Garfield County, Utah Genealogy

United States  Utah  Garfield County

County Courthouse
http://garfield.utah.gov/

Garfield County Justice Court Garfield County Courthouse Garfield County Fair Building 115 East 800 North PO Box 77 Panguitch, UT 84759 Phone: 435-676-8826 Fax: 435-676-8239 Note: new location as of Monday, May 16th

Parent County

 * 1882--Garfield County was created 1 March 1882 from Iron, Kane, and Washington Counties. County seat: Panguitch

Interesting Fact
Reuben C. "Ruby" Syrett built a lodge and cabins at this location in 1916, when the promotion of Bryce Canyon for tourism was just beginning. Syrett's business grew along with the park's popularity, particularly once it was made a National Park in 1928. Ruby's Inn became an important junction; its travelers' services developed into a small community. Syrett donated land to the state for construction of a road (now Utah State Route 63), strategically placing Ruby's Inn right at the entrance to the park.

Bryce Canyon City is a company town, consisting solely of the property of Ruby's Inn and the Syrett family, its third-generation owners.

TIMELINE HISTORY
NOTE: Unless otherwise mentioned, the events below were gleaned from Wikipedia for Garfield County. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garfield_County,_Utah


 * 1776 - Escalante, the town was named after Silvestre Vélez de Escalante, a Franciscan missionary and the first European explorer in the region. Escalante and his Spanish superior Francisco Atanasio Domínguez left from Santa Fe, New Mexico on an attempt to reach Monterey, California. During this journey, usually referred to as the Dominguez-Escalante Expedition, Escalante and his companions passed by the Grand Canyon and were among the first white men to enter Utah.
 * 1864 - Panguitch was first settled in March, when Jens Nielsen, a Danish convert to the Mormon faith, led a group of pioneers eastward from Parowan and Beaver to the Sevier River.
 * 1867 - 1871 - Due to a conflict with native tribes, the Black Hawk War, the community was temporarily abandoned in 1867 but was resettled in 1871.
 * 1872 - A group of settlers from Panguitch investigated the area, meeting members of the John Wesley Powell expedition. Powell's group recommended any new community be named Escalante in honor of the explorer, even though the 1776 expedition never reached the remote valley.
 * 1875 - The community of Escalante was finally settled in 1875. The even more isolated community of Boulder to the north was established as a ranching community in 1889.
 * 1947 - Boulder, quite isolated until the Civilian Conservation Corps built a road from Escalante, got electric power.
 * 2007 - Bryce Canyon City, the town formerly known as Ruby's Inn, was officially incorporated on 23 July under a controversial, short-lived state law.

Neighboring Counties
Beaver | Iron | Kane | Piute | San Juan | Wayne

Cemeteries
Garfield County Cemeteries at the Utah State Historical site

Census
The 1900, 1910, 1920, and 1930 U.S. federal population schedules of Garfield 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.


 * 1890
 * 1900
 * 1910
 * 1920
 * 1930

Church
LDS Ward and Branch Records


 * Antimony
 * Boulder
 * Cannonville
 * Escalante
 * Escalante N.
 * Escalante S.
 * Hatch
 * Henrieville
 * Panguitch
 * Panguitch 1
 * Panguitch N.
 * Panguitch S.
 * Tropic
 * Widtsoe

Early church records, for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, for Garfield County Wards and Branches can be found on film and are located at the LDS Family History Library in Salt Lake City. The film numbers, for each ward, can be locate through the Family History Library Catalog at https://www.familysearch.org/. Or by refering to Jaussi, Laureen R., and Gloria D. Chaston. Register of Genealogical Society Call Numbers. 2 vols. Provo, Utah: Genealogy Tree, 1982. (FHL book 979.2258 A3j; fiche 6031507). These volumes contain the film numbers for many (but not all) membership and temple record films.

Newspapers

 * One major resouce for newspapers throughout Utah is the University of Utah's Utah Digital Newspapers project "with more than 600,000 pages of digitized Utah historical newspapers." One newspaper from Garfield County is included in this digital project, the Garfield County News. Read more... about using Utah newspapers for your family history research.

Vital Records
Western States Marriage Index 

Utah Death Certificates 1904 - 1956 -A free internet access to the 1904-1956 death certificates can be viewed at https://www.familysearch.org/. 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.

Utah State Burial Index for death before 1904

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to LDS Family History Centers
 * Boulder Utah Family History Center
 * Escalante Utah Ward Family History Center
 * Gunnison Utah Correctional Facility Family History Center - Boulder
 * Panguitch Utah Family History Center
 * Tropic Utah Family History Center
 * Utah Correctional Facility - South Point Family History Center

Web Sites

 * USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.
 * Garfield County, Utah Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * Garfield County, Utah Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)