Utah, Territorial Case Files of the U.S. District Courts - FamilySearch Historical Records

United States Utah

What is in the Collection?
This index corresponds to the 2,593 case files created by the U.S. district courts from 1870 to 1896. The records are arranged by the name of the defendant. The records are from NARA publication M1401 part of Record Group 21 Records of the United States District Courts of the United States.


 * U.S. District Court Case Files, rolls 1-35, Numbers 1-2593
 * U.S. Circuit Court Case Files, rolls 36-38, Numbers 1-95

During the years from 1870 to 1896, the judicial system of Utah consisted of four districts located in Salt Lake City, Ogden, Provo, and Beaver. The records from these four districts have been combined and indexed. The majority of cases in this time period concerned the practice of polygamy, but there were also cases involving mail theft, illegal voting, violations of liquor and tobacco tariff laws, possession of counterfeit coins, and embezzlement.

This index was created to provide easier access to the Utah Territorial case files. The information in this index is quite reliable. However, keep in mind that it still may contain alternate spellings or misinterpretations of names or other information.

Collection Content
Information in the index includes:


 * Defendant’s full name
 * Case number
 * Footnote and National Archives Record Administration reference information
 * State
 * Year

How Do I Search the Collection?
To begin your search, it is helpful to know


 * The name
 * Other identifying information such as the case number or court date

Search the Collection
To search the collection by name: Fill in the requested information in the boxes on the initial search page. This search will return a list of possible matches. Compare the information about the individuals in the list to what you already know about your ancestors to determine if this is the correct family or person. You may need to look at the information on several individuals comparing the information about them to your ancestors to make this determination. Keep in mind:


 * There may be more than one person in the records with the same name.
 * You may not be sure of your own ancestor’s name.
 * Your ancestor may have used different names, or variations of their name, throughout their life.
 * If your ancestor used an alias or a nickname, be sure to check for those alternate names.
 * Even though these indexes are very accurate they may still contain inaccuracies, such as altered spellings, misinterpretations, and optical character recognition errors if the information was scanned.

For tips about searching on-line collections see the on-line article FamilySearch Search Tips and Tricks.

What Do I Do Next?
When you have located your ancestor’s record, carefully evaluate each piece of information given. Download a copy of the record, or extract the genealogical information needed. Use the information to search for the complete court case file. These pieces of information may give also you new biographical details. Add this new information to your records of each family.

Tips to Keep in Mind

 * Continue to search the index and records to identify other relatives or friends.
 * When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct.
 * You may need to compare the information of more than one family or person to determine which cases apply to your family.
 * Be aware that, as with any index, transcription errors may occur.

What If I Can't Find Who I'm Looking For?

 * Look for variant spellings of the names. You should also look for alias names, nicknames and abbreviated names.
 * Search the indexes and records of nearby localities.
 * Try alternative search methods such as only filling in the surname search box (or the given name search box) on the landing page leaving the other box empty and then click on search. This should return a list of everyone with that particular name. You could then browse the list for individuals that may be your ancestor.

Citing This Collection
Citing your sources makes it easy for others to find and evaluate the records you used. When you copy information from a record, list where you found that information. Here you can find citations already created for the entire collection and for each individual record or image.

Collection Citation: Record Citation (or citation for the index entry):