Check Mail for Important Four-Generation Information

If you are among the many who have submitted four-generation family group records and pedigree charts within the last year, you have likely received a letter from the Church Genealogical Department.

The letter, signed by Elder Royden G. Derrick, Executive Director of the Genealogical Department, contains three important items of information for submitters:

1. A temporary identification number. David M. Mayfield, director of library services for the Genealogical Department, explained that “Each submission is assigned a temporary number until the ancestral file is computerized, at which time it will be assigned a permanent number. The assignment of these temporary numbers will make it possible for members to make additions or corrections to the data contained on the family group records and pedigree charts they submitted. All communication with the department relative to a particular four-generation set should include the submission number.” It is anticipated that the ancestral file will be functional within a few years.

2. Process for making corrections. Corrections should be prepared by using a new sheet to replace each one needing correction and sending it, along with the submission number, to the Genealogical Department. Brother Mayfield noted that “an entirely new sheet must be prepared and sent in, even if only one number or letter needs to be changed. By the same token, sheets that need a number of corrections can be fixed with only one corrected page.” In the event of a submitter’s change of name or address, the information should be sent to the department, accompanied by the submission number.

3. Request for additional or corrected information. Dozens of Church service personnel have been numbering and evaluating submissions since last July; as a result of the evaluation, about ten percent of the submitters will be asked to make changes or corrections in their materials. According to Brother Mayfield, all such adjustments should have been made and materials resubmitted within two months of the letter’s receipt. “We plan to begin microfilming the records in May,” he said.

Letters have been sent to more than 100,000 family representatives.