Tech Forum

I recently got called as clerk and I am attempting to clean up our records from the Membership Record Validation Report. There are easily 40 records that are missing a birthplace mother or fathers name. I was able to clean up 1-2 of them, the others are Do not contacts. What do I do about this?

That is a tough one. The only idea I have is to ask around in the ward as to who might have an "in" with the do not contact - maybe someone who is related, or live close (neighbor) or just be old friends and see if they have any ideas. I would guess that most wards have the same problem.

Usually the bishopric are in pretty good touch with everyone, or ask someone that has lived in the ward for a long time. Most of the time you can find someone.

Sometimes public records can help fill in the details. Other times
relatives live in another ward in the Stake can help out.

For Birthplaces:

If the name is unique enough, do a quick check on the county clerk's
website. Sometimes, birth information is available here.

For parents names, and other info:

Using the names listed under parents you do have, try searching the
membership directories of each of the ward's websites. If you are lucky,
the parent's name will be unique and will not also be "do not contact".
Then it is a simple matter of a phone call, letter, or visit to find out
what is missing.

- Atticus Ewig

If they have lived there awhile, take a look at the ward historian's records. My dad is a historian and includes a boatload of details about the ward members in his annual reports. He takes notes throughout the year, then edits it each December.

I've had good success in these cases using the phone book or whitepages.com to look up the parent and contact them for information.