Sanpete County (Utah). Probate Court

This series contains various records documenting the legalization of existing land claims in Sanpete County in accordance with the provisions of "An Act for the Relief of the Inhabitants of Cities and Towns upon the Public Lands" passed by Congress in March 1867.

This series contains records filed with the Probate Court to establish claims to land and it documents the role the Probate Court played in the land claim process. The records were created 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. Most of the records in this series are signed declaratory statements submitted by claimants, but the series also includes summons for claimants in Moroni and Spring City, witness statements supporting claims in Moroni, and certifications to the mayor of Mount Pleasant.