linked to the Genealogical Society of Utah, and research staff from municipal archives in cities such as London, Edinburgh, Dublin, Paris, Berlin, and Rome. Major phases in development corresponded with the adoption of microfilm technology, cooperative agreements with the National Archives (United Kingdom), digitization projects influenced by standards from International Organization for Standardization committees, and later integration with online platforms pioneered by Ancestry.com and FamilySearch.

Content and Coverage

The database contains millions of records spanning medieval registers to 20th-century civil indexes, with notable coverage of parish registers referencing individuals connected to events like the English Reformation, the French Revolution, the American Revolution, the Napoleonic Wars, and the Industrial Revolution. Entries often cite sources such as parish register transcripts, cemetery inscriptions, probate records from institutions like the Prerogative Court of Canterbury, and family group sheets linked to families associated with names such as John Adams, Samuel Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, Andrew Jackson, Ulysses S. Grant, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and John F. Kennedy. Coverage varies by region and period; some areas such as parts of Scandinavia and Eastern Europe have more limited representation compared to repositories in England and the United States.

Access and Use

Access to the index has been provided through microfilm lending networks, on-site databases at Salt Lake City Family History Library, and online via platforms managed by FamilySearch and partner organizations including Ancestry.com and numerous regional archives like the New York Public Library and the National Library of Ireland. Researchers employ the index alongside primary resources from repositories such as the National Archives and Records Administration, the Public Record Office (UK), and municipal registries in cities like Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, and San Francisco when verifying lineages connected to figures such as Susan B. Anthony, Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass, Rosa Parks, and Martin Luther King Jr..

Criticisms and Controversies

Scholars and professional genealogists have raised concerns regarding the index’s reliance on unverified user-submitted pedigrees, transcription errors, and the potential for conflation of distinct individuals sharing common names found in records tied to events like the Irish Famine and mass migrations to Ellis Island. Critics from institutions such as the Society of Genealogists (London), the American Society of Genealogists, and librarians at the Library of Congress have noted cases where entries created confusion in research about families connected to historical personages like John Wilkes Booth and Aaron Burr. Ethical debates have also emerged involving privacy and the posthumous treatment of identities associated with controversial figures including Joseph Smith Jr. and leaders from wartime governments during the World War II era.

Legacy and Impact on Genealogy

Despite limitations, the index played a catalytic role in accelerating genealogical investigation practices used by amateur and professional researchers, influencing projects in digitization and indexing led by organizations such as FamilySearch, Ancestry.com, the National Genealogical Society, and archives at Harvard University, Yale University, and Stanford University. Its aggregation model informed subsequent databases that document lineages related to famed individuals like William Shakespeare, Catherine the Great, Tsar Nicholas II, Genghis Khan, Attila the Hun, Cleopatra, Charlemagne, Saladin, Christopher Columbus, and Marco Polo. The index’s repositories and cooperative frameworks contributed to modern standards in archival description, crowdsourced transcription projects, and international partnerships among institutions such as the British Library, the Bibliothèque nationale de France, the Vatican Secret Archives, and national archives across Europe, the Americas, Africa, and Asia.

Category:Genealogy