Utah County, Utah Genealogy

United States Utah  Utah County

Quick Facts
Wikipedia

Named for the Ute Indians, Spanish word Yuta.

Parent Counties
3 March 1852: Utah County was created from the Utah Territory.

Neighboring Counties
Carbon | Duchesne | Juab | Salt Lake | Sanpete | Tooele | Wasatch

History Timeline
A Brief History of Utah County, on the Utah's Pioneer Library web site. The county seat and largest city is Provo.

Interesting Facts

Lehi is named after Lehi, a prophet in the Book of Mormon.

Orem was known as Sharon, a Biblical name for a mostly level strip of land running between mountains and the sea; Another former name was Provo Bench.

NOTE: Unless otherwise mentioned, the below events were gleaned from Wikipedia for Utah county.


 * 1849 - Provo was originally called Fort Utahwhen settled, but was renamed Provo in 1850 for Étienne Provost, an early French-Canadian trapper who arrived in the region in 1825.
 * 1850 - American Fork was settled by Mormon pioneers, and incorporated as Lake City in 1852.
 * 1850 - Mormon pioneers settled the area now known as Lehi, at a place called Dry Creek, near the head of Utah Lake. It was renamed Evansville in 1851, after David Evans, a local bishop in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Other historical names include Sulphur Springs and Snow’s Springs.
 * 1850 - Mapleton was first settled, and for a time was known as Union Bench.
 * 1850 - Payson first settled. Originally named Peteetneet, after a Ute Indian chief who lived near Payson's current location.
 * 1850 - The original name of Pleasant Grove was Battle Creek. It was named for a battle which took place there in 1849 between Mormon settlers and a small band of Ute Indians.
 * 1850 - Springville was originally settled. The city was first called Hobble Creek by early pioneers. Later, as the town grew, the name was changed to Springville because of the many freshwater springs in the area.
 * 1851 - The first ward of the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saintsin American Fork was organized with Leonard E. Harrington as bishop.
 * 1852 - Lehi grew so rapidly that, Bishop Evans petitioned the Utah Territorial Legislature to incorporate the settlement. Lehi City was incorporated by legislative act on February 5, 1852 and approved a request to call the new city Lehi.
 * 1853 - Daniel H. Wells, the head of the Nauvoo Legion(Utah Territorial Militia at the time), instructed settlers in American Fork to move into specific forts. At a meeting on July 23, 1853 at the schoolhouse in American Fork, Lorenzo Snowand Parley P. Prattconvinced the settlers to follow Wells' directions and all move together into a central fort.
 * 1855 - The town of Fairfield was established when John Carson, his four brothers, and others settled in the Cedar Valley. The settlement was soon known as Frogtown.
 * 1855 to 1860 - Between 1855 and 1860, the arrival of pioneers from Iceland made Spanish Fork into the first permanent Icelandic settlement in the United States.
 * 1860 - Settlers changed the name of Lake City to American Fork.
 * 1861 - Frogtown became Fairfield; named after Amos Fielding, who participated in establishing the community.
 * 1861 - Lindon was settled. It was originally named "String Town" because of the way the houses were strung up and down the street. An old linden tree (Tilia) growing in town in 1901 inspired the present (misspelled) name.
 * 1870 - American Fork served as a rail access point for mining activities in American Fork Canyon.
 * 1870 - Highland was settled by homesteaders,so named by Scottish Mormon immigrants who felt the area resembled the highlands of Scotland.

Towns
Cedar Fort | Fairfield | Genola | Goshen | Vineyard | Woodland Hills

Census Designation Places
Benjamin | Elberta | Lake Shore | Palmyra | Spring Lake | West Mountain

Communities
Birdseye | Dividend |

Ghost towns
Colton | Forest City | Mill Fork | Mosida | Thistle | Tucker

Cemeteries
Please refer to the populated places for the information about the cemeteries in these places.

See also Utah State Burial Data Base

Census
The 1850 [1851], 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, and 1930 U.S. federal population schedules of Utah County are available online, at Family Search Historical Records.

For tips on accessing census records online, see Utah Census. If you're having trouble finding your ancestors in national indexes, try checking local indexes. Created by experts familiar with the area's families, these indexes are often transcribed more accurately than nationwide indexes.

See Utah Population Schedule Indexes: Fiche, Film, or Book for more information about statewide printed indexes.

1856


 * 1) "Utah Census Returns" Historical Department of Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
 * 2) Index (Index Publishing)
 * 3) Index (AIS)
 * 4) Family Search

Church Records
Early, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Church records for Utah County Wards and Branches can be found on film and are located at the LDS Family History Library in Salt Lake City or at the Family History at BYU. The film numbers, for each ward, can be locate through the Family History Library Catalog. Or by refering to Jaussi, Laureen R., and Gloria D. Chaston. Register of Genealogical Society Call Numbers. 2 vols. Provo, Utah: Genealogy Tree, 1982. (FHL book 979.2258 A3j; fiche 6031507). These volumes contain the film numbers for many (but not all) membership and temple record films.

County Courthouse
www.co.utah.ut.us/ Utah County, Utah Courthouse 100 E. Center Street Provo, Utah 84606 801-851-8000

Clerk/Auditor: Room 3600 Phone 801-851-8109 Fax 801-851-8232 and 801-851-7201

Court
www.utahcountyonline.org/Dept/JustCrt/index.asp

Land
Utah County Online has Web Access to Utah County Land Records. This includes property searches by name, address, etc., map searches, document searches and document images.

Local Histories
The City of Orem was named after W.C. Orem, builder of the railroad which ran through the town. Payson was named after an early settler, James Pace. The community was previously known as Fort Peteetneet after a Ute Indian chief. Of course, the County and the State are named after the Ute (or Utah) Indians. Springville was once known as Hobble Creek because a member of a Mormon exploring party lost his horse's hobbles in or near the creek. Pleasant Grove, named after a cottonwood grove near the original town site, was once known as Battle Creek since it was the site of the first conflict between Indians and settlers. Elberta was named for its Elberta peach orchards and Salem was named after New Salem, Massachusetts, but was first called Pond Town after the large pond that today is known as Salem Pond. The first library in Provo was opened in 1854 and there has been an official U.S. Post Office in the city since at least 1894. Provo General Hospital opened in 1903 and gave way to Utah Valley Hospital in 1939. The Utah State (Mental) Hospital dates back to 1880 but was formerly known by less politically correct names. Electric service first came to the valley in 1890. The Provo area is known worldwide as the home of Brigham Young University. Brigham Young issued a deed of trust to establish Brigham Young Academy on October 16,1875. The fledgling institution went through some rough years and nearly folded on occasion before officially becoming Brigham Young University on October 23, 1903. From humble beginnings with sometimes only a handful of students, it is now a major university with some 30,000 students. 1900 to the Present Day The County population grew slowly and steadily through the years of World War I, the Great Depression and World War II. The official census counted 23,768 citizens in 1890 and that number grew to only 49,021 in 1940. Today, the county has 516,564* residents. For many years, Geneva Steel was one of the few major employers outside of agriculture, government and schools. Geneva was built during World War II to provide steel for the war effort. But starting in the 1980s and throughout the 1990s, the valley became one of the entrepreneurial hot spots of the nation and, in particular, has become a Mecca for high-tech, computer-related companies.

Maps
www.utahcountyonline.org/OnlineServices/maps/index.asp

Migration
Early migration routes to and from for emigrant settlers included:


 * California Trail 1846 to 1869 from western Missouri to northern California
 * Mormon Trail 1846 to 1869 from Nauvoo, Illinois to Salt Lake City, Utah
 * Mormon Trail to Southern California 1847 from Salt Lake City, Utah to Los Angeles, California
 * Central Overland Trail 1859-1869 from Salt Lake City, Utah to Carson City, Nevada (and usually on to northern California)
 * Union Pacific Railroad 1869 Ogden, Utah to Omaha, Nebraska
 * Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad 1883 Salt Lake City, Utah to Grand Junction, Colorado (and Denver)

Military
www.dexknows.com/local/government_and_community/military_and_defense/geo/co-utah_county-ut/

Newspapers

 * One major resource for newspapers throughout Utah is the University of Utah's Utah Digital Newspapers project "with more than 600,000 pages of digitized Utah historical newspapers." One newspaper from Utah County is included in this digital project, the Provo Daily Enquirer. Read more... about using Utah newspapers for your family history research.
 * See also Utah County Newspaper

Obituaries

 * The Utah Valley Obituary Index has indexed obituaries from most Utah County newspapers. Each can be found at the Harold B. Lee Library at BYU.

Probate
www.familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Utah_County_Probate_Records_(FamilySearch_Historical_Records)

Taxation
www.utahcountyonline.org/Dept/Treas/TaxRates.asp

Vital Records:
Marriges for Utah  from 20 Feb 1851 to 25 Aug 1941 are listed on the Western States Marriage Index. Data is incomplete as there are no civil government recorded marriages in Utah County prior to 1887. Some early divorce records were also indexed and included.

Utah Death Certificates 1904 - 1956 -A free internet access to the 1904-1956 death certificates can be viewed as the Historical Records. Utah requires a death certificate before a burial is completed. A death certificate may contain information as to the name of the deceased, date of death, and place of death, as well as the age, birthdate, parents, gender, marital status, spouse and place of residence.

Utah State Burial Index You can search this data base for deaths before 1904.

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to LDS Family History Centers
 * Alpine Utah North Family History Center
 * Alpine Utah West Family History Center
 * American Fork Utah Family History Center
 * BYU Family History Library (Harold B. Lee Library, Provo)
 * BYU 8th Family History Center
 * BYU 11th Family History Center
 * BYU 17th Family History Center
 * BYU 18th Family History Center
 * Brigham Young University Utah Family History Center - Public Library
 * Eagle Mountain Utah Family History Center
 * Elberta Utah Family History Center
 * Genola Utah Family History Center
 * Goshen Utah Family History Center
 * Highland Utah Family History Center
 * Lindon Utah Family History Center
 * Mapleton Utah Family History Center
 * Mount Timpanogos Utah Family History Center
 * Orem FamilySearch Center
 * Orem Utah Geneva Heights Family History Center
 * Orem Utah Lakeridge Family History Center
 * Suncrest Family History Center
 * Orem Utah Sharon Park Family History Center
 * Orem Utah Sunset Heights Family History Center
 * Orem Utah YSA 2nd Family History Center
 * Payson Utah Family History Center
 * Pleasant Grove Utah East Family History Center
 * Pleasant Grove Utah Grove Creek Family History Center
 * Salem Utah Family History Center
 * Provo Utah Bonneville Family History Center
 * Utah South Area FHC Family History Training Center (Orem)
 * Utah South Hispanic Family History Center (Provo)
 * Springville Utah YSA Family History Center
 * Spanish Fork UT Landmark Seminary--Release Time
 * Spanish Fork Utah Family History Center
 * Provo Utah Cove Point Family History Center
 * Provo Utah East Family History Center
 * Provo Utah Edgemont North Family History Center
 * Provo Utah Grandview East Family History Center
 * Provo Utah Married Student Family History Center
 * Provo Utah North Park Family History Center
 * Provo Utah South Family History Center
 * Provo Utah Sunset Family History Center
 * Provo Utah University Married Student 2nd Family History Center
 * Provo Utah University Married Student 3rd Family History Center
 * Provo Utah Wasatch (Tongan) Family History Center
 * Santaquin Utah Family History Center

Web Sites

 * The Utah County UTGenWeb Project, a member of The UTGenWeb Project, an affiliate of The USGenWeb Project
 * The USGenWeb Archives Project for Utah County
 * The USGenWeb Archives Project for Utah County. (Backup site)
 * Family History Library Catalog for Utah County
 * Utah County, Utah Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)