One hundred and twenty-five years ago, President Grover Cleveland issued the proclamation that officially welcomed Utah into the Union as a state on January 4, 1896. Utah had been working towards this goal since 1849, when newly-arrived white settlers first petitioned Congress for statehood. They petitioned a total of seven times over those forty-five years. This year the Utah State …
When World War I started in 1914, the U.S. started with a strict policy of neutrality. The policy was tested when German U-boats sunk the Lusitania in 1915, killing 124 Americans. The U.S. demanded that Germany stop engaging in unrestricted warfare, and Germany agreed, allowing neutral ships with non-military passengers to pass without attack. However, in 1917 Germany resumed unrestricted …
An 1851 law passed by the territorial legislature required that the state government keep a “fair and faithful record of all marks and brands” indicating ownership of livestock. These brand books recorded the mark or shape of the brand, whether the brand was located on the livestock’s body or on their ear, the name of the person applying for the …
Poll taxes, or fixed sums levied on any eligible individual, are uncommon these days. Historically, they are usually discussed in conjunction with civil rights and disenfranchisement. So it might be a bit surprising to come across a record like this, a poll tax register from Spring City. We often hear about poll taxes in the Deep South, but here in …
Here at the Utah State Archives, we’ve dedicated much time and effort over the past few years to build up a robust local government team to meet the unique needs of Utah’s municipalities, counties, schools, and special districts. The team is made up of trained records management and archives specialists. Alan Barnett is the Local Government Archivist and manager of …
The Utah State Archives is thrilled to introduce Primary Source Sets curated from the official Utah government records repository. Each set provides historical context for important events, discussion questions, and primary source examples for both elementary and secondary school students. A primary source is a first-hand account of an event or topic. Letters, meeting minutes, photographs, diary entries, interviews, and …
Mae Timbimboo was born in Washakie, Utah in 1919. Washakie was a community of the Shoshone tribe, made up of descendants of the people who survived the Bear River Massacre in 1863. Mae attended boarding school at Washakie Day School. Boarding school was common for Indigenous Americans at the time and was designed to force Indigenous American children to assimilate …
Our archivists write inventories as finding aids to describe records. Here are the newest ones created during November 2020: Inventory of Rockport State Park records from Department of Natural Resources. Division of Parks and Recreation. Northern Region, ca. 1958-2020 Inventory of Inheritance tax liens register from District Court (Sixth District : Sevier County), 1915-1936. Inventory of Council meeting materials from …
This ARO Spotlight is written by Renée Wilson, Records and Information Management Specialist at the Utah State Archives My favorite aspect of any job position I’ve ever held has always been getting to know the incredible people I work with. One of those amazing people is Rosanne Ricks, internal auditor for the Utah Department of Human Resource Management (DHRM), who …
Geneal Anderson was born in 1952 and grew up in Cedar City, Utah and Las Vegas, Nevada. She was born into the Paiute tribe of Native Americans. Just two years after her birth, a law was passed declaring the Paiute tribe was no longer recognized nationally and their lands were no longer protected. This was part of the belief that …
