Pioneer Heritage Research

I have been researching for one of my 4-great grandparents who immigrated in 1854 to Utah and came across this website and thought I would share in hopes it might help someone in their research. The Utah Education Network, in partnership with the Utah State Board of Education, has a unique website focusing on Pioneers coming to Utah in the 1800s and some Modern Pioneers. 

The website is titled Heritage Gateways and has searchable stories and journal entries regarding specific pioneers from 1847 to 1868. Daily journals are also readable for a few people. If you have Pioneer Heritage, you might want to check out this site. Everything on it is free to read and has excellent insight into what it was like to be a Pioneer. Unfortunately, I didn't find anything on my ancestor on this site, so my quest continues. If you want to see if you have any of your Pioneer Ancestors or wish to learn more about the Pioneer experiences, click Heritage Gateways.

Field of Stones

Have you ever hit a brickwall in your family research in trying to find inforamtion regarding a family member's death. You have searched everywhere you can think of to try and find the inforation, but have come up empty handed.  I would suggest looking in some of the cemeteries of the area you know your ancestors have lived to see if they might be buried there.  This can be helpful, but at times, there are cemeteries that are located on homesteads and/or private propterty, making it difficult to research.  Have you ever wondered about the inaccessible cemeteries located all over the world? Cemeteries which are located on private property, or long lost cemeteries?  In my search for new resources for everyone, I came across a website Field of Stones - Homestead and Inaccessible Cemeteries located in Ontario Canada.  The site is hosted on roots web, which has always been a favorite place for me while researching my family lines.




The Field of Stone site provides links to various cemeteries in a variety of locations in Ontario Canada and the side administrators  encourage you to return frequently as they update the site with new images routinely.  The site provides you images of various grave markers located on Homestead and Inaccessible cemeteries. Some of the stones are easily readable as the one noted to the left. Others are more difficult to read, but the people who have posted them to the site provide you information about the stone including the names and dates like the stone to the right.  Yet other stones have become damaged through the years are and cracked or broken.  If you have Canadian roots, or would like to view some of the grave markers, click Field of Stones - Homestead and Inaccessible Cemeteries.

Mormon Battalion Records and Images

Have you ever wondered what your ancestor looked like? Or wondered if your Mormon Pioneer Ancestor was apart of the Mormon Battalion that served the United States during the Mexican war. The number of men that served in the Mormon Battalion numbered at 500. Some of the officers of the Mormon Battalion chose to take their families, their belongings and wagons with them at no expense to the United States and was acceptable to the US Army at the time. The number of families that went along with the Mormon Battalion numbered at 15 - 16 and also included 50 - 55 children. Some of the women served as laundresses for the unit and received a privates pay. The Mormon Battalion made the longest march in military history covering 2,000 miles beginning at Council Bluffs Iowa and ending in San Diego California.

This website has the complete transcribed company rosters including the officers, privates, and guides. One of the guides that might spark you interest is Jean Baptiste Charbonneau (the son of Sacajawea and Toussaint Charbonneau). The women are listed with the companies and also includes the names of the children. The databases include pictures which are searchable under the Gallery Link. Some of the men that served in the battalion also have a short biography on this site. If you have ancestors that participated in the Mormon Battalion or think that you might have an ancestor who was in the Battalion, this site is worth checking out. Click here to be redirected to the Mormon Battalion website. Have fun in your quest.

Overland Trails Letters and Diaries

The Trail of Hope Website, sponsored at Brigham Young University is a collection of 49 Pioneers that traveled across the lone wilderness on the Mormon, California, Oregon, and Montana trails. Information provided on this site covers the time period in American History between 1846 to 1869. The writings that have been digitized and organized in an easily searched format which include their thoughts, hope, trials, pictures, maps and numerous other tid bits of information that would be interesting to those searching for their pioneer ancestors.

The writings of these Pioneers, will help one to understand what it may have been like for their own ancestors in traveling across the plains. If you would like to browse and learn more about the Overland Trails, click
here to transfer to this site.

Early Latter-Day Saint Database

The Early Latter-Day Saint Database is a combination of records from the Land and Records Office in Nauvoo Illinois, some census records, and over 100 books that center around the Early Latter-Day Saint time period. This database is a work in progress, but is easily searched. The information that is attainable from the database includes birth date and place, residence, death date and place if applicable, and notes and sources for the data that you are viewing.

If you want to view this website, please check out the link listed on the left toolbar or click here.