Utah, Box Elder County Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

Collection Time Period
The records conver the years 1856 to 1960.

Record Description
The collection consists of images of county records located at the county courthouse in Brigham city.

Included in this collection are:


 * Marriages (1887-1960)
 * Naturalization/Citizenship (1869-1945)
 * Military (1917-1957)
 * Land and Property (1857-1942)
 * Probate (1856-1878)

Record Content
The records generally include the following information:


 * Date of the event, transaction, or recording with the county
 * Names of individual, witnesses, family members, sometimes neighbors
 * Ages
 * Relationships
 * Residences
 * Occupations
 * Signature or mark
 * Legal descriptions of land
 * Amount of money exchanged as part of business transactions.

How to Use the Record
To begin your search it is helpful to know the following:


 * The type of event
 * The place where the event occurred
 * The approximate date the event occurred
 * The name of the individual or individuals, such as the bride and groom or the deceased

Identify the record to be searched
From the Record Description list, identify the kind of record you would like to search (land, naturalization, probate, marriages, etc.) and click on the title link to select it.

Find the image
Start searching individual images or pages that you have listed. Compare the information in the records to what you already know about your ancestors to determine if this is the correct person. You may need to compare the information of more than one person to make this determination.

Using the Information
When you have located your ancestor’s record, carefully evaluate each piece of information given. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details. Add this new information to your records of each family. The information may also lead you to other records about your ancestors.

The following examples show ways you can use the information:


 * Use the age to calculate a birth date.
 * Use the names, ages and residence church and census records.
 * Occupations listed can lead you to other types of records such as employment or military records.
 * The name of the officiator at a christening, marriage, or burial may be a clue to their religion or area of residence in the county.
 * Compile the entries for every person who has the same surname as the bride or groom; this is especially helpful in rural areas or if the surname is unusual.
 * Continue to search the records to identify children, siblings, parents, and other relatives who may have been born, married, or died in the same county or nearby. This can help you identify other generations of your family or even the second marriage of a parent. Repeat this process for each new generation you identify.
 * When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct.

Tips to Keep in Mind

 * When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct.
 * Earlier records may not contain as much information as the records created after the late 1800s.
 * There is also some variation in the information given from one record to another record.

If you are unable to find the ancestors you are looking for, try the following:


 * Check for variant spellings of the surnames.
 * Check for an index. There are often indexes at the beginning of each volume.
 * Search the indexes and records of nearby counties.

For a summary of this information along with additional research suggestions based on record types see the wiki article United States, How to Use the Records Summary (FamilySearch Historical Records).

Record History
Soon after they were formed, counties began recording vital records, court records, and land transactions. The records are generally well preserved.

Why the Record Was Created
The records were made to establish legal rights and to help track the population for health and taxation purposes.

Record Reliability
The information is generally reliable, but depends upon the reliability of the informant. Some transcription errors may have occurred.

Related Websites

 * Access Genealogy
 * Utah Genealogy Records
 * Ancestor Hunt

Related Wiki Articles

 * Utah Vital Records
 * Utah Naturalization and Citizenship
 * Utah Probate Records
 * Utah Military Records
 * Utah Land and Property

Citing FamilySearch Historical Collections
When you copy information from a record, you should list where you found the information. This will help you or others to find the record again. It is also good to keep track of records where you did not find information, including the names of the people you looked for in the records.

A suggested format for keeping track of records that you have searched is found in the wiki article Help:How to Cite FamilySearch Collections.

Examples of Source Citations for a Record Found in a FamilySearch Collection
"Utah, Box Elder County Records, 1856-1960" images,FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org: accessed 25 January 2012). entry for Wallace D Hunsaker, born 15 November 1923; citing County Records, Military records, Soldier's discharges vol 002 1942-1945, Image 3; Box Elder County Clerk, Brigham City, Utah, United States.

Citation for This Collection
The following citation refers to the original source of the data and images published on FamilySearch.org Historical Records. It may include the author, custodian, publisher, and archive for the original records.

"Utah, Box Elder County Records,1856-1960." FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org). Box Elder County Clerk, Brigham City, Utah. FHL digital images. Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah.

Information about creating source citations for FamilySearch Historical Collections is listed in the wiki article Help:How to Create Source Citations For FamilySearch Historical Records Collections.