Inmates use LDS Family History centers to find their pasts and help others

Published: Friday, March 20, 2009 11:06 p.m. MDT
 |  E-MAIL | PRINT | FONT + - 

UTAH STATE PRISON — In a cramped room here in the Wasatch medium-security unit, inmates sit hunched over computers, trying to decipher the aged writings of people long dead.

Some scroll through reels of microfilm, searching for a name that can help unlock the secrets of the past.

They are among hundreds of inmates doing genealogical work in family-history centers run by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints inside the prison.

"The genealogical program here is a haven to get away from the environment within the prison itself," inmate Dan Maroney said. "It's a place for fellowship."

There are four family-history centers in the prison, with about 600 inmates doing work on their own genealogies or performing extractions — the indexing of names of long-dead individuals from land records, census forms, birth, death and marriage certificates for a database run by the LDS Church's Family History Library.

Prison-wide, the inmates extract about 500,000 to 1 million names per year for genealogists worldwide to use.

"One thing about the prison is we've got sort of a captive audience," joked Keith Jepsen, coordinator of the prison's family-history centers. "One thing that most of the men out here have is time, so it's a win-win program for everybody."

Story continues below

Inmate Steve Deeter sits at a computer where a woman's name is displayed on the screen, the cursive script magnified. He's double-checking to make sure a name extracted is accurate.

"I'm getting to pay back society through this service work that I'm doing right here, that's what I like," he said. "I've done a lot of my own personal genealogy, and somebody had to do exactly the same thing I'm doing so I could get those records, so that's what I'm doing, too. It's a 'pay it forward' thing."

The family-history centers are open seven days a week, and inmates can participate as much as they want. The inmates' convictions range from drugs, theft and sex offenses to murder. The centers are funded by the church and staffed by LDS missionaries like Gordon and Gayle Fletcher.

"You start to have a love for the inmates. You don't think you're ever going to," Gayle Fletcher said. "As you work with them, you learn to love them, and you just want the best for them."

Maroney spends eight hours a day at the center, researching his family history and helping other inmates write letters to genealogists and historical societies on the outside, sleuthing information that helps them trace their roots. Because of his skills, Maroney said, he has been offered a job on a trial basis with a professional genealogist when he is released in 2010.

"Genealogy has put me in touch with those who went before me," he said.

Recent comments

Prisons protect citizens from people who have been unable or...

Jan | Oct. 14, 2009 at 11:36 a.m.

This is so cool! You can't steal an identity from a dead man are you...

kimib | April 14, 2009 at 1:04 a.m.

I'm sure there are guys that get involved with this program because...

alt7 | March 29, 2009 at 4:57 p.m.

Image

Inmates Steve Deeter and Sean Coffin work on a digital record of an 1866 marriage. The family-history centers at the Utah State Prison allow inmates to explore their pasts.

previousnext

Latest comments

What is the point of this article? Utah doesn't like Obama? Shocking.

by the way, Urban Meyer with his 3rd NC will be joining some all time greats...

UTAH LAWS NEED TO CHANGE!

This is what happens when the GOVERNMENT is involved. A PAY CZAR and a AUTO...

I think if this kind of man exist anywhere in the church and the families are...

to: Nancy Pelosi doesn't set policy at 7:29pm Huh? Wow!! So Nancy is...

BYU says Hall incident resolved

This is such a shame. I really think this will cost Max Hall the Heisman...

'Changing the definition of marriage will change its social functions.' -...

This reminds my of the group Monty Python who might write, "When danger...

TCU dominates all-MWC honors

I'm a BYU fan and I totally agree with the conference selections. How can you...

Advertisements