Below is a first-draft list of sister missionaries called in the first three years of the formal female missionary program. I needed to know which ?number? an early sister missionary was for another project; I was surprised at how difficult the information was to chase down in digital form. To spare others similar pain, I submit the following list. I also commend the list to any History instructor assigning mini-biographies to classes of undergraduates (and please share the results). While we?re on the subject, check out Matt McBride?s http://sistermissionaries.org/.

Please note, with emphasis, the first-ness of the draft. I have verified very little on the list and am certain there are transcription errors and possibly even wholesale omissions.

M = married, S = not-married. A more complete key is below the table.

Key

The information comes from two sources: ?Missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,? prepared by Historian?s Office under direction of Andrew Jenson, circa 1925, held at Church History Library, Call Number CR 100 160, microfilm, Reel 3 (Box 5, Vol 5, year: 1897-1899) and Reel 4 (Box 5, Vol 6, year: 1900) and ?Missionary Registers,? ?Book C? (1894 April 27 ? 1906 October 16), prepared by Missionary Department, held at Church History Library, Call Number CR 301 22, microfilm, Reel 1, Vol 3.

The lists overlap, but not perfectly, and I have not carefully compared them. They contain other information not reproduced here, like birth date, baptism date, parent names, release date, and residence.

The first column has a letter and a number. The number tells the sequence of entry into the missionary register, with married and unmarried missionaries counted separately. ?M? means the missionary?s last name does not match the father?s last name in the missionary register and that, presumably, the missionary was married or widowed. ?S? means the last names of missionary and father do match so, presumably, the missionary was unmarried. I haven?t run the details to ground, but Mary L. Lyerla and Alice McLachlan, listed below as ?S,? seem to have entered polygamous marriages prior to their missions but kept their own last names. Anna Hall Mohr was sent on a genealogy mission prior to the decision to formally call female missionaries. I have included her here since this is a transcription of female missionaries listed in the missionary register for 1898-1901, and to hint at the continuity with semi-official female missionary work prior to the 1898 March decision.

The second column has the name, an approximate age at time of setting apart (ie, setting apart year minus birth year), and the assigned mission or region. The last column has the setting apart date.