Series 23554

Washington County (Utah). County Recorder Abstracts (Saint George), 1862-

2 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

County recorders are required by Utah law to keep abstract records, which show by tract, every conveyance, encumbrance or other recorded document pertaining to land within the county (Utah Code Annotated, 1953, 17-21-6). Each abstract entry indicates the kind of document, notes the dates it was created and filed, and names a grantee and grantor.

Scope and Content

County recorders are required by Utah law to keep abstract records, which show by tract, every conveyance, encumbrance or other recorded document pertaining to land within the county (Utah Code Annotated, 1953, 17-21-6). Each abstract entry indicates the kind of document, notes the dates it was created and filed, and names a grantee and grantor. It contains a legal description of the property and identifies a location in terms of plat, block and lot number. Abstract entries indicate where transactions were acknowledged, name the acknowledging officer, indicate when the entry was made in the abstract book, and tell the book and page where documents were recorded. The entries in Abstract Book A, Abstract Book A 1, and Abstracts: Saint George, chronicle documents relating to town lots in the city of Saint George. Abstract Books A and A 1 contain entries for Hurricane and Santa Clara as well.

Arrangement

For records created from 1862 to 1945, arrangement is by community and thereunder by plat and block, with entries being carried forward on the next available page..

The recorder arranged entries in Abstract Book A by community, and thereunder by plat and block. Abstract Book A includes plats A-E of the Saint George survey, followed by the Hurricane Field Survey, Central town site survey, plats A-B of the Hurricane town site survey, then the Santa Clara town site survey. Thereunder, abstracts for each block were initially chronologically arranged, but as the recorder ran out of space on various pages and carried entries forward to available space elsewhere, Abstract Book A became progressively more unorganized. In Abstract Book A 1 the recorder carried entries forward in three sections: Saint George, Hurricane and Santa Clara. Ca. 1945, she began a new book, Abstracts: Saint George, in which she carried forward all abstract records for Saint George arranging them numerically by plat and block. She carried entries forward for Hurricane and Santa Clara in Abstracts: Towns.

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.

Acquisition Information

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

Processing Information

Utah State Archives microfilmed abstract record books for Washington County in July 1973, in May 1979, in February and March 1988, and again in January 1994. When this series was processed the 1973 and 1979 copies were deaccessioned, as well as the 1988 copy of Saint George abstracts, and the 1994 copy of Abstract Books A and A 1. This series was processed by Rosemary Cundiff in June 2001.

Other Finding Aids

Other: In addition to indexes noted in related records, many deeds and other official documents recorded after 1900 contain an abstract reference, including book, page and line number, in the upper left hand corner.

Related Material

Official records from Washington County (Utah). County Recorder, Series 7067, contain many of the documents referred to in the abstracts.
Abstracts (sectional land) from Washington County (Utah). County Recorder, Series 16432, contain abstracts for land outside the city survey.
Deeds (Silver Reef) from Washington County (Utah). County Recorder, Series 23263, contain deeds and other official documents referred to in the abstracts for Saint George.
Deeds (Pine Valley) from Washington County (Utah). County Recorder, Series 23264, contain documents referred to in the abstracts for Santa Clara.
Deeds (Toquerville) from Washington County (Utah). County Recorder, Series 23265, contain documents referred to in the abstracts for Hurricane.
Land certificates from Washington County (Utah). County Recorder, Series 23279, contain documents referred to in the abstracts.
Deeds (Saint George) from Washington County (Utah). County Recorder, Series 23286, contain deeds and other land related documents referred to in the abstracts.
Abstracts (towns) from Washington County (Utah). County Recorder, Series 23555, contain abstract entries for Hurricane and Santa Clara, which begin in this series, as well as abstracts for other Washington County communities.
Abstracts name index from Washington County (Utah). County Recorder, Series 23693, provides a surname index to entries made in these abstracts.
Abstracts index (towns) from Washington County (Utah). County Recorder, Series 23718, provides reference by location to entries in Abstract Books A and A 1.
Abstracts (subdivisions) from Washington County (Utah). County Recorder, Series 23731, contain abstracts for subdivisions in Washington County.
Mortgages from Washington County (Utah). County Recorder, Series 82705, contain mortgages and mortgage related documents referred to in the abstracts.
Miscellaneous record books from Washington County (Utah). County Recorder, Series 82707, contain documents referred to in the abstracts.
Plat maps from Washington County (Utah). County Recorder, Series 83898, contain maps reflecting property ownership for each town lot. Also contain city survey maps identifying plats and blocks.
Deeds from Washington County (Utah). County Recorder, Series 84219, contain deeds and other land related documents referenced in the abstracts.
Liens from Washington County (Utah). County Recorder, Series 84264, contain copies of liens referred to in the abstracts.

Container List

ReelDescription
1 Abstract Book A and A 1; 1862-1978
2 Abstract of Title: Saint George, plat A-plat B; 1945-1992
3 Abstract of Title: Saint George, plat C-plat E; 1945-1992