Archives News

Featured image for “Utah’s Road to Statehood: The Finish Line”
November 10, 2021

Utah’s Road to Statehood: The Finish Line

In 1894, Congress voted to invite Utah into the Union. President Grover Cleveland signed the Enabling Act, which allowed Utah to officially form a Constitutional Convention. Utahns moved with enthusiasm as they had been waiting for the opportunity to become a state for decades. They held an election to choose the delegates and convened the convention in March of 1895.
Featured image for “Utah History Day: History in Government Winners”
June 2, 2021

Utah History Day: History in Government Winners

Each year, over 7,000 Utah students, from grades 4-12, embark on a research project for Utah History Day, part of the larger National History Day contest. Students choose a historical topic related to the annual theme, and then conduct primary and secondary research in libraries, archives, and museums. The final projects are presented in one of five ways: an exhibit, documentary, performance,
Featured image for “Stories of Utah Women: Dr. Ellis Reynolds Shipp”
October 15, 2020

Stories of Utah Women: Dr. Ellis Reynolds Shipp

The story of Ellis Reynolds started in 1847 in Iowa. Her family converted to the LDS church and moved to Utah when she was five years old. In a speech about her early life, Ellis relates one of her strongest memories of the trip. One of her fellow travelers, Sister Winters, contracted cholera and died. Ellis’s grandmother was the nurse
Featured image for “Women in Law: Stories of Utah Women”
August 18, 2020

Women in Law: Stories of Utah Women

First Female Lawyers in Utah The Utah Bar admitted Phoebe Couzins and Georgia Snow on the same day in 1872. Couzins studied law at Washington University Law School in Missouri, and had been admitted to the bar in Missouri and in Arkansas. The Utah bar accepted her automatically, as she had credentials and experience practicing in other states. Judge McKean,
Featured image for “Martha Hughes Cannon, First Female Senator: Stories of Utah Women”
July 9, 2020

Martha Hughes Cannon, First Female Senator: Stories of Utah Women

Early Life Martha Hughes was born in Wales in 1857. Her parents were recent converts to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, immigrating to Utah when Martha was four years old in 1861. Martha’s father, Peter Hughes, died of consumption just days after they arrived. Her mother remarried about a year later and the family settled in Salt
Featured image for “Women in the LGBTQIA+ Community: Stories of Utah Women”
June 30, 2020

Women in the LGBTQIA+ Community: Stories of Utah Women

The Utah State Archives and Records Service is the repository for government records. Historically, these records have not provided a voice for underrepresented groups in Utah. As we work to amplify all voices in Utah, we are shining the spotlight on the LGBTQIA+ community. History Although homosexuality was not always widely accepted, there were still communities in which those of
Featured image for “Joanna Sprague: Stories of Utah Women”
May 26, 2020

Joanna Sprague: Stories of Utah Women

You may have heard of the Sprague branch of the Salt Lake City Public Library System, but do you know the woman behind the name? Within a year of becoming a state, Utah voted to provide funds for free public libraries. The first library opened on Valentine’s Day 1898 on the top floor of the city-county building in Salt Lake
Featured image for “Women in World War II: Stories of Utah Women”
April 6, 2020

Women in World War II: Stories of Utah Women

Utah women volunteered in droves to help the war effort in the 1940’s. There were several different ways to volunteer and serve. If women were trained medically they could be a nurse in the American Red Cross or any military division. The United States Coast Guard (USCG) Women’s Reserve, known as the SPARS, was the World War II women’s branch
Featured image for “First Two Women in the House: Stories of Utah Women”
March 25, 2020

First Two Women in the House: Stories of Utah Women

The newly ratified Utah State Constitution finally provided women the right to vote and to hold office in 1896. Sarah E. Anderson and Eurithe K. Barthe were elected for the very next term in the State House of Representatives.  Eurithe K. LaBarthe Eurithe K. LaBarthe was born in Illinois in 1845, moved to Colorado where she was a teacher and
Featured image for “AnnaBelle Weakley: Stories of Utah Women”
February 26, 2020

AnnaBelle Weakley: Stories of Utah Women

AnnaBelle Shaw was born in Mississippi in 1922. She moved to Ogden during World War II when her fiancé was stationed at Hill Field, now known as Hill Air Force Base. They married at the end of 1942. After the war they divorced and AnnaBelle met and married her second husband, Billie Weakley in 1947. AnnaBelle Weakley and her husband