Photo of Lula Betenson's home in Piute County

Highlights with Heidi: Lula Betenson

Heidi Stringham History, Research

Although tax records have a reputation of being boring, they are a super useful tool for finding people in a specific location and time! To prove residency, a patron needed to find a property record in the Piute County tax records. I searched these records on their behalf and found a familiar name instead: Lula Betenson! You might ask, who is …

Photo of page from the South Summit School District Class registers. Marion School, Sept 1914 -May 1915.

New Finding Aids at the Archives: February 2023

Gina Strack Finding Aids

Our archivists write inventories as finding aids to describe records. Here is the newest one created during February 2023: Inventory of Board minutes from South Summit School District (Utah), 1915- Inventory of Class registers from South Summit School District (Utah), 1910-1915; 1921-1924; 1931-1932; 1942-1943. Inventory of Business license applications and bonds from Spanish Fork (Utah), 1882-1895; 1904-1909. Inventory of Mayor’s …

Utah Black History: Insight Into Alex Bankhead’s Life in Spanish Fork through Primary Source Records

Heidi Steed History, Research

Black Americans were among the first pioneer settlers to arrive in Utah, coming to the Great Basin as enslaved people. Although many lived in Utah long enough to become free, their enslaved status and later position on the fringe of Utah society have left us with incomplete versions of their stories. Secondary sources are often the only available records that …

Utah’s Black History: Green Flake

Maren Peterson History, Research

Early Life On January 6, 1828, Green Flake was born into slavery on the William Jordan Flake Plantation in North Carolina. Green was “gifted” to James, William’s son, as a wedding present in the 1840’s when Green was in his early teens. Shortly after marrying, James Flake moved to Mississippi in hopes of claiming land. Green was taken with the …

Utah Drought Solutions Under Governor George Clyde, 1957-1965

Guest Author Digital Archives, History, Research

This blog post was written by Sadie Webster, a fall 2022 intern at the Utah State Archives and Records Services. She is currently pursuing a Master’s Degree in Library Science from Emporia State University. Drought is a common plague for the agriculture industry in the dry and torrid West, particularly in a place such as Utah where this industry is …