Wasatch County, Utah Genealogy

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United States

Utah

Wasatch County

Guide to Wasatch County, Utah ancestry, genealogy and family history, birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

Utah Online Genealogy Records

County Facts County seat: Heber City Organized: January 17, 1862 Parent County(s): Salt Lake, Sanpete, Summit, Utah, Green River Neighboring Counties Duchesne • Salt Lake • Summit • Utah See County Maps Courthouse Location Map US-40 scenic overlook, Wasatch County, Utah

County Information

Description

The county was named for a Ute Indian word meaning mountain pass or low place in the high mountains. The county is located in the north center area of the state.

County Courthouse

Wasatch County Courthouse
1361 South Highway 40
Heber City, Ut 84032
Phone: 435-654-4676
Wasatch County Courthouse

County clerk has birth and death records 1898-1905, marriage records from 1879, divorce and court records from 1898, probate Records from 1897, and land records from 1862.

Wasatch County, Utah Record Dates

Known Beginning Dates for Government County Records
Birth*	Marriage	Death*	Court	Land	Probate	Census
1898	1879	1898	1898	1862	1897	1851
*Statewide registration for births and deaths began in 1905. General compliance by 1917.

Record Loss

There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.

Boundary Changes

Parent County(s): Created from Salt Lake, Sanpete, Summit, Utah, Green River counties on 17 Jan 1862. County Seat: Heber City Utah Individual County Chronologies - Newberry Library list of all boundary changes by county Utah Historical Borders - Map at Newberry Library Atlas of Historical County Boundaries; Also at: mapofus.org - animated maps illustrating Utah county boundary changes

Populated Places

For a complete list of populated places, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit Hometown Locator. The following are the most historically and genealogically relevant populated places in this county:

Cities
Heber City	Midway	Park City‡
Towns
Charleston Daniel	Hideout Independence	Interlaken Wallsburg
American Indian Communities
Uintah and Ouray Reservation‡
Census-designated places
Timber Lakes
Ghost towns
Hailstone Jordanelle	Keetley	Soldier Summit

‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties

History Timeline

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

• 1850's. Heber City was founded by English emigrants who were members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the late 1850s, and is named after the apostle of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Heber C. Kimball.
• 1858. A wagon road was completed through Provo Canyon, which brought the first settlers to the area. Two small communities were established: Mound City and a lower settlement sometimes referred to as Smiths Grove. Smiths Grove was first settled by the Robey, Epperson, Bronson, McCarroll, and Smith families. Indian hostilities grew, and territorial governor, Brigham Young, encouraged settlers to build forts for protection. The two settlements built a fort, "midway" between the two communities.
• 1859. The first house was built by William Manning late in the year. Manning and George Noakes were the only residents until 1863. Heber City was first settled in 1859 by Robert Broadhead, James Davis and James Gurr. John W. Witt built the first house in the area. The area was under the direction of Bishop Silas Smith who was in Provo.
• 1860. Joseph S. Murdock became the bishop over the Latter-day Saints in Heber City and vicinity.
• 1860's/1870's. A large number of Swiss immigrants arrived, including the Gertsch,Boss, Huber, Kohler, Probst, Zenger, Durtschi, Krebs, Murri, and Abegglen families. Descendants of some of these families still live in Midway. The finding of silver, gold and lead sparked the first silver mines in Park City.
• 1861. John H. Van Wagoner constructed the first commercial gristmill. Bonner Mercantile Store was the first retail store.
• 1862. Wasatch County was created 17 January 1862 from Davis and Green River Counties (old). There is no longer a Green River County. County seat: Heber City
• 1862. Wallsburg was established.
• 1877. The Charlston Ward was formed in July, with Nymphus C. Murdock as bishop.
• 1898. Once the site of the largest silver-mining camp in the country, Park City was virtually destroyed by fire.
• 1900's. The basin at the top of the canyon in Park City was good for grazing, and a few families settled there. Early on, the area was deeded to Samuel Snyder, Heber C. Kimball and Jedediah oGrant. The settlers named it "Parley's Park City", which was shortened to "Park City" in the early 1900s.
• 1902. Tragedy struck when 34 miners were killed in an explosion in the Day West Mine in Park City.
• 1947. Midway Swiss Days brings thousands of people to the town. The event was started through the efforts of Luke's Hot Pots Resort owners, Joseph B. and Pauline S. Erwin and was originally called Harvest Days.
• 1950's. While silver was thriving in Utah, other mines across the world were depleted, drawing many of these miners to Park City. The town flourished with crowds of miners and wealth. However, the city nearly became a ghost town by the end of the 1950s because of a drop in the price of silver, and the determent of World War I and the Great Depression.

Resources

Bible Records

• See Utah Bible Records for more databases and information.

Biographies

• See Utah Biography for more information.

Business, Commerce, and Occupations

• See Utah Business and Occupations for more databases and information.

Cemeteries

• See Utah Cemeteries for more databases.

Cemeteries of Wasatch County, Utah online and in print
Tombstone Transcriptions Online	Find a Grave UTGravestones BillionGraves USGenWeb Archives Tombstone Project Utah Cemeteries and Burials USGW Cemeteries
Tombstone Transcriptions in Print (Often more complete)	FamilySearch Library WorldCat
List of Cemeteries in the County	Find a Grave FamilySearch Places

 

• Territorial-1966 Utah, Veterans with Federal Service Buried in Utah, Territorial to 1966 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
• Cemeteries at the Utah State Historical site
• 1848-2001 Utah, State Archives Records, 1848-2001 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

Census Records

• See Utah Census for databases to territorial and federal Censuses.

Historical populations
Census	Pop.	%±
1870	1,244	—
1880	2,927	135.3%
1890	3,595	22.8%
1900	4,786	33.1%
1910	8,920	86.4%
1920	4,625	−48.2%
1930	5,636	21.9%
1940	5,754	2.1%
1950	5,574	−3.1%
1960	5,308	−4.8%
1970	5,863	10.5%
1980	8,523	45.4%
1990	10,089	18.4%
2000	15,215	50.8%
2010	23,530	54.7%
Source: "Wikipedia.org".

Church Records

• See Utah Church Records and United States Church Records for databases and more information.

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

The usage of "Mormon" and "LDS" on this page is approved according to current policy.

• 1877-1918 Utah, LDS Mission Calls and Recommendations, 1877-1918 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index

Historically, most people in Utah were Latter-day Saints. Their records are, therefore, very important for early Utah research. For additional information, see Tracing Latter-day Saint Ancestors and Utah Church Records.

Guide to history and records of wards and branches of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Stake(s): Wasatch Stake, Utah Places: Charleston · Daniel · Heber · Midway · Wallsburg List of Wasatch County stakes and wards to about 1948

List of Churches and Church Parishes

• FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places
  

Court Records

• For county court records such as land, naturalization, and probate, see corresponding headings listed below.
• For additional information on Utah court records, see Utah Court Records, Utah Land Records, Utah Naturalization Records, and Utah Probate Records.

Online Court Indexes and Records

Directories

• See Utah Directories for more databases and information.
• 1970-2024 United States, Residence Database, 1970-2024 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index, coverage may vary

Emigration and Immigration

• See Utah Emigration and Immigration for databases and more information.

• 1847-1868 Utah Mormon Pioneer Overland Travel Database, 1847-1868 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & links to images

Ethnic, Political, and Religious Groups

• See Utah Cultural Groups for more information.

Funeral Homes

Heber Valley Funeral Home in Heber City Nelson Family Mortuary in Heber City Probst Family Funeral Home in Midway

Genealogies

• See Utah Compiled Genealogies for more information.

UTGenWeb has an index to pedigrees found in "Bookcase A."

Land and Property Records

• See Utah Land and Property and United States Land and Property for more information.

Online Land Indexes and Records

• Full-Text Search - Land Records at FamilySearch - index & images; dates, records, and places vary; How to Search

Local Histories

• See Utah History for more information.

Named for a Ute Indian word, meaning mountain pass or low place in the high mountains. The county seat is Heber City. It is largest city in the county.

• Embry, Jessie L. A history of Wasatch County, Utah Centennial County History Series

Maps and Gazetteers

• See Utah Maps and United States Maps for more information.
• Utah Gazetteers
• Google highway map of Wasatch County 2012
• FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

Migration

• See Utah Migration for more information.

Military Records

• See Utah Military Records and United States Military Records for more databases and information.

• Territorial-1966 Utah, Veterans with Federal Service Buried in Utah, Territorial to 1966 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

Civil War

• 1861-1865 Utah, Civil War Service Records of Union Soldiers, 1861-1865 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images at Partner site

World War I

• 1914-1918 Utah, World War I Army Servicemen Records Abstracts, 1914-1918 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
• 1914-1918 Utah, World War I Service Questionnaires, 1914-1918 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
• 1917-1918 Utah, World War I County Draft Board Registers, Name Index, 1917-1918 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
• 1917-1918 Utah, World War I Militia Lists, 1917-1918 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

World War II

• 1939-1945 Utah, World War II Index to Army Veterans of Utah, 1939-1945 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

Naturalization and Citizenship

• See Utah Naturalization and Citizenship and United States Naturalization and Citizenship for more databases and information.

Online Naturalization Indexes and Records

• 1848-2001 Utah, State Archives Records, 1848-2001 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
• 1896-1906 Wasatch County, Utah Naturalization Record Books, 1896-1906 Ancestry.com ($) Cites as its data source: Utah State Archives and Records Service. Series 84056.
  
• 1906-1930 Utah Naturalization Records, 1906-1930 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
• 1906-1930 Utah, Federal Naturalization Records, 1906-1930 at Ancestry- index & images ($)
• 1907-1924 Wasatch County, Utah Citizenship Certificate Stubs, 1907-1924 Ancestry.com ($) Cites as its data source: Utah State Archives and Records Service. Series 85182.
  

Newspapers

• See Utah Newspapers and United States Newspapers for more databases.

• 1800s-Current Utah, U.S., Newspapers.com™ Stories and Events Index, 1800's-Current at Ancestry — index & images ($)
• 1850-2003 Utah Newspapers, 1850-2003 at MyHeritage — index & images ($)
• Utah Digital Newspapers Project gives newspaper images online. Search All Newspapers by name or keywords, or Browse by County to view the digitized newspapers.
  

Wasatch Wave, covering 1889 - 1922 is included.

Obituaries

• See Utah Obituaries and United States Obituaries for more databases.

• 1850-2005 Utah, Obituaries from Utah Newspapers, 1850-2005 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & links to images
• 2010-2013 Utah, U.S., Obituary Index, 2010-2013 at Ancestry - index ($)
• To Present Wasatch County Obituary Index at Heber City Utah FamilySearch Center. An index for 2003-2012 [can be found here][1]. Lookups available upon request.
• Pre-1960 Wasatch County Pre-1960 Obituary Index at UTGenWeb - free.

Other Records

Prisons

• 1892-1949 Board of Pardons Prisoners' Pardon Application Case Files, 1892-1949 at Utah Division of Archives and Records Service – index & images

Periodicals

• See Utah Periodicals

Probate Records

• See Utah Probate Records for more databases and information.

Online Probate Indexes and Records

• 1800-1985 Utah Wills and Probate Records 1800-1985 at Ancestry — index & images ($)
• 1851–1961 Utah Probate Records 1851-1961 at FamilySearch — images
• Full-Text Search - Wills and Probate Records at FamilySearch - index & images; dates, records, and places vary; How to Search

Social Security Records

• 1935-2014 United States Social Security Death Index at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index. Also at Ancestry, findmypast, Fold3, GenealogyBank, MyHeritage, and Steve Morse. Click here for more information.
• 1936-2007 U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 at Ancestry ($) — index, click here for more information.
• 1936-2007 United States, Social Security Numerical Identification Files (NUMIDENT), 1936-2007 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index

Tax Records

• See Utah Taxation for more databases.

Vital Records

Birth

• 1898-1905 Series #83881 at Utah State Archives. Not online, no online index.
• 1903-1914 Utah, Birth Certificates, 1903-1914 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
• 1906-1910 1906-1910 online images
• Wasatch County Health Department, 55 South 500 East, Heber City, Utah 84032, Phone 435-657-3307.

Marriage

• 1805-1992 Utah, United States Marriages at Findmypast ($) — index $
• 1887-1937 Utah, County Marriages, 1887-1937 at MyHeritage - index ($)
• 1871-1941 Utah, County Marriages, 1871-1941 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
• 1887-1999 Utah, Marriages, 1887-1999 at MyHeritage — index ($)
• 1887-2001 Wasatch County Marriage Licenses Index (1887-2001) at UTGenWeb - free.
  
• 1916-present Marriage License Lookup at Wasatch County Government site - free.
  
• Western States Marriage Index at BYU-Idaho — includes some divorces and alternative sources

Death

• 1904-1965 Utah Death Certificates, 1904-1965 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
• Pre-1904 Utah State Burial Data Base This site includes information on many Utah residents, who died before 1904.
• 1917-1918 USGenWeb Archives contain the vital records of births in Wasatch County 1917-1918

Voting Records

• Utah, Voter Registrations at MyHeritage — index ($)

Research Facilities

Archives

• See Utah Archives and Libraries for more information.

FamilySearch Centers

FamilySearch Center and Affiliate Library Locator map - search for local FamilySearch Centers or Affiliate Libraries

• FamilySearch Centers provide one-on-one assistance, free access to center-only databases, and to premium genealogical websites.
• FamilySearch Affiliate Libraries have access to most center-only databases, but may not always have full services normally provided by a FamilySearch center.
  

Local Centers and Affiliate Libraries

• Alpine Utah North FamilySearch Center
• American Fork Utah FamilySearch Center
• Heber City Utah FamilySearch Center
• Lindon Utah FamilySearch Center
• Mount Timpanogos Utah FamilySearch Center
• Orem Utah Geneva Heights FamilySearch Center
• Orem Utah Sharon Park FamilySearch Center
• Orem Utah Stonewood FamilySearch Center
• Pleasant Grove Utah East FamilySearch Center
• Provo Utah Edgemont North FamilySearch Center
• Provo Utah Wasatch (Tongan) FamilySearch Center
• Orem Public Library - an affiliate library

Libraries

• See Utah Archives and Libraries for more information.

Wasatch County Library
465 East 1200 South
Heber City, UT 84032-3943
435-654-1511
Website

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

Societies

• See Utah Societies for statewide societies.

Websites

• 1848-2001 Utah, State Archives Records, 1848-2001 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
• Wasatch GenWeb, Utah GenWeb
• Wasatch USGW Archive, Utah USGW Archive
• Linkpendium
• FamilySearch Catalog – The FamilySearch catalog contains descriptions and access information for all genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) in their collection.  Use Historical Records to search for specific individuals in genealogical records.

This table contains the dates the local or state government began recording in the county or county equivalent. Use substitute records for earlier dates. If you believe there is an error, email us at wikisupport@familysearch.org.

County boundary maps are currently unavailable. Download information instead.

To access available information, first log into FamilySearch.

Users should verify which locations and dates are included in this collection.

This website requires a paid subscription for full access. Some subscription websites are available for free at your local FamilySearch Center or Affiliate Library.

“Current” indicates records are available as recently as privacy laws allow. This date can change from year to year. To determine the exact dates available, contact the respective organization/repository.

FamilySearch affiliate libraries may have access to center-only databases, but do not always have all services normally provided by a FamilySearch center.