Washington County (Utah). County Recorder Chattel mortgages index, 1898-1987.

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

The Washington County recorder kept an index to chattel mortgages, or mortgages of personal property, such as livestock, machinery, furniture, merchandise and crops. The index references chattel mortgages, releases of chattel mortgages, and bills of sale. The index identifies the type of document, names the mortgagee and mortgagor, gives the filing date and document date, and the amount of consideration money.

Scope and Content

The Washington County recorder kept an index to chattel mortgages, or mortgages of personal property, such as livestock, machinery, furniture, merchandise and crops. The index references chattel mortgages, releases of chattel mortgages, and bills of sale. The index identifies the type of document, names the mortgagee and mortgagor, gives the filing date and document date, and the amount of consideration money. Early indexes also indicate a book and page number, while later ones refer to a document file number. Statutes governing chattel mortgages were enacted by the Territorial Legislature in 1884 (Laws of Utah, 1884, Chapter XXI), and were repealed in 1965 (Utah Code, Unannotated, 1989, 70A-10-102).

Research Note

The index to chattel mortgages is arranged in five books. The county recorder designated sections of Books 1 and 2 to make entries for each letter of the alphabet. When a particular section became full, she occasionally continued entries at the end of a section designated for a different letter. Each letter is continued from Book 1 to Book 2 on a different date between Nov 1929 and Feb 1939. These books include entries for both mortgagee and mortgagor. Books 3 and 4, which are mortgagor indexes, cover March 1939-August 1958, and September 1958-ongoing, respectively. Book 5, which is a mortgagee index begins in 1953 and ends in 1965 when chattel mortgage statutes were repealed. In books 3-5 the recorder used a document file number instead of a book and page number. These records are not found in the mortgage books. Contact the county recorder for filing information; chattel mortgages are not included in Official Records, series 7067.

Arrangement

Chronological.

Volumes are chronological. The county recorder kept a running index, grouping entries according to the first letter of the mortgagor's or mortgagee's surname. Under each letter she filed entries chronologically.

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

Washington County Chattel Mortgage Index was microfilmed by Utah State Archives in May 1988 and processed by Rosemary Cundiff in January 2001.

Related Material

Chattel mortgages from Washington County (Utah). County Recorder, Series 23679, contains the chattel mortgages referred to in this index after 1947.

Mortgages from Washington County (Utah). County Recorder, Series 82705, contains the chattel mortgages referred to in this index up to 1947.

Indexing Terms

Personal property--Washington County (Utah).

Washington County (Utah)--Chattel mortgages.

Container List

Reel	Description
1	1898-ongoing (Book 1)
1	continuing-1939 Mar(Book 2)
1	Mar 1939-Aug 1958 (Book 3 Mortgagor Index)
1	1958 Sep-1987 (Book 4, A-H Mortgagor Index)
2	1958 Sep-1987 (Book 4, I-Z Mortgagor Index)
2	1953-1965 (Book 5 Mortgagee Index)