The International Genealogical Index

Wouldn't it be nice to have many genealogical records all grouped together in one place for easy viewing? The International Genealogical Index brings you something that comes close. The IGI may assist you with finding an ancestor if you hit a brick wall with your other searches.

The International Genealogical Index or IGI is a compilation of names, dates, and events from a variety of sources that have been gathered together into one single database. This database was developed and maintained by the Church of Latter Day Saints, the Mormons. The main function of the database was to keep a log of all church members to administer temple ordinances, a tradition in the Mormon Church. Certain rites were performed for dead relatives and then recorded in these records.

The database now has listings for many individuals who lived and/or died between the years of 1500 and 1900 and lived in the United States, Canada, and Europe. That covers a large area and time frame and is a great help to those trying to locate information on ancestors who lived in any of those three places. If you use FamilySearch.com, you have access to the IGI since the Mormon Church runs this database. For the index, you need to know at least the first and/or last name of the ancestor and the country where they lived.

Since the database was set up for church members, there are references to rites if they were administered. People named in the index also have other interesting information listed like when they were married, how many children they had, and where they lived. The index also names the sources of the information so that you can further dig into the entries and possibly find out even more information on your own.

Early information in the IGI was mostly church members whose names were volunteered by their families. If you know your family's church affiliation was Mormon, it should not be a problem to locate their names if they are there. Around the time the database was set up in 1969, the Mormon Church were searching for and pulling names from church records in European countries. Every entry has a batch number that includes a letter and two numbers that refer to the year the information was received.

There is no guarantee that you will find a reference to a relative in the IGI but it is definitely worth a look. Some entries have the same name and you'll need to follow up on both to see if either will pan out to be the specific person you are searching for. Sometimes it takes a bit of sleuthing to figure out your family history, but it can be so much fun and is absolutely well worth the work in the end.