Series 30348

Provo (Utah). Mayor City lot filing records, 1868-1873.

0.20 cubic foot

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

Historical Note

See history of the records' creator.

Summary of Records

This series contains various records associated with property claims in Provo City. Land in Utah had been allocated and bought and sold since the beginning of European settlement, but no system had been established to gain legal title to property from the federal government. In 1867 Congress passed "An Act for the Relief of the Inhabitants of Cities and Towns upon the Public Lands" (Statutes at Large, Treaties, and Proclamations, of the United States of America, vol. 14, chap. 177). The act provided that officials of incorporated towns should enter town site lands at the federal land office in Salt Lake City and purchase them in trust for the inhabitants. Territorial law authorized mayors to issue property deeds to lawful claimants. The records in this series document deeds issued by Mayor Abraham O. Smoot and the filing fees paid by claimants. The records include lists of claimants, along with the property they claimed and the filing fee they paid. They also contain a record of what money claimants owed and when it was paid, as well as a list of blocks and lots in the city and who had been adjudged to be the rightful claimant for each lot.

Scope and Content

This series contains various records associated with property claims in Provo City. Land in Utah had been allocated and bought and sold since the beginning of European settlement, but for two decades no system had been established to gain legal title to property from the federal government. In 1867, as a remedy for the situation, Congress passed "An Act for the Relief of the Inhabitants of Cities and Towns upon the Public Lands" (Statutes at Large, Treaties, and Proclamations, of the United States of America, vol. 14, chap. 177). The act provided that officials of incorporated towns should enter town site lands at the federal land office in Salt Lake City and purchase them in trust for the inhabitants. In accordance with the provisions of the law, the Utah Territorial Legislature adopted a law dictating that the mayor of the town give public notice and advertise the land he had entered. Persons claiming ownership of land within the town had six months to file a claim with the Probate Court. If the court determined a claim to be valid, it would certify that to the mayor, who would then issue a deed to the claimant. The records in this series document deeds issued by Mayor Abraham O. Smoot and the filing fees paid by claimants.
The records include lists of claimants, along with the property they claimed and the filing fee they paid. They also contain a record of what money claimants owed and when it was paid, as well as a list of blocks and lots in the city and who the probate court had adjudged to be the rightful claimant for each lot.
Many of the records in this series may have been created by city recorder L. John Nuttall, but since the the mayor was responsible for the process of providing deeds, this series has been placed under the mayor.

Arrangement

Generally chronological.

Access Restrictions

This series is classified as Public: Utah Code 63G-2-310 (2008)..

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

The city recorder transferred the records in this series to the State Archives in April 2022.

Acquisition Information

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

Indexing Terms

Container List

BoxFolderDescription
11List of Persons who have had Lots Surveyed By Jesse W. Fox, April 1868
12Amounts Paid on Entry of Provo City, May 17th 1869
13Lists of claimants, lots, and fees
14Account book
15Miscellaneous