BYU-Record-Linking
Elder Luke Carter, left, and Elder Eli Fowler, missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, died in a car crash in Denton, Texas, on May 18, 2021. Both were serving in the Texas Fort Worth Mission. 2021 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.
This story appears here courtesy of TheChurchNews.com. It is not for use by other media.
By Mary Richards, Church News
Youth from the Denton Texas Stake and from two stakes in Springville, Utah, reunited May 21 to work on a project they began last year with the BYU Record Linking Lab.
The teens attached sources and created profiles on FamilySearch for all residents of Denton from 1900 to 1940, making sure everyone who lived there until 1940 has a profile on a family tree.
The project was created to honor Elder Luke Carter and Elder Eli Fowler, who died in a car crash in May 2021 while serving in Denton, Texas. Elder Carter was from Springville, and Elder Fowler from Pueblo West, Colorado.
Elder Fowler’s family traveled to Denton to help, and Elder Carter’s family joined remotely with their congregation’s youth in Springville, reported a post from churchofjesuschristinnorthtexas.org.
The post explained that the youth were looking forward to celebrating the work that Elder Fowler and Elder Carter accomplished in Denton and were grateful to help continue that work for past and present residents of the county.
Denton resident Elise Stolle said, “It’s also an incredible way to honor the missionaries who served here and blessed so many while they were here.”
During two weeknight activities in September and November 2021, youth from the Springville Utah Spring Creek South and Springville Utah Spring Creek Stakes added more than 4,000 families from Denton census records to a family tree.
Joe Price of BYU’s Record Linking Lab told the Church News in November that when youth have a purpose, “They can really do amazing work.”
The project document contains various tasks based on experience level and is open to the public. The hope is that this project becomes a missionary tool in Denton for community members to learn more about their ancestors.
