Fort Bridger Indian Agency (Wyoming)

Guide to  ancestry, family history and genealogy: birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, parish registers, and military records.

Indian Tribes Associated With This Agency
Shoshoni and Bannock

History
The Fort Bridger Agency was established by 1855 and was originally located in Provo, Utah. In 1861 it moved to Fort Bridger in what became Wyoming. The Fort Bridger Agency, with primary jurisdiction over the Shoshoni and Bannock Indians, operated under the Utah Superintendency until 1869 when it was transferred to the newly formed Wyoming Superintendency. It became the Shoshone and Bannock Agency.

Records
Agencies and subagencies were created as administrative offices of the Bureau of Indian Affairs and its predecessors. Their purpose was (and is) to manage Indian affairs with the tribes, to enforce policies, and to assist in maintaining the peace. The names and location of these agencies may have changed, but their purpose remained basically the same. Many of the records of genealogical value (for the tribe and tribal members) were created by and maintained by the agencies.