A Lucky Find!
Last
semester, I was trying to document marriage records for the Merrill family.
Unfortunately, marriage records were rarely kept in Utah before 1887, which was
too late for my research subjects. However, I was able to find a book on
familysearch.org titled, Marriages in
Utah Territory 1850-1884 from the Deseret News 1850-1872 and the Elias Smith
Journals 1850-1884. In this record, I found an entry for Elthura Merrill
and Reuben Collet’s marriage. It reads, “At Smithfield, Cache Co., Jan. 7.,
1861, by Bishop John G. Smith, Mr. REUBEN COLLETT and Miss ELTHURA R. MERRILL,
all of that place.”[1]
I was not able to find anymore entries for the rest of the Merrill family; nevertheless, it was special to find Elthura in this book because she is my direct ancestor.
[1] Hansen, Judith W and Norman Lundberg. Marriages in Utah Territory
1850-1884 from the Deseret News 1850-1872 and the Elias Smith Journals
1850-1884. pg 40. familysearch. Salt Lake City, Utah: Utah Genealogical
Association, 1998. (Online) https://dcms.lds.org/delivery/DeliveryManagerServlet?dps_pid=IE1039394&from=fhd:
accessed April 7, 2015).
Photo Courtesy: familysearch.org, as contributed by Dale Clarence Hansen.
What a great find, congratulations! I'm going to try your source for a few early Utah marriages in my family.
ReplyDeleteI think that the Elias Smith journals are a gold mine for researchers interested in Utah Territory settlers. He was a judge that wrote volumes of documents. I have found a hidden gem in them as well. Nice post!
ReplyDeleteWonderful find, especially with documents being so few and far between in that era. I don't have any marriages in Utah, but I have them in other areas when documents weren't kept reliably. Great job!
ReplyDeleteIt is so exciting to find something that you have searched so hard for. I am excited to look up my families in those sources. Thanks for the information.
ReplyDeleteThank you for information about that book. I've added it to my "Research List." Tried to access it online but apparently one has to be in a Family History Center. But it sounds like a great resource.
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