A recent patron was researching our Sanpete County Territorial Probate Court records and pointed out an unusual court case. Have you ever heard of a “case of profanity”? In May 1863, Albert Lewis was seen in the Manti Justice Court for just that! “Defendant came forward and acknowledged having been guilty of profanity in taking the name of Deity in vain.” a …
Probate Records for Salt Lake County: Part 3 – Brigham Young
This post is the third in a 3-part series on the Salt Lake County Probate Case Files. See Part 1 and Part 2. When Brigham Young died on August 29, 1877, he left behind a thriving frontier community grown from a few arriving wagons in 1847. He also left behind a complicated set of heirs with the practice of polygamy, …
Probate Records for Salt Lake County: Part 2 – John B. Farlow, Druggist
This post is the second in a series on the Salt Lake County Probate case files. See part 1. The remaining case files from 1889 to the end of the territorial period (numbers 1397-2689) for Salt Lake County are online. As the end of the 19th century approached, the process and documents continued to become more professional, uniform, and better …
The ten-hour day
Most government offices in Utah are now open from 8-5 Monday through Friday. Though some state employees have retained an option to work four ten-hour days, staff members at the Archives look back with nostalgia at the three-day weekend. Others think a ten-hour day is way too long. With diminished budgets and staff, government offices are attempting to do more …