Looking for a bishop from 1970 in concord CA

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sonjastein
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Looking for a bishop from 1970 in concord CA

#1

Post by sonjastein »

I am wondering if there is a way to find out the name of the Bishop in the Concord California ward back in 1970? Our church is so good at keeping records I would assume it is somewhere, but how would I find it?
Any help would be great!
jaj78
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#2

Post by jaj78 »

Well, considering that in CDOL I can see the historical information for my ward (Stake realignments back to origination of the ward, list of bishops dating back to the last stake realignment), one way would be to contact the current bishop or clerk of that ward and have them retrieve the information from CDOL, which may or may not reach as far back as you need it to.

That's where I would start, though there's probably an easier way through Church HQ.
lajackson
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#3

Post by lajackson »

jaj78 wrote:Well, considering that in CDOL I can see the historical information for my ward (Stake realignments back to origination of the ward, list of bishops dating back to the last stake realignment), one way would be to contact the current bishop or clerk of that ward and have them retrieve the information from CDOL, which may or may not reach as far back as you need it to.

That's where I would start, though there's probably an easier way through Church HQ.

Tonight I will ask someone who lived there then. I have no idea if he will remember.

Was there only one ward at the time?
sonjastein
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#4

Post by sonjastein »

I am not sure if there was only one ward at that time so that might make it a little harder if there was.
sonjastein
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#5

Post by sonjastein »

What is the CDOL? My husband was just called to the assistant ward clerk position, would he have access to that? We are in Utah, so would that make a difference if we are searching in California? Sorry for all the questions!
lajackson
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#6

Post by lajackson »

lajackson wrote:Tonight I will ask someone who lived there then.
He does not remember, sorry. (He lived in a different ward.)
sonjastein wrote:What is the CDOL?

CDOL is the Church Directory of Organizations and Leaders. Your husband will not be able to find the information you seek at CDOL for two reasons. Most historical information is only available for the ward or stake in which the leader currently resides. And I do not believe CDOL online displays records going back that far.

Asking someone in Concord to access CDOL for you, as suggested, probably will not work. CDOL historical information for ward/branch creation/division, etc., seems to go back to the mid 50s. But historical information for former bishops seems to only go back to the 80s.

I am certain that Church headquarters has the information. You will understand, of course, that with over 14,000,000 members, they do not accept requests to provide this information.

So I think your best chance would be to contact the current bishop of the ward, and ask him or his clerk for someone in the area who might know. If the stake has a good historical record, they will know. If there is someone in the ward who wins the prize each year for oldest living member, he or she might know.

And I suspect that how compelling the reason is you wish to locate this bishop will also have a factor in the kind of assistance someone in California may be able to give you.

The Concord 1st Ward was created in 1952 and is in the Concord Stake, which was created in 1963.
The Concord 2nd Ward was created in 1955 and is now in the Walnut Creek Stake, which was created in 1986.
My guess is that you had two Concord wards in the Concord Stake in 1970. But there are and were many wards and branches, and that was a time of great growth in the Church in California, so even this information may not be complete or correct.

You will be able to find the name of the current bishop by using the Maps function at lds.org and entering an address in Concord.
sonjastein
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#7

Post by sonjastein »

Wow. Thank you so much! I will just have to see where this journey takes me.
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