Sevier County, Utah Genealogy

Guide to Sevier County, Utah ancestry, genealogy and family history, birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

Description
The County was named for the Sevier River, which winding path forms its western boundary. The County is located in the center area of the state.

County Courthouse
Sevier County Courthouse 250 North Main St Richfield, Utah 84701 Phone: 435-893-0461 Sevier County Courthouse

County Clerk has birth and death records 1898-1905, marriage records, naturalization records 1850-1898. State court has divorce, probate and court records, military discharge records from 1942.

Populated Places
For a complete list of populated places, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit Hometown Locator. The following are the most historically and genealogically relevant populated places in this county:

‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties

History Timeline

 * Parent County(s): *Boundary changes timeline for Sevier County from "UT: Index of Counties and Equivalents," Newberry Library's Atlas of Historical County Boundaries for Utah.

NOTE: Unless otherwise mentioned, the events below were gleaned from Wikipedia for Sevier County.


 * 1776 The first non-Native Americans to see the Sevier River were most likely the Catholic fathers Silvestre Vélez de Escalanteand Francisco Atanasio Domínguez as they passed through on their expedition to California.
 * 1863 Glenwood was established by Mormon Pioneers. It was named for an early pioneer, Robert Wilson Glenn. The settlement's original name was Glencoe or Glen Cove, but was changed in November 1864 when Orson Hyde (a Church leader) visited the settlement and recommended Glenwood.
 * 1864 The first permanent settlers (about 30 families) moved into the area at the direction of leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They found abundant salt deposits nearby so they named the area "Salina".
 * 1864 Richfield was colonized by Latter-day Saint settlers on 15 June 1864. Much of the area was populated by newly immigrated converts of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from Scandinavian countries, and because of the growth in this small community they officially created Sevier County in early 1865.
 * 1865 Sevier County was created 16 January 1865 from Sanpete County.
 * 1865 Work began on a fort to provide protection for both the Setters and their stock. The fort was completed and contained several homes, a blacksmith shop, along with a corral and stockyard for the animals.
 * 1866 A stone fort was constructed in Glenwood in April.
 * 1867 In April, the Settlers of Alma were evacuated. Most of the evacuees made temporary homes in Sanpete County, until they could return home.
 * 1868 The Black Hawk War of 1867 between settlers and local Indians left Glenwood deserted for one year, but was later resettled in 1868 after peace resumed.
 * 1871 The first two families to settle Anabella were those of Harry Dalton, a member of the Mormon Battalion, and Joseph Powell. The first name given to the settlement was Omni Point, and Richfield was called Omni. The town name was later changed to Annabella, after two of the first two children born in the area: Ann S. Roberts and Isabella Dalton.
 * 1871 The town of Joseph was settled and named for Joseph A. Young, a local leader of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
 * 1871 The settlers returned to Salina from Manti, organized a militia, and constructed a fort and buildings for a school and a church. At that time they discovered coal deposits in "almost inexhaustible quantities" in the canyon east of the settlement.
 * 1872 The town of Alma applied for a Post Office under the city name of Monroe, in honor of U.S. President James Monroe.
 * 1874 The community was first settled in the spring of 1874 by James C. Jensen, Jens Iver Jensen, and others. The area was settled by Danish converts to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and named after Kronborg Castle, known as Elsinore in Hamlet. The town was given its official name at the suggestion of Church Stake President Joseph A. Young. Previously, the town was named Little Denmark because many of the early settlers were immigrants of that country.
 * 1875 Aurora was founded by Ezra White (or Ezra Curtis, according to some accounts) and three other families along the banks of the Sevier River. Originally named Willow Bend, the name was changed to Aurora due to the presence of the Northern Lights. The city was moved west two to three miles along the Rocky Ford Canal to avoid the spring flooding that accompanied life along the Sevier. While growth occurred more rapidly in the accompanying communities of Salina and Richfield, Aurora grew largely due to the settling of children of many of the large families in the city. Most current residents are able to track their lineage to one of the four founding families of the city.
 * 1875 Redmond was first settled.
 * 1882 The Michelsen Familyimmigrated from Denmark and moved to Monroe where they had seven children as well as their oldest daughter who was born in Denmark.
 * 1890 One of the town's leading citizens, George Staples (1834–1890) was gored to death by a Jersey bull on his farm outside town on October 30. Staples was the English immigrant who adopted Sioux and who is widely credited with opening the way for peaceful settlement of southern Utah by negotiations with Native American tribes in the area.
 * 1891 The coming of the Denver and Rio Grande Railroadopened the valley for expanded agricultural commerce and mining.
 * 1900 The Michelsen Family was called on a mission to help build an irrigation canal and establish the community of Stirling, Alberta.
 * 1945 During WWII, Salina contained a POW camp, housing 250 German prisoners. On July 8, Private Clarence Bertucci climbed one of the guard towers and took aim at the tents where the prisoners were sleeping. He fired 250 rounds and managed to hit thirty tents in his fifteen-second rampage. By the time a corporal managed to disarm Bertucci, six prisoners were dead and an additional twenty-two were wounded (three would later die of their injuries).

Business, Commerce, and Occupations

 * Henry Mining District, Sevier County, Utah, 1883-1896 Ancestry.com ($) This index provides the name of the miner, the name of the mine, the date the mine was recorded, and the page number the original record is located upon.

Cemeteries

 * Territorial-1966 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * Sevier County cemeteries at the Utah State Historical site
 * Glenwood Cemetery 1960 transcription digitized by FamilySearch (free). Notes each plot and what the tombstone (if any) says.

Church Records
 The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) Historically, most people in Utah were Latter-day Saints. Their records are, therefore, very important for early Utah research. For additional information, see Tracing Latter-day Saint Ancestors and Utah Church Records.
 * 1877-1918 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index

 List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

Directories

 * Utah Directories

Emigration and Immigration

 * 1847-1868 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & links to images

Funeral Homes

 * Magleby-Buchanan Mortuary 50 South 100 West Richfield, UT 84701 Phone: 435-896-5484 Toll Free Phone: 866-MAGLEBY Fax: 435-896-8526
 * Spring Turner Funeral Home 260 North 400 West Richfield, UT 84701 Phone: 435-896-6333 Fax: 435-896-1727

Local Histories

 * Bishop, M. Guy. A history of Sevier County, Utah Centennial County History Series. Also available at Marriott Library Digital Collections.

Maps and Gazetteers
Local biographical histories can be found at "Utah Geneology Trails":
 * Utah Gazetteers


 * Google highway map of Sevier County 2012
 * FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

Military Records

 * Territorial-1966 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

 Civil War
 * 1861-1865 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images at Partner site

World War I
 * 1914-1918 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1914-1918 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1917-1918 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1917-1918 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1917-1919 J.L. Ewing. An honor roll : containing a pictorial record of the gallant and courageous men from Sevier County, Utah, U.S.A, who served in the Great War 1917 - 1918 - 1919.Richfield, Utah : J.L. Ewing, 192-?

 World War II
 * 1939-1945 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1940-1947 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

Naturalization and Citizenship
Online Naturalization Indexes and Records
 * 1848-2001 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1906-1930 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1906-1930 Utah, Federal Naturalization Records, 1906-1930 at Ancestry- index & images ($)

Newspapers

 * 1850-2003 Utah Newspapers, 1850-2003 at MyHeritage — index & images ($)
 * Utah Digital Newspapers Project gives newspaper images online. Search All Newspapers by name or keywords, or Browse by County to view the digitized newspapers.
 * Richfield Reaper, covering 1906-1940 is included.

Obituaries

 * 1850-2005 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & links to images
 * 2010-2013 Utah, U.S., Obituary Index, 2010-2013 at Ancestry - index ($)

Prisons

 * 1892-1949 Board of Pardons Prisoners' Pardon Application Case Files, 1892-1949 at Utah Division of Archives and Records Service – index and images

Probate Records
Online Probate Indexes and Records
 * 1800-1985 Utah Wills and Probate Records 1800-1985 at Ancestry.com — index and images $
 * 1851 – 1961 at FamilySearch — images
 * State and County Probate Records

Social Security Records

 * 1936-2007 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index

Birth

 * 1898-1905 Series #84238 at Utah State Archives. Not online, no online index.
 * Copies available through FamilySearch Library: . There are no names of children in the records.


 * 1903-1914 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1906-1910 1906-1910 online images

Marriage

 * 1805-1992 Utah, United States Marriages at Findmypast — index ($)
 * 1887-1937 Utah, County Marriages, 1887-1937 at MyHeritage - index ($)
 * 1871-1941 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1887-1999 Utah, Marriages, 1887-1999 at MyHeritage — index ($)
 * Western States Marriage Index at BYU-Idaho — includes some divorces and alternative sources

Death

 * 1904-1965 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * Pre-1904 Utah State Burial Data Base This site includes information on many Utah residents, who died before 1904.

Archives

 * 1848-2001 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

FamilySearch Centers

 * Fillmore Utah FamilySearch Center
 * Monroe Utah FamilySearch Center
 * Richfield Utah FamilySearch Center
 * Salina Utah FamilySearch Center

Libraries

 * Monroe City Library  55 South Main Street P.O.Box 120 Monroe, UT 84754 Phone: 435-527-4019


 * Richmond Public Library 38 West Main Street Richmond UT 84333-1409 Phone: 435-258-5525 Website


 * Salina Public Library 90 West Main Street Salina, UT 84654 Phone: 435-529-7753


 * Utah's Online Library, which provides links to library web pages, addresses, phone numbers, hours, and maps.

Websites

 * Sevier County UTGenWeb, Utah GenWeb
 * USGW Archive Sevier, Utah USGW
 * Linkpendium


 * – The FamilySearch catalog contains descriptions and access information for all genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) in their collection.  Use Historical Records to search for specific individuals in genealogical records.