Summit County, Utah Genealogy

United States  Utah  Summit County

County Courthouse
www.co.summit.ut.us/ 60 North Main Street P.O. Box 128 Coalville, UT 84017 435-336-3200

Parent County

 * 1854--Summit County was created 13 January 1854 from Salt Lake County and Green River district (old) which extended into what is now southwest portion of Wyoming at the time.

County seat: Coalville

Interesting Fact
The county is so named because it includes 39 of the highest mountain peaks in Utah. Its mean elevation is 8,388 feet (2,557 m) above sea level, which is the second-highest of any county outside of Colorado.

TIMELINE HISTORY
NOTE: Unless otherwise mentioned, the events below were gleaned from Wikipedia for Summit county. 1850 - A Mormon pioneer, Parley P. Pratt, was sent to this valley from Salt Lake City by Brigham Young to check on the possibility of establishing settlements along the Weber River and the nearby Provo River. His report was, ". . . a good valley, abundant grass and plenty of water".


 * 1853 - The first white man to winter in Oakley, was Thomas Rhodes. An explorer, trapper, prospector, part-time farmer, and close friend of Brigham Young, he was occasionally called from his California prospecting by Brigham Young when there was a need for money for the church. Rhodes would disappear for a week or so into the Uinta Mountains and return with a supply of gold.
 * 1854/1858 - In 1854 the territorial government in Utah offered a $1000 reward to anyone who could find coal within 40 miles of Salt Lake City. Four years later, Thomas Rhodes found a coal vein in the Chalk Creek area, and coal mining began in earnest. Hundreds of tons of coal were shipped to Salt Lake City, and soon a narrow gauge railroad was built. The settlement was renamed Coalville as a result of this early success mining coal.
 * 1859 - Coalville was founded by William Henderson Smith, an early Mormon freighter. He noticed that wheat spilled by other wagons moving through the area would grow to maturity. He subsequently convinced four families to settle in the area with him. The settlement was originally called Chalk Creek.


 * 1868 - The first settlers in Oakley were William Stevens and wife, Emma Crowden Stevens. Soon to follow were relatives and friends, among them the Fraziers, Hortins, Richards, Wildes and Gibbons, to name a few; all these names are still prominent in the town.
 * 1880's - Oakley's land was originally purchased from the Union Pacific Company by the early settlers in the land sale of the 1880s.
 * 1886/1887 - Oakley's original name was "Oak Creek", derived from the name of a creek that ran just east of the present town site and that was thickly overgrown with oak trees. The town changed its name to "Oakley" in late 1886 or early 1887; the new name was chosen from many names submitted by the settlers in a contest.

Populated Places

 * Cities: Coalville | Echo | Henefer (Originally Heneferville) | Hoytsville| Kamas | Park City | Wanship

Daughters of Utah pioneers wrote a small history titled: "Henefer Our Valley Home" available on microfilm from the Family History Library.

Neighboring Counties
Daggett | Duchesne | Morgan | Rich | Salt Lake | Wasatch | Wyoming counties: Sweetwater | Uinta

Cemeteries
Summit county cemeteries at theUtah State Historical site Wallsburg Cemetery, Wallsburg BillionGraves

Census
The 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, and 1930 U.S. federal population schedules of Summit 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.


 * 1856
 * 1860
 * 1870
 * 1880
 * 1890
 * 1900
 * 1910
 * 1920
 * 1930

Church
LDS Ward and Branch Records


 * Cluff
 * Coalville
 * Echo
 * Francis (Kamas)
 * Grass Creek
 * Henefer
 * Hoytsville
 * Kamas
 * Marion
 * Oakley
 * Park City
 * Park City 1
 * Park City 2
 * Parley's Park
 * Peoa
 * Rockport
 * Upton
 * Wanship
 * Woodland

Early church records, for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, for Summit 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.

Migration
Early migration routes to and from for European and African American settlers included:


 * California Trail 1846 to 1869 from western Missouri to northern California
 * Mormon Trail 1846 to 1869 from Nauvoo, Illinois to Salt Lake City, Utah

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 Summit County is included in this digital project, the Park Records. 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 on the 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.

[Http://history.utah.gov/burials/execute/searchburials Utah State Burial Index] 

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to LDS Family History Centers
 * Coalville Utah Family History Center
 * Kamas Utah 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.
 * Summit County, Utah Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * Summit County, Utah Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)