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
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
| Reel | Box | Folder | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 2 | Court Business; 1851 |
| 1 | 1 | 2 | S.M. Blair - Petition; 1851 |
| 1 | 1 | 3 | Lafayette Granger vs. Charles Snow; 1851 |
| 1 | 1 | 4 | Levi Gifford vs. the heirs of Daniel C. Davis; 1851 |
| 1 | 1 | 5 | Lyman Hawkins vs. David Holland/Holladay |
| 1 | 1 | 6 | Victor Leffering vs. William Blakely and James Schropshire; 1851 |
| 1 | 1 | 7 | James Pace - Bond; 1851 |
| 1 | 1 | 8 | A.V. Patterson vs. Isaac Parchal; 1851 |
| 1 | 1 | 9 | People vs. Howard Egan; 1851 |
| 1 | 1 | 10 | People vs. Ralph Hunt; 1851 |
| 1 | 1 | 11 | People vs. Thurston Larson; 1851 |
| 1 | 1 | 12 | People vs. Pedro Leon; 1851 |
| 1 | 1 | 13 | People vs. John O'Laughlin; 1851 |
| 1 | 1 | 14 | John Reese vs. Alfred Ashumbo; 1851 |
| 1 | 1 | 15 | J & E Reese vs. James M. Crabb; 1851 |
| 1 | 1 | 16 | Thomas Rhoads - Appointment; 1851 |
| 1 | 1 | 17 | Andrew Siler - Petition; 1851 |
| 1 | 1 | 18 | Joshua Slayton - Petition; 1851 |
| 1 | 1 | 19 | Elias Smith - Appointment; 1851 |
| 1 | 1 | 20 | Judson Stoddard vs. Alvin Stoddard; 1851 |
| 1 | 1 | 21 | Brigham Young vs. James Gambell; 1851 |
| 1 | 1 | 22 | Brigham Young vs. Samuel Hanson; 1851 |
| 1 | 1 | 23 | Court Business; 1852 |
| 1 | 1 | 24 | Samuel Burger vs. Stephen Lucas & Daniel Levan; 1852 |
| 1 | 1 | 25 | Seth Blair vs. Miles Beach; 1852 |
| 1 | 1 | 26 | Victor Leffering vs. Henry Cook; 1852 |
| 1 | 1 | 27 | Jacob Deetze vs. Stephen Lucas & Daniel Levan; 1852 |
| 1 | 1 | 28 | Joseph Holbrook; 1852 |
| 1 | 1 | 29 | Alfred Lee - Appointment; 1852 |
| 1 | 1 | 30 | George Livingston & John Kinkead vs. Lafayette Granger; 1852 |
| 1 | 1 | 31 | John Nebiker vs. William James; 1852 |
| 1 | 1 | 32 | James Peebles vs. James Hines; 1852 |
| 1 | 1 | 33 | People vs. William Allen, Peter Carter, & Simon Lance; 1852 |
| 1 | 1 | 34 | People vs. John Byron; 1852 |
| 1 | 1 | 35 | People vs. Samuel P. Davis; 1852 |
| 1 | 1 | 36 | People vs. James Hadden; 1852 |
| 1 | 1 | 37 | People vs. Alexander Hoffine & Ambrose Sabin; 1852 |
| 1 | 1 | 38 | People vs. William Jeans, Terrance McBrien, & William Wansley; 1852 |
| 1 | 1 | 39 | People vs. Stephen Lucas & O.H. Cogswell; 1852 |
| 1 | 1 | 40 | People vs. Isaac Neibur, James Goddard, Seth Bromly, & George Grant; 1852 |
| 1 | 1 | 41 | People vs. Charles James, James Phelps, Peter Shirts, & Edwin Lamb; 1852 |
| 1 | 1 | 42 | People vs. Robert Phillips; 1852 |
| 1 | 1 | 43 | People vs. Peersen J. Rister; 1852 |
| 1 | 1 | 44 | People vs. Albert Sharp; 1852 |
| 1 | 1 | 45 | People vs. Edward Wade; 1852 |
| 1 | 1 | 46 | People vs. George Wales; 1852 |
| 1 | 1 | 47 | J & E Reese vs. George Levy & Eli Abby; 1852 |
| 1 | 1 | 48 | J & E Reese vs. Charles McVicar & John O'Laughlin; 1852 |
| 1 | 1 | 49 | J & E Reese vs. Joseph Risley; 1854 |
| 1 | 1 | 50 | Thomas Scott vs. Stephen Lucas; 1852 |
| 1 | 1 | 51 | Lucuis Scovil vs. James Neal; 1852 |
| 1 | 1 | 52 | Elias Smith - Appointment; 1852 |
| 2 | 1 | 53 | Eli Walker vs. Stephen Lucas & Daniel Levan; 1852 |
| 2 | 1 | 54 | Thomas Williams vs. Henry D. Lindsay; 1852 |
| 2 | 1 | 55 | Thomas Williams vs. James Peebles; 1852 |
| 2 | 1 | 56 | Henry Winters vs. Stephen Lucas & James Canaan; 1852 |
| 2 | 1 | 57 | Court Business; 1853 |
| 2 | 1 | 58 | Bridger, Hawley, Thompson, & Co. vs. Dennis, et al; 1853 |
| 2 | 1 | 59 | Bridger, Hawley, Thompson, & Co. vs. Sweeney, et al; 1853 |
| 2 | 1 | 60 | Livingston & Kinkead vs. George Goddard; 1853 |
| 2 | 1 | 61 | People vs. James A. Austin; 1853 |
| 2 | 1 | 62 | People vs. James Bridger; 1853 |
| 2 | 1 | 63 | People vs. James Hendricks; 1853 |
| 2 | 1 | 64 | People vs. David Hull; 1853 |
| 2 | 1 | 65 | People vs. William May; 1853 |
| 2 | 1 | 66 | People vs. William Shortridge, et al; 1853 |
| 2 | 1 | 67 | Francis M. Russell - Bond; 1853 |
| 2 | 1 | 68 | Daniel H. Wells - Bond; 1853 |
| 2 | 1 | 69 | C.W. West vs. Jerome Zabriske; 1853 |
| 2 | 1 | 70 | Willis Young & Thomas Wheeler vs. James Simpkins; 1853 |
| 2 | 1 | 71 | Court Business; 1854 |
| 2 | 1 | 72 | Levi Abrams vs. William A. Hickman; 1854 |
| 2 | 1 | 73 | Dustin Amy vs. Beck & Roundy; 1854 |
| 2 | 1 | 74 | William J. Appleby - Appointment; 1854 |
| 2 | 1 | 75 | Almon Babbitt vs. Abel Lamb; 1854 |
| 2 | 1 | 76 | Almon Babbitt vs. William Muir & Robert Ure; 1854 |
| 2 | 1 | 77 | Isabel Brooks vs. William Twitchell; 1854 |
| 2 | 1 | 78 | John Ellis vs. George Greathouse; 1854 |
| 2 | 1 | 79 | George Goddard; 1854 |
| 2 | 1 | 80 | George Goddard & Bradford Leonard vs. A.E. McConnell; 1854 |
| 2 | 1 | 81 | Russell, Jones, & Co. vs. Elisha Ryan; 1854 |
| 2 | 1 | 82 | A.E. McConnell vs Goddard, et al; 1854 |
| 2 | 1 | 83 | Aurelius Miner vs. George B. Wallace; 1854 |
| 2 | 1 | 84 | People vs. Big Belly & Snake Track; 1854 |
| 2 | 1 | 85 | People vs. John H. Blazzard & James Allen; 1854 |
| 2 | 1 | 86 | People vs. J. Ward Curtis; 1854 |
| 2 | 1 | 87 | People vs. John Ellis; 1854 |
| 2 | 1 | 88 | People vs. William J. Hawley; 1854 |
| 2 | 1 | 89 | People vs. Joseph Leary; 1854 |
| 2 | 1 | 90 | People vs. Long Hair & Antelope; 1854 |
| 2 | 1 | 91 | People vs. Charles Perry; 1854 |
| 2 | 1 | 92 | People vs. John Platts; 1854 |
| 2 | 1 | 93 | People vs. Henry C. Ross; 1854 |
| 2 | 1 | 94 | People vs. Elias Smith & James Cummings; 1854 |
| 2 | 1 | 95 | People vs. Thomas Sullivan; 1854 |
| 2 | 1 | 96 | People vs. William Sullivan; 1854 |
| 2 | 1 | 97 | People vs. Lewis Trombley; 1854 |
| 2 | 1 | 98 | William Reynolds vs. Alfred Lambsen; 1854 |
| 2 | 1 | 99 | E.B. Ryan vs. Russell, et al; 1854 |
| 2 | 1 | 100 | Benjamin Simons vs. Charles Lindsey; 1854 |
| 2 | 1 | 101 | Benjamin Simons; 1854 |
| 2 | 1 | 102 | Philip Smith vs. William Hawley; 1854 |
| 2 | 1 | 103 | Cornelius Vorheis & Co. vs. Thomas Grover; 1854 |
| 2 | 1 | 104 | Charles Woodward vs. J.B. Tomilson; 1854 |
| 2 | 1 | 105 | Robert Yardell vs. George Greathouse; 1854 |
| 3 | 2 | 1 | Court Business; 1855 |
| 3 | 2 | 2 | Edward Barr vs. George Simpson; 1855 |
| 3 | 2 | 3 | Lucien Bedele vs. Edwin Webb; 1855 |
| 3 | 2 | 4 | Christopher Branham & Kenzie Norris vs. Daniel Bagley & B.H. Young; 1855 |
| 3 | 2 | 5 | Christopher Branham & Kenzie Norris vs. George Goddard; 1855 |
| 3 | 2 | 6 | Christopher Branham & Kenzie Norris vs. Stephen Goddard; 1855 |
| 3 | 2 | 7 | Christopher Branham & Kenzie Norris vs. Brigham H. Young & William H. Walton; 1855 |
| 3 | 2 | 8 | Isaac Bullock - Appointment; 1855 |
| 3 | 2 | 9 | William Camp vs. Alvin Green; 1855 |
| 3 | 2 | 10 | Louis Drexler vs. George Goddard & Bradford Leonard; 1855 |
| 3 | 2 | 11 | Mark Earnshaw vs. Daniel Patterson; 1855 |
| 3 | 2 | 12 | A. Grow vs. Jacob Hatch; 1855 |
| 3 | 2 | 13 | William Hawley, Joseph Thompson, & Co. vs. John Kerr & John Robinson; 1855 |
| 3 | 2 | 14 | Lewis Hatch vs. David Malcolm; 1855 |
| 3 | 2 | 15 | Hockaday, Morris, & Co. vs. Thomas Johnson; 1855 |
| 3 | 2 | 16 | J.M. Horner & Co. vs. Nathaniel Leavitt; 1855 |
| 3 | 2 | 17 | William Howard vs. George Goddard; 1855 |
| 3 | 2 | 18 | William Howard vs. Charles Perry and Elias Perry; 1855 |
| 3 | 2 | 19 | John Kerr vs. George Goddard & Bradford Leonard; 1855 |
| 3 | 2 | 20 | John Kerr vs. William Hawley; 1855 |
| 3 | 2 | 21 | Bradford Leonard vs. John Oakley; 1855 |
| 3 | 2 | 22 | Livingstead, Kinkead, & Co vs. William Hawley; 1855 |
| 3 | 2 | 23 | Livingstead, Kinkead, & Co vs. Abel Lamb; 1855 |
| 3 | 2 | 24 | Joseph Mason vs. William Hawley; 1855 |
| 3 | 2 | 25 | Alexander Findlay McDonald Declaration of Intention; 1855 |
| 3 | 2 | 26 | MacDonells & Adams vs. Joseph Thompson; 1855 |
| 3 | 2 | 27 | Reuben Middleton & Amos Riley vs. Abel Lamb; 1855 |
| 3 | 2 | 28 | John Ostler vs. Eliza Knight; 1855 |
| 3 | 2 | 29 | Daniel Patterson vs. Mark Earnshaw & Thomas Johnson; 1855 |
| 3 | 2 | 30 | People vs. Levi Abrams; 1855 |
| 3 | 2 | 31 | People vs. Oliver Bess; 1855 |
| 3 | 2 | 32 | People vs. Edward Eylsom; 1855 |
| 3 | 2 | 33 | People vs. Thomas Greenwood; 1855 |
| 3 | 2 | 34 | People vs. George Holmes; 1855 |
| 3 | 2 | 35 | People vs. Rufus Ingalls; 1855 |
| 3 | 2 | 36 | People vs. Jo (Spaniard); 1855 |
| 3 | 2 | 37 | People vs. David Jones; 1855 |
| 3 | 2 | 38 | People vs. Aurelius Miner; 1855 |
| 3 | 2 | 39 | People vs. Carlos Murry; 1855 |
| 3 | 2 | 40 | People vs. Nickerson & Engall; 1855 |
| 3 | 2 | 41 | People vs. Henry Rau; 1855 |
| 3 | 2 | 42 | People vs. Nathaniel Wells; 1855 |
| 3 | 2 | 43 | People vs. Ranson Young; 1855 |
| 3 | 2 | 44 | Charles A. & Elias H. Perry vs. William Barton; 1855 |
| 3 | 2 | 45 | Charles A. & Elias H. Perry vs. Matthew Gaunt; 1855 |
| 3 | 2 | 46 | Charles A. & Elias H. Perry vs. George Goddard & Bradford Leonard; 1855 |
| 3 | 2 | 47 | Charles A. & Elias H. Perry vs. Abraham Hoagland, Samuel Richards, & Joseph Horn; 1855 |
| 3 | 2 | 48 | Charles A. & Elias H. Perry vs. Francis M. Pomeroy; 1855 |
| 3 | 2 | 49 | Charles A. & Elias H. Perry vs. Andrew Stewart; 1855 |
| 3 | 2 | 50 | Charles A. & Elias H. Perry vs. E.P. Thomas; 1855 |
| 3 | 2 | 51 | Charles A. & Elias H. Perry vs. James Townshend; 1855 |
| 3 | 2 | 52 | Charles A. & Elias H. Perry vs. Charles White; 1855 |
| 3 | 2 | 53 | Henry Polydore vs. Samuel W. Richards & Jane Mayer; 1855 |
| 3 | 2 | 54 | Henry Pugh vs. Elijah Thomas; 1855 |
| 3 | 2 | 55 | John Richard vs. Ezra Benson & Co.; 1855 |
| 3 | 2 | 56 | George B. Simpson vs. Resides; 1855 |
| 3 | 2 | 57 | Skeggs & Reiley vs. Nathaniel Leavitt; 1855 |
| 3 | 2 | 58 | Judson Stoddard vs. Orrin Porter Rockwell; 1855 |
| 3 | 2 | 59 | Cornelius Vorheis vs. Robert Caldwell; 1855 |
| 4 | 2 | 60 | Maria S. Wakeham vs. John A. Wakeham; 1855 |
| 4 | 2 | 61 | Court Business; 1856 |
| 4 | 2 | 62 | Almon W. Babbit vs. A.B. Lambson; 1856 |
| 4 | 2 | 63 | John P. Barnhard - Appointment; 1856 |
| 4 | 2 | 64 | Blair vs. Johnson & Sproce; 1856 |
| 4 | 2 | 65 | Billa Dickson vs. James Whitaker; 1856 |
| 4 | 2 | 66 | Barnham & Norris vs. John Greene; 1856 |
| 4 | 2 | 67 | Almeron Grow vs. Almon Babbitt; 1856 |
| 4 | 2 | 68 | I & J.M. Hockaday vs. W.B. Twitchell, Benjamin Hawkins, Levi Abrams; 1856 |
| 4 | 2 | 69 | Joseph Holbrook - Appointment; 1856 |
| 4 | 2 | 70 | Benjamin Jenne vs. Daniel Russell; 1856 |
| 4 | 2 | 71 | James Jones & Co. vs. W. Hawley; 1856 |
| 4 | 2 | 72 | kinney, Greene, & Co. vs. Elijah Thomas; 1856 |
| 4 | 2 | 73 | E.A. McConnell vs. George Goddard & Bradford Leonard; 1856 |
| 4 | 2 | 74 | People vs. Pah Bitch & Mo See (Indians); 1856 |
| 4 | 2 | 75 | Charles A. & Elias H. Perry vs. William France; 1856 |
| 4 | 2 | 76 | Charles A. & Elias H. Perry vs. Henry Green; 1856 |
| 4 | 2 | 77 | Charles A. & Elias H. Perry vs. D.W. Jones; 1856 |
| 4 | 2 | 78 | Charles A. & Elias H. Perry vs. Joseph Kanaugh; 1856 |
| 4 | 2 | 79 | Charles A. & Elias H. Perry vs. Leonard Rice; 1856 |
| 4 | 2 | 80 | Charles A. & Elias H. Perry vs. Taylor Lufkin; 1856 |
| 4 | 2 | 81 | John Russell, et al vs. William Hawley; 1856 |
| 4 | 2 | 82 | Russell, Jones, & Co. vs. William Hawley; 1856 |
| 4 | 2 | 83 | Elias Smith - Appointment; 1856 |
| 4 | 2 | 84 | Joseph Troskolawski vs. Thomas Rhoads; 1856 |
| 4 | 2 | 85 | Thomas Wheeler vs. Israel Hoyt; 1856 |
| 4 | 2 | 86 | Thomas Williams vs. Levi Abram; 1856 |
| 4 | 2 | 87 | Thomas Williams vs. Bradford Leonard; 1856 |
| 4 | 2 | 88 | Jacob Winter vs. John Parker, James Duncan, Lot Smith, & Sarah Jane Winter; 1856 |
| 4 | 2 | 89 | Charles Caster Declaration of Intention; 1865 |