Morgan County, UtahEdit This Page

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United States Utah Morgan County

Guide to Morgan County, Utah genealogy. Birth records, marriage and death records, cemeteries, census, church records, probate records, and obituaries—resources to find parents and family history since 1862, when the county was formed.

Morgan County, Utah
Map
Location in the state of Utah
Location of Utah in the U.S.
Facts
Founded	January 17, 1862
County Seat	Morgan
Courthouse
Address	48 W. Young St. Morgan, UT 84050
Website: www.morgan-county.net
Named for: Elder Jedediah Morgan Grant
Adopt-a-wiki page This page adopted by: Utah Genealogical Association who welcome you to contribute. Adopt a page today

Contents 1 Helpful Facts 1.1 County Courthouse 1.2 Parent Counties 1.2.1 Boundary Changes 1.3 Neighboring Counties 2 Resources 2.1 Bible Records 2.2 Biography 2.3 Business Records and Commerce 2.4 Cemeteries 2.5 Census 2.6 Church History 2.7 Churches and Religious Groups 2.7.1 The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormons) 2.8 Court Records 2.9 Directories; 2.10 Ethnic and Other Groups 2.11 Funeral Homes 2.12 Gazetteers 2.13 Genealogy 2.14 Guardianship 2.15 History 2.15.1 History Timeline 2.15.2 Boundary Changes 2.16 Land and Property 2.17 Maps 2.18 Migration 2.19 Military 2.20 Naturalization and Citizenship 2.21 Newspapers 2.22 Obituaries 2.23 Periodicals 2.24 Poorhouses, Poor Law, etc. 2.25 Probate Records 2.26 Public Records  2.27 Taxation 2.28 Vital Records 2.28.1 Birth 2.28.1.1 Birth before 1862 2.28.1.2 Birth 1862 - 1897 2.28.1.3 Birth 1898 - present 2.28.2 Marriage 2.28.3 Death 2.29 Voting Registers 2.30 Websites 3 Repositories 3.1 Courthouse 3.2 FamilySearch Centers 3.3 Libraries 3.4 Societies 4 Towns and Communities 5 References

Helpful Facts

County Courthouse

Morgan County Courthouse
48 West Young Street
Morgan, Ut 84050
Phone: 801-845-4011

County Clerk has marriage records from 1888, divorce and court records from 1896 and probate records from 1869. County Recorder has land records.^[2]

Parent Counties

Morgan County, Utah was created January 17, 1862 from: Cache |Summit | Weber

Before the county was created—and perhaps until the newly-formed county was fully operational—search records of the parent counties.

Boundary Changes

See UT: Index of Counties... from Newberry Library's Utah Atlas of Historical County Boundaries, for a timeline of boundary changes for Morgan County, Utah.

Neighboring Counties

Morgan County, Utah is surrounded by: Davis | Rich | Salt Lake | Summit | Weber

Resources

Bible Records

The term "Bible records" refers to the practice of keeping family dates and events in a family Bible. This was a common practice in many European countries and carried over to America. Many of these family Bible records are still in existence and preserved by the descendants of the immigrants. In some cases these family Bibles have found their way into libraries and other repositories.

For an explanation of how to find Bible records and for helpful links see Utah Bible Records. See also United States Bible Records.

Biography

• Biography Records. of Morgan County, Utah are listed in the FamilySearch Library. To obtain closer-to-home access to resources, see. public libraries.

Business Records and Commerce

Cemeteries

• Cemeteries. of Morgan County, Utah are listed in the FamilySearch Library. To obtain closer-to-home access to resources, see. public libraries.

Morgan County Cemeteries at the Utah State Historical site 

BillionGraves:

• Croydon Cemetery, Croydon
• Milton Cemetery, Morgan
• Mountain Green Cemetery, Morgan
• North Morgan Cemetery, Morgan
• Peterson Cemetery, Morgan
• Porterville Cemetery, Morgan

Census

The 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, and 1930 U.S. federal population schedules of Morgan 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
• 1890
• 1900
• 1910
• 1920
• 1930

Church History

• Church History Records. of Morgan County, Utah are listed in the FamilySearch Library. To obtain closer-to-home access to resources, see. public libraries.

Churches and Religious Groups

• Church Records. of Morgan County, Utah are listed in the FamilySearch Library. To obtain closer-to-home access to resources, see. public libraries.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormons)

Historically, most people in Utah were Mormons. Their records are, therefore, very important for early Utah research. For additional information, see Tracing LDS Ancestors and Utah Church Records.

Click a church unit name in the chart below for its history, boundaries, and availability of records, which are often in microfilm format

Morgan County, Utah guide to history and records of LDS wards and branches

Stake(s): Morgan Stake, Utah Places: Croydon · Milton · Morgan · Mountain Green · Peterson · Porterville  · Richville · Stoddard · Linked below are the ward and stake records for Washington County, Utah on microfilm at the FamilySearch Library. Click on a ward for records (up to about 1948). Croydon Ward • East Porterville Branch • East Porterville Ward • Enterprise Ward • Milton Ward • Morgan North Stake • Morgan Stake • Morgan Ward • Mountain Green Ward • North Morgan Ward • Peterson Ward • Porterville Ward • Richville Ward • Slide Ward • South Morgan Ward • Stoddard Branch • West Porterville Ward • For a timeline history and boundaries of wards that existed in 1930, click to the appropriate stake (above). For later records, check with the Church History Library.

Court Records

• Court Records. of Morgan County, Utah are listed in the FamilySearch Library. To obtain closer-to-home access to resources, see. public libraries.
  • Court Records-Inventories, registers, catalogs 

Directories;

• Directories. of Morgan County, Utah are listed in the FamilySearch Library. To obtain closer-to-home access to resources, see. public libraries.

Ethnic and Other Groups

Funeral Homes

Walker Mortuary^[3]
45 West 200 North
Morgan, UT 84050
Phone 801-829-6336
Fax: 801-829-6337

Gazetteers

Genealogy

• Genealogy Records. of Morgan County, Utah are listed in the FamilySearch Library. To obtain closer-to-home access to resources, see. public libraries.

Guardianship

• Guardianship Records. of Morgan County, Utah are listed in the FamilySearch Library. To obtain closer-to-home access to resources, see. public libraries.

History

• A history of Morgan County, Utah Centennial County History Series. Also available at Marriott Library Digital Archives]
• Histories. of Morgan County, Utah are listed in the FamilySearch Library. To obtain closer-to-home access to resources, see. public libraries.

An early route of the Hastings Cutoff ran through the Morgan Valley and down through a narrow gorge in Weber Canyon. The Donner Party avoided going through the Morgan Valley in order to speed up their journey. However, their alternate route proved more time-consuming.

History Timeline

Boundary Changes

See UT: Index of Counties... from Newberry Library's Utah Atlas of Historical County Boundaries, for a timeline of boundary changes for Morgan County, Utah.

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

• 1819. Adams-Onis Treaty recognized Spain rights to the territory, under the control of Mexico.
• 1825. Present day Mountain Green is the location of a historic meeting of the mountain man, the Hudson's Bay Company (Peter Skene Ogden) and the Mountain Fur Company ( John Henry Weber).
• 1850's. Mormon pioneers begin to arrive in Morgan County.
• 1855, Charles Shreeve Peterson and his family became the first white settlers to take up permanent  residence in the Morgan Valley after cutting a road through Weber Canyon.
• 1862. January 17: Morgan County formed from the following counties: Summit/Weber/Cache and named after Jedediah Morgan Grant.
• 1869. Morgan County began keeping marriage records, land records, probate records, and court records.
• 1898–1905 Morgan County began keeping birth records and death records.
•  1906. Wasatch National Forest established by U.S. Forest Service.

• 1908. Cache National Forest established by U.S. Forest Service.
• 1960. Browning Arms Company founded in Morgan County.
  

Land and Property

• Land and Property Records. of Morgan County, Utah are listed in the FamilySearch Library. To obtain closer-to-home access to resources, see. public libraries.
  • Records of Land and Property - Inventories, registers, catalogs

Herdsmen branded their cattle to keep track of stray animals. A 1913 directory displays the marks used by various Morgan County, Utah cattle owners:

• Peterson, H.F. Brand Directory, Comprising Davis, Weber, Summit, Morgan, Wasatch, Part of Utah and Part of Uintah Counties. Wanship, Utah: H.F. Peterson, 1913. Digital version at Internet Archive.

Maps

Google highway map of Morgan County 2012

Migration

Early migration routes to and from Morgan County, Utah for European and African American settlers included:

• California Trail 1846 to 1869 from western Missouri to northern California^[4]
• Mormon Trail 1846 to 1869 from Nauvoo, Illinois to Salt Lake City, Utah^[5]

Military

Naturalization and Citizenship

Newspapers

Small town newspapers contain obituaries, birth or death notices, community news (such as the visit of someone's relatives), legal notices and provide historical content. See Utah newspapers for tips, resources, and details.

• Utah Digital Newspapers Project presents newspaper images online. Search All Newspapers by name or keywords, or Browse by County to view all newspapers digitized for Morgan County, Utah.
  • Several newspapers, covering 1910-1914, 1920-1924 are included.
• Existing copies of newspapers. newspapers for Morgan County, Utah] are listed in Chronicling America by Library of Congress (LOC).
  • The list by dates and towns (from Chronicling America)
• Newspapers Records. of Morgan County, Utah are listed in the FamilySearch Library. To obtain closer-to-home access to resources, see. public libraries.

Obituaries

Obituaries may mention birth, marriage, spouse, parents, and living family members. See Utah Obituaries for state level compendiums and United States Obituaries for tips and insights regarding this record type.

Obituaries for residents may be found in:

• Newspapers of Morgan County, Utah
  *Local Funeral Homes, Societies, Libraries, or in family records.
  *Obituaries of neighboring counties
  *Newspapers of major cities: Deseret News and/or The Salt Lake Tribune both in Salt Lake City
  

Periodicals

Poorhouses, Poor Law, etc.

In Utah, such records may be difficult to find. Try records of the church they may have attended. Realize, however, that such records may have not been preserved, and would not be in the typical records of membership.

It is possible there were records kept by civilian authorities. Ask town or county officials and local librarians and the State Archives. Also try National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections (online).

Probate Records

• Probate Records. of Morgan County, Utah are listed in the FamilySearch Library. To obtain closer-to-home access to resources, see. public libraries.

Public Records 

• Public Records. of Morgan County, Utah are listed in the FamilySearch Library. To obtain closer-to-home access to resources, see. public libraries.

Taxation

Vital Records

• Vital Records. of Morgan County, Utah are listed in the FamilySearch Library. To obtain closer-to-home access to resources, see. public libraries.
  • Vital Records - Inventories, registers, catalogs   

Birth

Below are the best sources to find birth information (dates and places of birth and names of parents) for Morgan County, Utah. Also available: How to Find Birth Information in Utah.

Follow the suggestions under the year span that matches when your ancestor was born:

Birth before 1862

Morgan County, Utah was formed on 17 January 1862

      If your records show the person was born here before the county was formed,
      search parent counties

Before county formation, go to Utah Censuses to locate the family around the time of birth.

Birth 1862 - 1897

No birth records were created for Morgan County, Utah by either by county or state civil authorities in this time period.

Follow these suggestions to find birth information for this time period:

• Utah Death Certificates 1904-1961 give birth date and place (recorded at the time of death), names of parents, and name of spouse. Search by names or by exact death date.
• Church records usually give birth date and place and names of parents.
• See also other records that give birth information, such as Death records, Census, Funeral Homes, Cemeteries, Obituaries
• 1872-1900 (approximately) USGenWeb Archives for Morgan County, Utah shows the birth Information from Draft Cards of 1917 - 1918.
• See also neighboring counties for birth information, due to family members living in that area, religious preferences, convenience, and other reasons.

Birth 1898 - present

County clerks became responsible for recording births beginning in 1898.^[6] In 1905, the State Department of Health assumed responsibility and required the counties to forward copies of the records to them.

It took a few years after the requirements for people, doctors, midwives, and officials to comply, so some early birth registrations were missed.

Records open to the public

Birth records created more than 100 years ago^[7] are open to the public.

• 1897-1905 Series #83806 at Utah State Archives. Not online, no online index. Copies available through FamilySearch Library: FSL film 480872 It. 1-3 . There are names of children in the records.
• 1906-1910 online images for Morgan County, Utah at the State Archives. Browse the "not yet indexed" area by year and county. Most entries do have names of children.
  
  • Later records open to the public are housed at the Utah State Archives, but not online.
• Online Utah, Births and Christenings, 1892-1941, a FamilySearch Historical Records Collection. (Index only, free). Created from the old IGI, this is a mix of some extracted records and submissions by patrons. Please realize it is not complete.

Restricted records

Access to official birth records within 100 years is restricted to those who meet certain requirements. Order copies:

• Office of Vital Records and Statistics, 288 North 1460 West, Salt Lake City, Utah, Phone: (801) 538-6105. How to order online, by mail, or in person.

• Weber-Morgan Health Department, Morgan Office, 236 Young Street. Phone (801) 399-7132.

____________________

Marriage

• 1887-1966 - Western States Marriage Index. Includes Morgan County 1887-1966.^[8]

Death

Utah Death Certificates 1904 - 1956 -A free internet access to the 1904-1956 death certificates can be viewed at Family Search .  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. More information at Utah Death Certificates (FamilySearch Historical Records)

Utah State Burial Index for death before 1904

Death Record Substitutes

• 1870 - U.S. Federal Census Mortality Schedules, 1850-1885 at Ancestry ($). Includes 1870 Morgan County, Utah mortality schedule.
  

Voting Registers

Websites

Repositories

Resources for Morgan County, Utah are available in repositories (such as libraries and archives) at all levels: the town, the county, the state, and the nation. Check their websites and catalogs for Morgan County, Utah items.

When you find items you'd like to access, see Get a Copy.

See Courthouse · FamilySearch Centers · Libraries · Societies sections.

See also: Websites

Courthouse

www.morgan-county.net/
Morgan County Justice Court
P.O. Box 786
Morgan, UT 84050
Phone 801-845-4021
Fax 801-845-6008

Physical Address:
Morgan County Memorial Building
48 West Young St.
Morgan, Utah 84050

County seat: Morgan

FamilySearch Centers

• Introduction to LDS Family History Centers
• Morgan Utah Family History Center

Libraries

Local public libraries usually have histories, genealogies, indexes of cemeteries, copies of local newspapers, or other records for the area they serve. Many libraries in Utah have an area dedicated to local collections and manuscripts.

• Morgan County Library; 50 North 100 West, P.O.Box 600, Morgan, UT 84050. Phone: 801-829-3481.
  • Collections:

Check for Morgan County, Utah items in catalogs and holdings of: Utah Archives and Libraries · University Libraries and Special Collections in Utah · United States Archives and Libraries

See also Utah Public Library Directory, which provides links to library web pages, addresses, phone numbers, hours, and maps. Does not mention holdings.

Societies

Towns and Communities

Croydon | Devils Slide | Monte Verde | Morgan | Mountain Green | Peterson | Richville | Stoddard

References

1. ↑ Alice Eichholz, Red Book: American State, County and Town Sources, 3rd ed. (Salt Lake City: Ancestry Pub., 2004), 676-677. At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27rb 2004.
2. ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Morgan County, Utah Page 687 At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.
3. ↑ Funeral Home and Cemetery Directory.(Youngstown, OH: Nomis Publications, Inc., c2009,938.
4. ↑ "Oregon California Trails Association" at http://octatrails.micromaps.com/ (accessed 18 July 2011).
5. ↑ "The Pioneer Story: The Mormon Pioneer Trail" in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at http://lds.org/gospellibrary/pioneer/pioneerstory.htm (accessed 18 July 2011).
6. ↑ Utah State Archives, Birth Records guide, accessed 28 July 2012.)
7. ↑ State Department of Health Birth, Marriage, and Death Certificates page. Accessed 7/31/2012
8. ↑ "Morgan County, Utah: Family History and Genealogy, Census, Birth, Marriage, Death Vital Records and More," Linkpendium, http://www.linkpendium.com/genealogy/USA/UT/Morgan/, accessed 1 February 2012.

v • d • e Links to Utah-related articles Topics Search Strategies · Record Selection Table · American Indians · Archives and Libraries · Biography · Cemeteries · Census · Church Records · Court Records · Directories · Emigration and Immigration · Gazetteers · Genealogy · History · Land and Property · Maps · Military Records · Minorities · Naturalization and Citizenship · Newspapers · Obituaries · Online Records · Periodicals · Probate Records · Societies · Taxation · Vital Records · For Further Reading Counties Beaver · Box Elder · Cache · Carbon · Daggett · Davis · Duchesne · Emery · Garfield · Grand · Iron · Juab · Kane · Millard · Morgan · Piute · Rich · Salt Lake · San Juan · Sanpete · Sevier · Summit · Tooele · Uintah · Utah · Wasatch · Washington · Wayne · Weber Extinct Co. Carson · Cedar · Desert · Greasewood · Great Salt Lake · Green River · Humboldt (Utah) · Little Salt Lake · Malad · Richland · Rio Virgin · Saint Mary's · Shambip Major Repositories Family History Library · Utah State Archives · Utah State Historical Society · Church History Library · Brigham Young University · Salt Lake City Public Library · University of Utah · National Archives Rocky Mountain Region (Denver) · Allen County Public Library Migration Routes California Trail · Central Overland Trail · Mormon Trail · Mormon Trail to Southern California · Old Spanish Trail · Central Pacific Railroad · Union Pacific Railroad · Southern Pacific Railroad · Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad

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