Why find the Pratt descendants?

The following is an excerpt from a 1991 letter to the Pratt family announcing the Pratt Family Descendancy Project.

Why should the Pratts be the first pioneer family in the Church to compile a complete Book of Remembrance of descendants?

First, because of the prominence of the Pratts in the early Church and in pioneer Utah, few extended pioneer families in the church are as aware of their pioneer heritage as we are. My six children are great, great, great, great grandchildren of Parley Pratt and Belinda Marden. Among their generation, the mathematical odds are only one in sixty-four or 1.6 percent that a descendant of Parley Pratt bears the same surname. Nevertheless, every week I meet people, both Mormon and non-Mormon, in Utah and elsewhere, who know that they are descendants of the Pratt Pioneers. In other words, our cousins know who they are.

Second, Orson Pratt was one of the first in this dispensation to actively research his own ancestral lines and compile extensive records for temple work.

Third, our Pratt ancestors also attempted to keep accurate records of their descendants.

Fourth, after years of development, the computer tools are now available.

Fifth, although the Church Family History Department has made a beginning, the obligation of finding our family is our own.

Sixth, there are many in the six or seven generations from Jared and Charity Pratt down to us who were not born in the Church or baptized, endowed, or sealed; their temple work remains to be done.

Seventh, if the Pratt family is successul, other extended pioneer families will follow our example.

In the years since the Pratt family has begun their descendancy project, many other prominent Utah pioneer families have also begun similar projects.

How can I be involved in the Pratt family descendancy project?

If you are a descendant of Jared Pratt, we need your help!

First, and perhaps most important, please send us information on your own family and how you relate to Jared Pratt. You will want to include genealogical information on yourself, your children, parents, grandchildren, siblings, etc. This information will never be used for commercial purposes!

Second, help us find records on "dead end" lines, especially those close to you; these may include your cousins, aunts, uncles, or even more distant relatives.

Third, encourage your relatives to send us their family records.

Fourth, establish a "grandfather" family organization. The Jared Pratt Family Association has proposed to the Church that changes and additions to the Pratt descendancy in the Ancestral File be cleared through the Association. We will need "custodians" to perfect or "bluechip" each of the descendancy lines. If you or your family organization would like to be in charge of one of the lines, please contact us.

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