State Historical Society World War I records, i 1917-1923.

This series is an effort to preserve a history of the World War I war record of Utah. The task originally was begun by the State Council of Defense, part of the National Council of Defense created on August 29, 1916 by act of Congress. The State Councils were to assist the federal government in recruiting for the National Guard and armed forces, promoting agricultural and industrial production for the war effort, fundraising, and planning patriotic activities. The Council also responded to a request by Governor Bamberger to compile a War History of the state. With the end of the war, the State Council was dissolved, and the war history aspect was assumed by the Utah State Historical Society.

The broad nature of the State Council of Defense's activities is covered in their correspondence, minutes, and reports. Committees were set up to deal with finance (liberty loans, war work campaign, etc.), publicity, sanitation, food supply and conservation, industry, labor, military affairs, transportation, etc. Each committee's activities were duly reported in the minutes and often represented in the correspondence. A War History committee was established as well, and local historians were appointed under each local defense council. The local councils were to conduct a house-by-house canvass of the community to collect listings of those in service. The committee also created a biographical questionnaire to send to nearest of kin, or if back in the country, to the soldier himself.

The war ended in 1918, and the State Council of Defense was dissolved the following year. In a letter to the President of the Utah State Historical Society dated March 25, 1919, Governor Bamberger suggested the Society "arrange to assume charge of the war history work now under the direction of the State Council of Defense on April 1, 1919." The Historical Society continued the effort to obtain a complete listing of those who served. They also collected the biographical questionnaires. Although a couple are included here, most may be found in WORLD WAR I SERVICE QUESTIONNAIRES. A state war historian was selected to research and publish a full account of Utah's contribution to the war effort.

Most of the series consists of rosters of one form or another. Many of the rosters, nearly half the series, represent listings of soldiers by home county. There are also a number of comprehensive rosters listing soldiers by branch of service. Other listings include nurses who served, wounded soldiers, soldiers who died in the war discharges, desertions, those who failed to report, those who were prisoners of war, those who received foreign decorations, etc. Aside from data on individuals, there are War Department listings of transports which would be carrying soldiers returning to Utah. Brief histories of the Second Division, the Fortieth Division, and the Ninety-First Division are included; each involved military organizations from Utah.

The project of compiling a complete war history with detailed biographies of those who died and general biographies of those who served was abandoned when word was received that the federal government was preparing a complete record of Utah men to be filed with the State Adjutant General ("Report of the State Historical Society," Public Documents ,Vol. 3, 1925-1926, p. 3). Nevertheless, in 1924, the information was used to publish a book titled "Utah in the World War" by Noble Warrum.