Series 25011

District Court (First District) Case files, 1851-1885.

2.00 cubic feet and 4 microfilm reels

These records are housed in the Utah State Archives' permanent storage room.

Historical Note

See history of the records' creator.

Summary of Records

An original complaint, summons, indictment or arrest warrant which initiated a legal action together with all legal papers subsequently filed in connection with the civil or criminal proceeding through disposition or dismissal of the case make up these case files. These files document the legal process and the administration of justice in the First Judicial District.

Scope and Content

An original complaint, summons, indictment or arrest warrant which initiated a legal action together with all legal papers subsequently filed in connection with the civil or criminal proceeding through disposition or dismissal of the case make up these case files. These files document the legal process and the administration of justice in the First Judicial District.
Both civil and criminal cases are included throughout the time period covered by the series. The majority of these cases are civil matters. A civil action is a lawsuit brought by one person or a group against another to enforce a legal right or to recover money as payment for an injury or loss. A civil case commences with the filing of a complaint with the court or by service to the defendant of a summons together with a copy of the complaint. A crime or public offense is an act committed or omitted in violation of a law forbidding or commanding it, and to which is annexed, upon conviction, a prescribed punishment. Acriminal case is initiated with a complaint, information, indictment, or arrest warrant. Records and documents pertaining to a particular action were maintained by the court clerk, who was required to file pleadings and other legal papers for cases arising throughout the district. Collectively they constitute the case file.
The First District Court was restricted to adjudication of actions involving real property located within the First Judicial District, those in which the defendant resides within the First Judicial District, and those involving incidents occurring within the First Judicial District. The court was required to hold at least four terms within the district each calendar year. Matters from throughout the several counties assigned to the district generally were heard in Great Salt Lake City. Cases from Salt Lake County are most numerous but matters from outlying counties are included.

Research Note

Incidents of interest include: an infamous 1851 criminal case involving Pedro Leon and other Spanish traders engaged in the illicit trading of American Indian slaves; an 1853 criminal action against James Bridger; two 1851 civil suits filed by Brigham Young, Trustee in Trust for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; and an 1855 civil suit against Porter Rockwell (Judson Stoddard vs. Orrin P. Rockwell).??Eight judges from throughout the district filed ten performance bonds with the court. Included are the following: Elias Smith, Great Salt Lake County, chief justice (1851) and probate judge (1852 & 1856); Thomas Rhoads, Great Salt Lake County, associate judge (1851); James Holbrook, Davis County, probate judge (1852); Joseph Holbrook, Davis County, probate judge (1856); Alfred Lee, Tooele County, probate judge (1852); William I. Appleby, Green River County, probate judge (1854); Isaac Bullock, Green River County, probate judge (1855); and John P. Barnard, Malad County,,probate judge (1856).??Other bonds filed with the court include two bonds involving granting ferry rights over the Green River to Daniel H. Wells (1853) and one related to the sale of land (1851).??Petitions to be admitted to the bar and permitted to practice law were filed in 1851 by Seth M. Blair, Andrew Siler, and Joshua Slayton.??Included in the series are two declaration of intention certificates filed by individuals seeking United States citizenship: Alexander Findlay McDonald of the United Kingdom (10 September 1855) and Charles Caster of the United Kingdom (10 March 1865).??Two certificates of appointment naming Alexander McRae and Hosea Stout as deputy U.S. marshals are included with the orders to issue subpoenas in the 1856 court business folder.??A single divorce case, Maria Wakeham vs. John A. Wakeham (Great Salt Lake County, 1855), is included in the series.

Arrangement

Chronological thereunder alphabetical.

These cases were created prior to adoption of a numbering system and are filed chronologically by the year the court action commenced and thereunder alphabetically by the plaintiff's personal surname or corporate name. Files dealing with court business (orders to issue subpoenas) appear at the beginning of each new calendar year, 1851-1856. As criminal cases are considered an offense against the public, the plaintiff may variously be recorded originally as "People" or "United States." In the interest of consistency, all such differentiations now are filed collectively as "People."

Additional Forms

This series is available on microfilm.

Access Restrictions

This series is classified as Public.

Use Restrictions

These records are available for reproduction and use.

Preferred Citation

Cite the Utah State Archives and Records Service, the creating agency name, the series title, and the series number.

Custody History

Throughout the territorial period, case files were created and maintained by the clerk appointed by and serving at the pleasure of the judge of the district court. At statehood, the Salt Lake County Clerk was constitutionally designated as ex officio clerk of District Court in and for Salt Lake County. The county/district court clerk maintained custody of the case files until their transfer to the Utah State Archives.

Acquisition Information

These records were acquired from the creating agency through established retention schedules.

Processing Information

Since 1983, case files have been listed as permanent records in the records retention policy of the Utah Judicial Council. In spite of the uncertain provenance of some of the documents found with the case files, papers of unsure origin have been left with the series. Archival processing of these records was completed in May 2003 by W. Glen Fairclough, Jr. An updated container list was added to this finding aid by Jim Kichas in November 2009.

Related Material

Southern division criminal case files from the District Court (First District), Series 1521, include later case files from the same judicial district.
Northern division civil and criminal case files from the District Court (First District), Series 1529, include later territorial case files from the same judicial district.
Territorial criminal case files from the District Court (Third District), Series 6836, include other case files from the territorial period.
Case files from the District Court (Third District), Series 9802, include other case files from the territorial period.
Territorial criminal case files from the Division of Archives and Records Service, Series 24052, include a compilation of miscellaneous documents from the earliest surviving territorial criminal cases from each of the three judical districts.
Criminal case files from the District Court (Second District), Series 24291, include other case files from the territorial period.
Civil case files from the District Court (Second District), Series 24293, include other case files from the territorial period.

Container List

ReelBoxFolderDescription
112Court Business; 1851
112S.M. Blair - Petition; 1851
113Lafayette Granger vs. Charles Snow; 1851
114Levi Gifford vs. the heirs of Daniel C. Davis; 1851
115Lyman Hawkins vs. David Holland/Holladay
116Victor Leffering vs. William Blakely and James Schropshire; 1851
117James Pace - Bond; 1851
118A.V. Patterson vs. Isaac Parchal; 1851
119People vs. Howard Egan; 1851
1110People vs. Ralph Hunt; 1851
1111People vs. Thurston Larson; 1851
1112People vs. Pedro Leon; 1851
1113People vs. John O'Laughlin; 1851
1114John Reese vs. Alfred Ashumbo; 1851
1115J & E Reese vs. James M. Crabb; 1851
1116Thomas Rhoads - Appointment; 1851
1117Andrew Siler - Petition; 1851
1118Joshua Slayton - Petition; 1851
1119Elias Smith - Appointment; 1851
1120Judson Stoddard vs. Alvin Stoddard; 1851
1121Brigham Young vs. James Gambell; 1851
1122Brigham Young vs. Samuel Hanson; 1851
1123Court Business; 1852
1124Samuel Burger vs. Stephen Lucas & Daniel Levan; 1852
1125Seth Blair vs. Miles Beach; 1852
1126Victor Leffering vs. Henry Cook; 1852
1127Jacob Deetze vs. Stephen Lucas & Daniel Levan; 1852
1128Joseph Holbrook; 1852
1129Alfred Lee - Appointment; 1852
1130George Livingston & John Kinkead vs. Lafayette Granger; 1852
1131John Nebiker vs. William James; 1852
1132James Peebles vs. James Hines; 1852
1133People vs. William Allen, Peter Carter, & Simon Lance; 1852
1134People vs. John Byron; 1852
1135People vs. Samuel P. Davis; 1852
1136People vs. James Hadden; 1852
1137People vs. Alexander Hoffine & Ambrose Sabin; 1852
1138People vs. William Jeans, Terrance McBrien, & William Wansley; 1852
1139People vs. Stephen Lucas & O.H. Cogswell; 1852
1140People vs. Isaac Neibur, James Goddard, Seth Bromly, & George Grant; 1852
1141People vs. Charles James, James Phelps, Peter Shirts, & Edwin Lamb; 1852
1142People vs. Robert Phillips; 1852
1143People vs. Peersen J. Rister; 1852
1144People vs. Albert Sharp; 1852
1145People vs. Edward Wade; 1852
1146People vs. George Wales; 1852
1147J & E Reese vs. George Levy & Eli Abby; 1852
1148J & E Reese vs. Charles McVicar & John O'Laughlin; 1852
1149J & E Reese vs. Joseph Risley; 1854
1150Thomas Scott vs. Stephen Lucas; 1852
1151Lucuis Scovil vs. James Neal; 1852
1152Elias Smith - Appointment; 1852
2153Eli Walker vs. Stephen Lucas & Daniel Levan; 1852
2154Thomas Williams vs. Henry D. Lindsay; 1852
2155Thomas Williams vs. James Peebles; 1852
2156Henry Winters vs. Stephen Lucas & James Canaan; 1852
2157Court Business; 1853
2158Bridger, Hawley, Thompson, & Co. vs. Dennis, et al; 1853
2159Bridger, Hawley, Thompson, & Co. vs. Sweeney, et al; 1853
2160Livingston & Kinkead vs. George Goddard; 1853
2161People vs. James A. Austin; 1853
2162People vs. James Bridger; 1853
2163People vs. James Hendricks; 1853
2164People vs. David Hull; 1853
2165People vs. William May; 1853
2166People vs. William Shortridge, et al; 1853
2167Francis M. Russell - Bond; 1853
2168Daniel H. Wells - Bond; 1853
2169C.W. West vs. Jerome Zabriske; 1853
2170Willis Young & Thomas Wheeler vs. James Simpkins; 1853
2171Court Business; 1854
2172Levi Abrams vs. William A. Hickman; 1854
2173Dustin Amy vs. Beck & Roundy; 1854
2174William J. Appleby - Appointment; 1854
2175Almon Babbitt vs. Abel Lamb; 1854
2176Almon Babbitt vs. William Muir & Robert Ure; 1854
2177Isabel Brooks vs. William Twitchell; 1854
2178John Ellis vs. George Greathouse; 1854
2179George Goddard; 1854
2180George Goddard & Bradford Leonard vs. A.E. McConnell; 1854
2181Russell, Jones, & Co. vs. Elisha Ryan; 1854
2182A.E. McConnell vs Goddard, et al; 1854
2183Aurelius Miner vs. George B. Wallace; 1854
2184People vs. Big Belly & Snake Track; 1854
2185People vs. John H. Blazzard & James Allen; 1854
2186People vs. J. Ward Curtis; 1854
2187People vs. John Ellis; 1854
2188People vs. William J. Hawley; 1854
2189People vs. Joseph Leary; 1854
2190People vs. Long Hair & Antelope; 1854
2191People vs. Charles Perry; 1854
2192People vs. John Platts; 1854
2193People vs. Henry C. Ross; 1854
2194People vs. Elias Smith & James Cummings; 1854
2195People vs. Thomas Sullivan; 1854
2196People vs. William Sullivan; 1854
2197People vs. Lewis Trombley; 1854
2198William Reynolds vs. Alfred Lambsen; 1854
2199E.B. Ryan vs. Russell, et al; 1854
21100Benjamin Simons vs. Charles Lindsey; 1854
21101Benjamin Simons; 1854
21102Philip Smith vs. William Hawley; 1854
21103Cornelius Vorheis & Co. vs. Thomas Grover; 1854
21104Charles Woodward vs. J.B. Tomilson; 1854
21105Robert Yardell vs. George Greathouse; 1854
321Court Business; 1855
322Edward Barr vs. George Simpson; 1855
323Lucien Bedele vs. Edwin Webb; 1855
324Christopher Branham & Kenzie Norris vs. Daniel Bagley & B.H. Young; 1855
325Christopher Branham & Kenzie Norris vs. George Goddard; 1855
326Christopher Branham & Kenzie Norris vs. Stephen Goddard; 1855
327Christopher Branham & Kenzie Norris vs. Brigham H. Young & William H. Walton; 1855
328Isaac Bullock - Appointment; 1855
329William Camp vs. Alvin Green; 1855
3210Louis Drexler vs. George Goddard & Bradford Leonard; 1855
3211Mark Earnshaw vs. Daniel Patterson; 1855
3212A. Grow vs. Jacob Hatch; 1855
3213William Hawley, Joseph Thompson, & Co. vs. John Kerr & John Robinson; 1855
3214Lewis Hatch vs. David Malcolm; 1855
3215Hockaday, Morris, & Co. vs. Thomas Johnson; 1855
3216J.M. Horner & Co. vs. Nathaniel Leavitt; 1855
3217William Howard vs. George Goddard; 1855
3218William Howard vs. Charles Perry and Elias Perry; 1855
3219John Kerr vs. George Goddard & Bradford Leonard; 1855
3220John Kerr vs. William Hawley; 1855
3221Bradford Leonard vs. John Oakley; 1855
3222Livingstead, Kinkead, & Co vs. William Hawley; 1855
3223Livingstead, Kinkead, & Co vs. Abel Lamb; 1855
3224Joseph Mason vs. William Hawley; 1855
3225Alexander Findlay McDonald Declaration of Intention; 1855
3226MacDonells & Adams vs. Joseph Thompson; 1855
3227Reuben Middleton & Amos Riley vs. Abel Lamb; 1855
3228John Ostler vs. Eliza Knight; 1855
3229Daniel Patterson vs. Mark Earnshaw & Thomas Johnson; 1855
3230People vs. Levi Abrams; 1855
3231People vs. Oliver Bess; 1855
3232People vs. Edward Eylsom; 1855
3233People vs. Thomas Greenwood; 1855
3234People vs. George Holmes; 1855
3235People vs. Rufus Ingalls; 1855
3236People vs. Jo (Spaniard); 1855
3237People vs. David Jones; 1855
3238People vs. Aurelius Miner; 1855
3239People vs. Carlos Murry; 1855
3240People vs. Nickerson & Engall; 1855
3241People vs. Henry Rau; 1855
3242People vs. Nathaniel Wells; 1855
3243People vs. Ranson Young; 1855
3244Charles A. & Elias H. Perry vs. William Barton; 1855
3245Charles A. & Elias H. Perry vs. Matthew Gaunt; 1855
3246Charles A. & Elias H. Perry vs. George Goddard & Bradford Leonard; 1855
3247Charles A. & Elias H. Perry vs. Abraham Hoagland, Samuel Richards, & Joseph Horn; 1855
3248Charles A. & Elias H. Perry vs. Francis M. Pomeroy; 1855
3249Charles A. & Elias H. Perry vs. Andrew Stewart; 1855
3250Charles A. & Elias H. Perry vs. E.P. Thomas; 1855
3251Charles A. & Elias H. Perry vs. James Townshend; 1855
3252Charles A. & Elias H. Perry vs. Charles White; 1855
3253Henry Polydore vs. Samuel W. Richards & Jane Mayer; 1855
3254Henry Pugh vs. Elijah Thomas; 1855
3255John Richard vs. Ezra Benson & Co.; 1855
3256George B. Simpson vs. Resides; 1855
3257Skeggs & Reiley vs. Nathaniel Leavitt; 1855
3258Judson Stoddard vs. Orrin Porter Rockwell; 1855
3259Cornelius Vorheis vs. Robert Caldwell; 1855
4260Maria S. Wakeham vs. John A. Wakeham; 1855
4261Court Business; 1856
4262Almon W. Babbit vs. A.B. Lambson; 1856
4263John P. Barnhard - Appointment; 1856
4264Blair vs. Johnson & Sproce; 1856
4265Billa Dickson vs. James Whitaker; 1856
4266Barnham & Norris vs. John Greene; 1856
4267Almeron Grow vs. Almon Babbitt; 1856
4268I & J.M. Hockaday vs. W.B. Twitchell, Benjamin Hawkins, Levi Abrams; 1856
4269Joseph Holbrook - Appointment; 1856
4270Benjamin Jenne vs. Daniel Russell; 1856
4271James Jones & Co. vs. W. Hawley; 1856
4272kinney, Greene, & Co. vs. Elijah Thomas; 1856
4273E.A. McConnell vs. George Goddard & Bradford Leonard; 1856
4274People vs. Pah Bitch & Mo See (Indians); 1856
4275Charles A. & Elias H. Perry vs. William France; 1856
4276Charles A. & Elias H. Perry vs. Henry Green; 1856
4277Charles A. & Elias H. Perry vs. D.W. Jones; 1856
4278Charles A. & Elias H. Perry vs. Joseph Kanaugh; 1856
4279Charles A. & Elias H. Perry vs. Leonard Rice; 1856
4280Charles A. & Elias H. Perry vs. Taylor Lufkin; 1856
4281John Russell, et al vs. William Hawley; 1856
4282Russell, Jones, & Co. vs. William Hawley; 1856
4283Elias Smith - Appointment; 1856
4284Joseph Troskolawski vs. Thomas Rhoads; 1856
4285Thomas Wheeler vs. Israel Hoyt; 1856
4286Thomas Williams vs. Levi Abram; 1856
4287Thomas Williams vs. Bradford Leonard; 1856
4288Jacob Winter vs. John Parker, James Duncan, Lot Smith, & Sarah Jane Winter; 1856
4289Charles Caster Declaration of Intention; 1865