Archives News

Recently, a patron was reviewing water rights files from the 4th District Court for Utah County (Series 14435 – Civil Case Files, 1896-1958) when she discovered a sealed envelope of dirt or seeds in case #4076, Draper v. Draper. Being the curious archivist that she is, Heidi opened the envelope to discover the mystery material was indeed DIRT! Unfortunately, there

We are pleased to announce that two more years of death certificates are now available online as digital images. The years 1968 and 1969 first became publicly accessible 50 years after the dates of death on the certificates.  The State Archives works closely with the Office of Vital Records and Statistics in the Utah Department of Health. The OVRS is

Dr. Hubert F. Andrews had just graduated from the Chicago College of Physicians and Surgeons when he settled in Gunnison, Utah, in the summer of 1899, taking a job as a Sanpete County quarantine doctor. A year earlier in 1898, Utah’s State Board of Health directed local governments to form their own health boards to oversee the diagnosis of contagious

Last month, Heidi and Alan (members of our Local Government team) found an unusual box labeled “valuable” when they were in Tooele City. Since there was interest in the contents of this mystery box, Heidi made an extra effort to inventory it quickly so we could share a little of what was inside. Let’s dig in! The underside of the

The traditional function of a map is to convey information about geography in a two-dimensional way and on a scale that is comprehensible to the user. Maps document relationships of places and geographical features to one another and allow for calculation of distances. They can show lakes, roads, rivers, towns, and even invisible jurisdictional boundaries. But the richest maps are

Weeding is used to get rid of non-records (binders, folders, post-it notes, etc.), redundant records (i.e. form letters where we only need to preserve one), and misidentified records in archival collections. Archivists use their authority to weed as a collection management tool to best utilize resources, particularly physical storage and digital space. Archives RIM specialists add the phrase “with authority

Look what Heidi found for Pioneer Day! These elaborate hand drawn dress designs were created for the Centennial Coronation in 1947. Margaret Whitney Essex, a prominent dressmaker and descendant of pioneer Orson F. Whitney, made the velvet pioneer dresses. In the drawing, the red dress features seagulls, the white dress is decorated in gold wagons, and the blue dress is

While doing some research, Local Government Records Specialist Heidi (yes, we have two Heidi’s in our office!) came across this funny little case in the Sanpete County Justice Court: Gunnison Precinct records. On June 13, 1904, six boys appeared before the Justice of the Peach for the theft of ice cream and cake! Looks like all the boys were charged

A recent patron was researching our Sanpete County Territorial Probate Court records and pointed out an unusual court case. Have you ever heard of a “case of profanity”? In May 1863, Albert Lewis was seen in the Manti Justice Court for just that!  “Defendant came forward and acknowledged having been guilty of profanity in taking the name of Deity in vain.”  a

The Latter-day Saints settled the Salt Lake Valley in 1847, and for the next fifty years they and following settlers fought for statehood. It took seven attempts to finally realize that goal. 1849 The Latter-day Saints settled the Salt Lake Valley in 1847. Part of the appeal of the land was that it belonged to Mexico. They felt they had