Sevier County, Utah Genealogy

United States   Utah    Sevier County

County Courthouse
www.sevierutah.net/government/govenment.html 250 N Main St Richfield, Utah 84701 Phone:435-893-0400 Fax: (435-896-8888)

Parent County

 * 1865--Sevier County was created 16 January 1865 from Sanpete County. County seat: Richfield

TIMELINE HISTORY
NOTE: Unless otherwise mentioned, the events below were gleaned from Wikipedia for Sevier county. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sevier_County,_Utah


 * 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 (an LDS 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 Mormon settlers on 15 June 1864. Much of the area was populated by newly immigrated Mormon converts from Scandinavian countries, and because of the growth in this small community they officially created Sevier County in early 1865.
 * 1864 - The first permanent group of settlers arrived in Monroe during February 1864.
 * 1864 - At first the town was called South Bend (due to the proximity to a bend in the Sevier River), but soon after its settlement it was renamed Alma, in honor of the Book of Mormon prophet. It is estimated that by the end of 1864 around 20 families were living in Alma.
 * 1864 - In the early part of January a party of ten men under the leadership of Albert Lewis came from Sanpete County, Utah and arrived in what is now Richfield.
 * 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.
 * 1866 - Troubles with Indians who used the area as their hunting ground (the Black Hawk War (Utah)) forced the white settlers to retreat to the Manti area.
 * 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 - It was not until March 1871 that Settlers were finally able to return to Alma after The Black Hawk war.
 * 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 Mormonism, and named after Kronborg Castle, known as Elsinore in Hamlet. The town was given its official name at the suggestion of Mormon 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 - Thomas Cooper and his wife homesteaded the area on the east side of town where hot springs water emerged. They built a wood box to collect the water and offered it as a soaking pool.
 * 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).

Neighboring Counties
Beaver | Emery | Millard | Piute | Sanpete | Wayne

Cemeteries
Sevier County cemeteries at the Utah State Historical site

Richfield has one cemetery located at about 850 North Main.

Census
The 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, and 1930 U.S. federal population schedules of Sevier County are available online. 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.


 * 1870
 * 1880 - The area between Richfield and Gooseberry Valley was not enumerated.
 * 1890
 * 1900
 * 1910
 * 1920
 * 1930

Church
LDS Ward and Branch Records


 * Annabella
 * Aurora
 * Brooklyn
 * Burrville
 * Central
 * Elsinore
 * Glenwood
 * Joseph
 * Koosharem
 * Monroe
 * Monroe N.
 * Monroe S.
 * Redmond
 * Richfield
 * Richfield 1
 * Richfield 2
 * Richfield 3
 * Richfield 4
 * Salina
 * Salina 1
 * Salina 2
 * Sevier
 * Sigurd
 * Venice
 * Vermillion

Early church records, for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, for Sevier County Wards and Branches can be found on film and are located at the LDS Family History Library in Salt Lake City. The film numbers, for each ward, can be locate through the Family History Library Catalog at https://www.familysearch.org/. 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.

Local Histories
A History of Sevier County online at Marriott Libary Digital Collections.

Newspapers

 * One major resouce 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 Sevier County is included in this digital project, the Richfield Reaper. Read more... about using Utah newspapers for your family history research.

Vital Records
Western States Marriage Index

Utah Death Certificates 1904 - 1956 -A free internet access to the 1904-1956 death certificates can be viewed at https://www.familysearch.org/. 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 for death before 1904

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to LDS Family History Centers
 * Monroe UT Seminary - Release Time
 * Monroe Utah Family History Center
 * Richfield Utah Family History Center
 * Salina Utah Family History Center

Web Sites

 * USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.
 * Sevier County, Utah Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * Sevier County, Utah Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)