Land records are primarily used to learn when and where an individual lived. They often reveal other family information, such as the name of a spouse, heir, other relatives, or neighbors. Also, you may learn where a person lived previously, his or her occupation, if he or she was a naturalized citizen, and other clues for further research.

The Pioneer Era (1847-1869)

In 1847, the area that was to become Utah belonged to Mexico. A year later it was ceded to the United States by treaty, but it was not until 1869 that a land office was established. This permitted “legal” ownership of public lands in Utah.

Instead of federal authority during this period, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints administered the distribution of land. The land was not sold but was allotted to the first owners based on needs. After 1850 title could be obtained from either the Church or the county recorder's office.

After the initial distribution of land the county recorder or the probate clerk primarily recorded subsequent transfers. A few transactions were recorded in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints records. Sometimes land was transferred without recording it with any church or government office

Maps listing the names of landholders show where an ancestor lived. The library has a few plat maps. Examples are:

Morgan, Nicholas G. Pioneer Map: Great Salt Lake City, Great Basin, North America. N.p.: 1851?. (FHL map 979.225 E7man; fiche 6051237; computer number 104190.) This map includes historical data and index to names of original owners and their locations by lot or lots and blocks. The index to this map consists of names of major land owners in various Salt Lake City LDS wards:

Grundvig, David L.and Sharon Lauritzen. Index to Pioneer Map, Great Salt Lake City, for 1850s. N.p. 1981. (FHL book 979.225 E7man index; computer number 254947.)

Pioneer Map: City of St. George, Washington County, Utah. N.p.: 1982?. (FHL map 979.248/S1 E7p; computer number 178360.) This map lists the names of land owners on the map and the designation of the ward where they lived. The index to this map has St. George wards listed in the following:

Hardesty, Patricia N. Pioneer Map, City of St. George, Washington County, Utah Index with LDS Wards. Salt Lake City: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1982. (FHL book 979.248/S1 E7p index, fiche 6031575, computer number 178413.)

Pioneer land settlement in Utah is discussed in many articles and histories. Two are:

Fox, Feramorz Young. The Mormon Land System, A Study of the Settlement and Utilization of Land Under the Direction of the Mormon Church. Logan, Utah: Utah State Agricultural College, 1955. (FHL film 237848; computer number 374478.) This is an in-depth study of the history of the Mormon land system. There are maps throughout the volume.

Linford, Lawrence, L. “Establishing and Maintaining Land Ownership in Utah Prior to 1869” in Utah Historical Society Quarterly, vol. 42 no. 2, Spring 1974: 126-43. (FHL book 979.2 H2u; computer number 147072.) This is a history describing how lands were divided. It is full of quotations from journals and newspapers. Primarily, it covers Salt Lake City

Federal Land Records (1869-Present)

Federal land surveys began in 1855. They established the first general land office to sell lands in the public domain in Salt Lake City in 1869. Other offices were located in Beaver (1876-77) and Vernal (1905-27). Land was available through the land offices to individuals (entrymen) who paid a down payment (cash entry) for a piece of property or to homesteaders who paid a small entry fee.

Land office officials maintained registers of land office business and kept separate files (case files) for each entryman. They listed information about entries in tract books (registers containing a written description of each entry) and township plats (maps showing the lots for each township).

After an individual completed the requirements for land entry, his case file was sent to the General Land Office in Washington, D.C. This office confirmed that everything was in order and issued a patent (official land title) transferring the rights of land ownership from the government.

Since land in Utah had been settled for over 20 years when the land office opened, it was often difficult to make the government land packages fit the existing town and farm lots. In many cases a “trustee” received the patent and then distributed the land among several others. Records of these secondary transfers should be listed in the county recorder's office.

The library has tract books and land ownership maps for Utah. For more information about these records and other federal land records, see the United States Research Outline (30972) in the "Land and Property" and the "Maps" sections.

The following offices have federal land records for Utah:

• Bureau of Land Management