David White Rogers' history reads like a "Who's Who" of Early Mormondom: Held the first open house in New York City for Parley P. Pratt and was baptized by Pratt, journeyed to Far West with the Saints, was called to find a place to locate the expelled Mormons and made the arrangements for the Saints to travel to Nauvoo. Rogers carried a message to Joseph Smith at the Liberty Jail and wrote in a letter, "I'll go and do the business or be found dead trying." Rogers crossed the plains to Utah in 1852 and died in Provo in 1887.
Details of the life of this Utah pioneer are documented and available for interested descendants, including a great-great-granddaughter, Barbara B. Smith, former General Relief Society president, because of a program developed by the Utah Genealogical Society.In looking ahead to the Utah State Centennial celebration in 1996, the UGA decided in 1991 to begin issuing Pioneer Certificates for descendants who could document an ancestor who came to Utah before January 1896.
Eleanor F. Eckstein, chairman of the Pioneer Certificate Committee, hopes that people won't wait until 1996 to seek certificates for their pioneer ancestors. "People need to plan and start collecting the necessary documentation now, as it takes a little work to collect it. During 1996 there might be a rush and we wouldn't want anyone to be disappointed," she said.
An added bonus in submitting information about Utah settlers will be preserving the pioneer heritage. All applications will eventually be microfilmed and available to interested researchers.
To be eligible for a Pioneer Certificate an applicant must document direct descent from an ancestor who settled in Utah during one of two time periods: a founding pioneer, who arrived between July 1847 and September 1850, or a territorial pioneer, who arrived between September 1850 and January 1896.
Applicants need not be a resident of Utah; anyone may apply. After proof of direct descent has been submitted and eligibility determined, the certificates will be mailed at a cost of $10 each. A separate certificate will be issued for each properly documented ancestor. Proof of descent needs to be documented only once. Additional copies of certificates are available for $10.
The application form can be obtained by sending a stamped, self-addressed envelope to the Utah Genealogical Association, P.O. Box 1144, Salt Lake City, UT 84110, or the form can be picked up at the reference desk on the second floor of the Family History Library, 35 N. West Temple.
Copies of documenting evidence (such as birth, death or marriage records) must accompany the application. Do not send originals.
Eckstein sees great possibilities if Utahns document their heritage. "If we could just get the people in this valley to submit what they have in their books and records and get it into our computers and ancestral file, millions could link to it and make a beginning," she said.