Wayne County, Utah Genealogy

United States  Utah  Wayne County

Parent Counties

 * 1892--Wayne County was created 10 March 1892 from Piute County. Most of its towns were settled after 1880 because of the remote location and limited resources.  County seat: Loa

Neighboring Counties
Emery | Garfield | Grand | Piute | San Juan | Sevier

Sevier, Piute, Emery, Garfield, San Juan

Timeline History
Interesting Facts

Hanksville was a supply post for Butch Cassidyand the Wild Bunch, who would hide out at Robbers Roost in the desert southeast of town.

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


 * 1853-54.  Fremont was named after the explorer John C. Fremont, who passed through on his last and near fatal winter expedition to the west. It lies along State Route 72just northeast of the town of Loa.
 * 1879. A.K. Thurber, built the first house in Thurber.
 * 1880's. Torrey is established as a town by Mormon settlers, and initially known as Youngstown, after John Willard Young. Located on State Route 24 in, eight miles from Capitol Reef National Park.
 * 1881. More cattlemen settled along Fish Creek. These early settlers referred to their settlement as Carcass Creek (now Grover).
 * 1885 - Hanksville took the name, after Ebenezer Hanks, who was the leader of the group of pioneers who established the small Mormon settlement.
 * 1887 - The Mormon residents in Carcass Creek were organized into a congregation called the Carcass Creek Branch.
 * 1890s - The growing town of Carcass Creek was granted a post office, and the name was changed to Grover in honor of U.S. President Grover Cleveland.
 * 1893 - Lyman was originally known as East Loa and became a distinct place from Loa.The original townsite was changed to the present location at the advice of Apostle Francis M. Lyman and was named in honor of him.
 * 1897 - The town of Thurber moved to a new location due to sandy soil and poor water conditions and became Bicknell, a town along State Route 24 in Wayne County, Utah, United States.
 * 1900 - The first log school/church/community building was built in Grover.
 * 1914 Thomas W. Bicknell, a wealthy eastern author, historian, and Education Commissioner for Rhode Island, offered a thousand-volume library to any Utah town that would rename itself after him. The town of Grayson also wanted the library prize, so in a compromise in 1916, Grayson took the name of Blanding, Mr. Bicknell's wife's maiden name, as a tribute to her parents. The two towns split the library, each receiving 500 books.

Cemeteries
Cemetery Records -- Wayne County, Utah, by Genealogical Society of Utah. (FHL US/CAN Book #979.254, V3c)

Wayne county cemeteries at the Utah State Historical site

Census
The 1900, 1910, 1920, and 1930 U.S. federal population schedules of Wayne 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.


 * 1900
 * 1910
 * 1920
 * 1930

Church Records
LDS Ward and Branch Records

Early, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, church records for Wayne 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 or Branch, can be located through the 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.


 * Caineville
 * Fremont
 * Giles (Torrey)
 * Grover
 * Hanksville
 * Loa
 * Lyman
 * Teasdale
 * Thurber
 * Torrey
 * Wayne Stake

Histories
"Grit Enough to Stick With It" Stories from Blue Valley, edited and introduced by Kent Davis &amp; Kristen Rogers Utah Historical Quarterly Summer 2000 vol. 68 no 3 pg 223

A History of Wayne County online at Marriott Library Digital Archives.

Wayne County Histories

The Family History Library has histories in its collection in Salt Lake City, Utah which can be accessed by visiting the Library. These books may also be available through interlibrary loan.

A History of Wayne County, by Mariam B Murphy (a Utah Historical Society publication) 979.254 H2m. It can also be purchased at the County Clerk's office in Loa.

Rainbow Views: a History of Wayne County, by Anne Snow (a Daughters of Utah Pioneers publication) 979.254 H2s 1977

Military
USGenWeb Archives Wayne County, Utah lists approximately 426 names of WWI draftees from 1917 to 1918 and approximately 149 names of WWII Army enlistments.

Vital Records
Western States Marriage Index

Utah Death Certificates 1904 - 1956 -A free internet access to the 1904-1956 death certificates can be viewed on the Family Search Record Search Pilot. 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

Archives, Libraries, and Museums
PUBLIC LIBRARIES

Wayne County Bookmobile Library 79 North 100 West Bicknell UT, 84715, Wayne County Phone: 435-425-3170 The bookmobile apears to be the closest thing to a public library for Wayne County. It makes thirty-three stops in three counties (Sevier, Juab and Wayne), serving thirty communities and six schools. There are over 6,000 books on the bookmobile. It is not known what genealogy holdings the bookmobile has.

Courthouses
Wayne County Courthouse 18 South Main St., Loa, UT 84747

Wayne County Courthouse 18 S. Main, Box 189 Loa, Utah 84747 435-836-2765

Wayne County website

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to LDS Family History Centers
 * Loa Utah Family History Center

Towns and communities
Incorporated Places:

Bicknell (originally Thurber), Hanksville, Loa, Lyman, Torrey

Unincorporated places:

Caineville, Fremont, Fruita, Grover, Notom, Teasdale

Ghost Towns:

Fruita, Giles

Web Sites

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