Morgan County (Utah). Probate Court. Probate Docket and Land File, 1873-1876; 1887; 1895.

This series contains a record of court rulings on claims to land. The claims were filed as part of the process prescribed by law for individuals to gain legal title to land they already occupied. Land had been allocated and bought and sold since the beginning of European settlement in Utah, but for two decades no system had been established to gain legal title to property from the federal government, which owned all the land that comprised the Utah Territory following the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo at the end of the Mexican War.

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) in March 1867. The act provided that officials of incorporated towns should enter town site lands at the federal land office and purchase them in trust for the inhabitants. In accordance with the provisions of the law, the Utah Territorial Legislature passed "An Act prescribing Rules and Regulations for the execution of the Trust arising under" the federal law. (Compiled Laws of Utah, 1876. Title 19, Chap. 4). This law dictated that within 30 days after making the entry, the mayor of the town give public notice and advertise the land he had entered. Each person claiming to be the rightful owner of land within the town had six months to "sign a statement in writing, containing an accurate description of the particular parcel ... and deliver the same to the Clerk of the Probate Court." The clerk was to make record of the claim in a book and file the statement. If the court received conflicting claims for the same property it was to hear evidence and settle the claim. If no adverse claims were received by the Court it would issue summons to the claimants, who were required to appear before the court with evidence to support their claims and minutes were to be taken and preserved. 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 are minutes of the court in regards to adjudication of each claim. The minutes typically record the date and time of the court session, the name of each claimant, and the filing date of his/her claim statement. They note that the claimant has presented proof of the claim, provide a description of the property claimed, and give the ruling of the court - typically an order that the claimant be awarded a deed to the property.