Tooele County, Utah Genealogy

United States

Utah

Tooele County

Guide to Tooele County, Utah ancestry, family history, and genealogy. Birth records, marriage and death records, cemeteries, census, church records, probate records, and obituaries—resources to find parents and family history since 1852, when the county was formed.

Utah Miners, Tooele County, Utah

Quick start:

• Census
• Birth
• Marriage
• Death
• Church

Tooele County, Utah
Map
Location in the state of Utah
Facts
Founded	March 3, 1852
County Seat	Tooele
Courthouse
Address	Tooele County Courthouse 47 South Main Tooele, UT 84074 Phone: (435) 843-3100
Website: www.co.tooele.ut.us
Adopt-a-wiki page This page adopted by: Utah Genealogical Association who welcome you to contribute. Adopt a page today

County Facts

Description

The County was named for "tu-wanda", the Goshute word for "bear", or from "tule", a Spanish word of Aztec origins meaning "bulrush". The County is located in the northwest area of the state.

Tooele County, Utah Record Dates

Known Beginning Dates for Major County Records
Birth*	Marriage	Death*	Court	Land	Probate	Census
1897	1887	1897	1859	1952	1870	1851
Statewide registration for births and deaths began in 1905. General compliance by 1917.

County Courthouse

Tooele County Courthouse
47 South Main Street
Tooele, Ut 84074
Phone: 435-843-3140

County Clerk has birth and death records 1897-1905 and marriage records from 1887.
Clerk District Court has divorce, probate and court records.
County Recorder has land records.

Dates for major county records
Birth	Marriage	Death	Census	Land	Probate
1898-present	1887-present	1898-present	1850, 1851...	1852-present	1870-present
For earlier dates, try...Church | Obituaries | Cemeteries | Parent counties

Records Loss

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

Parent Counties

Tooele County, Utah Genealogy was created March 3, 1852 as an original county from Utah Territory lands.

Boundary Changes

For animated maps illustrating Utah County boundary changes, "Rotating Formation Utah County Boundary Maps" (1849-1960) may be viewed for free at the MapofUS.org website.

• Boundary changes timeline for Tooele County, Utah Genealogy from "UT: Index of Counties," Newberry Library's Utah Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

Neighboring Counties

Tooele County, Utah Genealogy is surrounded by: Box Elder | Davis | Juab | Salt Lake | Utah | Weber | Nevada counties: Elko | White Pine

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
Grantsville	Tooele (county seat)	Wendover
Towns
Ophir Rush Valley	Stockton	Vernon
Unincorporated communities
Burmester Clive Faust	Flux Ibapah Knolls	Lake Point Rowley
Native American communities
Goshute Reservation‡	Skull Valley Reservation
Census-designated places
Dugway	Erda	Stansbury Park
Ghost towns
Ajax Aragonite Arinosa Benmore	Delle Gold Hill Iosepa Low	Mercur Salduro Scranton

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

Resources

The types of records that follow are used for genealogy and family history. Most tell what you may learn and how to locate the records. Links to Internet sites usually go directly to Tooele County, Utah Genealogy entries with names, images, or information.

Bible Records

The term "Bible records" refers to the practice of keeping family dates and events in a family Bible. This was a common practice in many European countries and carried over to America. Many of these family Bible records are still in existence and preserved by the descendants of the immigrants. In some cases these family Bibles have found their way into libraries and other repositories.

For an explanation of how to find Bible records and for helpful links see Utah Bible Records. See also United States Bible Records.

Biography

• Tooele County Archives Select Biographies. (microfilmed originals or published transcripts) are listed in the FamilySearch Library Catalog for Tooele County, Utah Genealogy. For other libraries (local and national) or to gain access to items of interest, see public libraries.

Business Records and Commerce

See United States Business Records
See also Utah Business Records

Cemeteries

Tombstone Transcriptions Online	Tombstone Transcriptions in Print	List of Cemeteries in the county
FindAGrave	Family History Library	FindAGrave
UTGravestones	WorldCat	USGW Tombstone Project
BillionGraves (name)	Utah Periodicals	Utah Cemeteries and Burials
BillionGraves (cemetery)		Linkpendium
USGW Archives		Genealogy Trails
Interment		Hometown Locator
USGenWeb		Epodunk
See Utah Cemeteries for more information.

Cemetery records often reveal birth, death, relationship, military, and religious information. The spouse and children who died young are frequently buried nearby.

More than tombstone inscriptions, cemetery records include sextons (caretakers) records and interment (burial) records, each with slightly different information. See Utah Cemeteries.

• To 1966 - Utah, Veterans with Federal Service Buried in Utah, Territorial to 1966 at FamilySearch — index and images

• Published transcripts of cemetery records are listed in the FamilySearch Library Catalog at the town level (space, then select the town) or the county level (select Cemeteries).

Compendium Resources for Tooele Cemeteries

• Tooele County Archives select 'Cemeteries. (microfilmed originals or published transcripts) are listed in the FamilySearch Library Catalog for Tooele County, Utah Genealogy. For other libraries (local and national) or to gain access to items of interest, see public libraries.
• Tooele county cemeteries at the Utah State Historical site
• Latter-day Saint Cemetery Records US Vol. 21 page 188 - Mercur Cemetery
• USGenWeb Archives Tooele County, Utah gives names of individuals buried in the Old Pioneer Cemetery from 1849 - 1867 and later removed to the New Cemetery.
• USGenWeb Archives Tooele County, Utah provides information on the Woodmen of the World burials
• Utah, State Archives a collection digitized by FamilySearch (free), includes a 1855-1990 cemetery/burial card index of the Grantsville City Cemetery. Information on these alphabatical-by-surname cards reflects access to sexton records. Also available is Grantsville, Tooele County, Utah Cemetery, 1846-1999 Ancestry.com ($) Cemetery information was cross-referenced with records at the Grantsville City records office.
  

Census

Census records 1850 and later list names, ages, and places of birth (state or nation) for everyone in the household. Censuses locate the family and have other clues to find more records about them.

• See Utah Census for online indexes and images of US federal censuses. of: 1852, 1856, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, 1930, and 1940.
• See statewide printed indexes, including 1856.

USGenWeb Archives of Tooele County, Utah provides the 1850 census records

Churches and Religious Groups

The information given in church records depends upon the practices of each religious group. Most include the names of members, often with ages and birth places. Several give birth, christening, or blessing dates for infants. See Utah Church Records for details about various denominations.

• Church records (microfilmed originals or published transcripts) are listed for Tooele County, Utah Genealogy at the town level (space, then select a town) or county level (select Church topics) in the FamilySearch Library Catalog.

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 — 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.

Click a church unit name in the chart below for its history, boundaries, and availability of records, which are often in microfilm format

(Section In process. Want to help?) ____________________

County Records

• 1855-1956 - Utah, Tooele County Records, 1855-1956 at FamilySearch — index and images

Court Records

Many of your ancestors may be found in court records as defendants, plaintiffs, witnesses, or jurors. Court records can establish family relationships and places of residence, occupations, and other family history information. See Utah Court Records for the various courts through the years.

For specialized court records, see Divorce  · Guardianship  · Land  · Naturalization  · Probate

• Court Records (microfilmed originals or published transcripts) are listed in the FamilySearch Library Catalog for Tooele County, Utah Genealogy. For other libraries (local and national) or to gain access to items of interest, see public libraries.

Directories

See Utah Directories

• Tooele County Records select directories. (microfilmed originals or published transcripts) are listed in the FamilySearch Library Catalog for Tooele County, Utah Genealogy. For other libraries (local and national) or to gain access to items of interest, see public libraries.

Emigration and Immigration

• 1847-1868 - Utah Mormon Pioneer Overland Travel Database, 1847-1868 at FamilySearch — index

• Tooele Records select Emigration and Immigration. (microfilmed originals or published transcripts) are listed in the FamilySearch Library Catalog for Tooele County, Utah Genealogy. For other libraries (local and national) or to gain access to items of interest, see public libraries.

Funeral Homes

Tate Mortuary
110 South Main
Tooele, UT 84074
Phone: 435-882-0676
Fax: 435-882-7814

Gazetteers

See Utah Gazetteers

Genealogy

A FamilySearch Community Tree is available for this place.

Guardianship

Guardianship of orphans or adults unable to manage their own affairs were handled by the probate and the Federal District courts. See Utah Court Records.

History

Interesting facts
This county was originally spelled "Tuilla" and is still pronounced that way by locals.

• Blanthorn, Ouida. A history of Tooele County, Utah Centennial County History Series

Wendover Air Force Base, now closed, was the training base of the Enola Gay crew which dropped the first atomic weapon in 1945.

History Timeline

• Boundary changes timeline for Tooele County, Utah Genealogy from "UT: Index of Counties," Newberry Library's Utah Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

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

• 1849. Latter-day Saints established the first white settlement in the area.
• 1850 January. Tooele County formed as one of six original counties in Deseret, later called Utah Territory
• 1850's–1860's. Troubles between white settlers and Goshute Indians.
• 1852. March 3 - Tooele County was created as an original county.
• 1852. By this year, Grantsville, Batesville, and Pine Canyon (later called Lincoln) were settled by Latter-day Saints.
• 1855. Richville named as county seat.
• 1861. Territory of Nevada created, establishing the permanent western border of Tooele County.
• 1861. County seat moved to Tooele City.
• 1864. Gold, silver, lead, and zinc were discovered in Tooele County, spurring an influx of non-church members to the area.
• Before 1874. The county courthouse was built.
• 1874–1879. The Republic of Tooele was established by non-members politicians. Only taxpayers were allowed to vote, and there were complaints of fraud. The recorder's office was even jeopardized!
• 1876. Territorial legislature passed a bill requiring voter registration and women's suffrage. Tooele County and it's political problems earlier were likely the spur to this law.

Land and Property

Land records (especially deeds) often give the name of a spouse, heir, other relatives, or other clues for further research. They often have other clues for further research, such as witnesses or the other parties who may be relatives or in-laws. See Utah Land and Property for more.

• County Recorder's Office: check deeds, file mining claims, get assistance in finding ownership of a particular property, and obtain copies of county plat maps. This office has county plat records dating back to 1878, prior records having been destroyed in a fire.

• Utah, Tooele County Records, 1855-1956 a collection digitized by FamilySearch (free), includes Deed Index, Deeds (1856+), Mining records of Toole county.

Maps

Click a neighboring county
for more resources

• Google highway map of Tooele County 2012

Migration

Early migration routes to and from Tooele County, Utah Genealogy for emigrant 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
• Mormon Trail to Southern California 1847 from Salt Lake City, Utah to Los Angeles, California
• Central Overland Trail 1859-1869 from Salt Lake City, Utah to Carson City, Nevada (and usually on to northern California)

Military

• To 1966 - Utah, Veterans with Federal Service Buried in Utah, Territorial to 1966 at FamilySearch — index and images
• Utah, Tooele County Records, 1855-1956 a collection digitized by FamilySearch (free), includes an index to military records (1919-1990) and military records (1919-1955)

Civil War

• 1861-1865 - Utah, Civil War Service Records of Union Soldiers, 1861-1865 at FamilySearch — index

World War I

• 1914-1918 - Utah, World War I Army Servicemen Records Abstracts, 1914-1918 at FamilySearch — index
• 1914-1918 - Utah, World War I Service Questionnaires, 1914-1918 at FamilySearch — index
• 1917-1918 - Utah, World War I County Draft Board Registers, Name Index, 1917-1918 at FamilySearch — index
• 1917-1918 - Utah, World War I Militia Lists, 1917-1918 at FamilySearch — index

World War II

• 1929-1954 - Utah, World War II Index to Army Veterans of Utah, 1939-1945 at FamilySearch — index
• 1940-1945 - Utah, World War II Draft Registration Cards,1940-1947 at FamilySearch — index and images

Naturalization and Citizenship

Declarations of Intent before 1906 often include the nation of origin, his* foreign and "Americanized" names, residence, and date of arrival. See Utah Naturalization and Citizenship for more information.    (*Women were not naturalized until 1922 in the United States.)

• 1848-2001 - [1], a FamilySearch digital collection, contains certificates of naturalization, 1878-1896 and 1896-1933; declaration of intentions 1874-1896 and a1904-1906; petition and record 1907-1942.
  

• 1855-1956 - Utah, Tooele County Records, 1855-1956 a collection digitized by FamilySearch (free), includes declarations 1896+ and petitions 1908-1929

• 1906-1930 - Utah Naturalization Records, 1906-1930 at FamilySearch — index and images

Newspapers

Small town newspapers contain obituaries, birth or death notices, community news (such as the visit of someone's relatives), legal notices and provide historical content. See Utah newspapers for tips, resources, and details.

• Utah Digital Newspapers Project presents newspaper images online. Search All Newspapers by name or keywords, or Browse by County to view all newspapers digitized for Tooele County, Utah Genealogy.
  • Tooele County Chronicle and Tooele Transcript-Bulletin, covering 1947-1948 and 1894-1924 respectively are included.
• Existing copies of newspapers. newspapers for Tooele County, Utah Genealogy] are listed in Chronicling America by Library of Congress (LOC).

Obituaries

Obituaries may mention birth, marriage, spouse, parents, and living family members. See Utah Obituaries for state level compendiums and United States Obituaries for tips and insights regarding this record type.

Obituaries for residents may be found in:

• 1850 – 2005 Utah, Obituaries from Utah Newspapers, 1850-2005 at FamilySearch — index

• Newspapers of Tooele County, Utah Genealogy

• Local Funeral Homes, Societies, Libraries, or in family records.

• Obituaries of neighboring counties

• Newspapers of major cities: Deseret News and/or The Salt Lake Tribune both in Salt Lake City

Poorhouses, Poor Law, etc.

In Utah, such records may be difficult to find. Try records of the church they may have attended. Realize, however, that such records may have not been preserved, and would not be in the typical records of membership.

It is possible there were records kept by civilian authorities. Ask town or county officials and local librarians and the State Archives. Also try National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections (online).

Probate Records

Probate cases include court actions regarding property and estates of individuals who have died. Records may locate relatives, provide death dates, and identify property. See Utah Probate Records for more information.

Online Probate Records

• 1800 – 1985 Utah Wills and Probate Records 1800-1985 at Ancestry.com — index and images $
• 1851 – 1961 Utah Probate Records 1851-1961 at FamilySearch — images
• Utah, Tooele County Records, 1855-1956 a collection digitized by FamilySearch (free), includes the index to wills 1887-1955
• Utah, State Archives a collection digitized by FamilySearch (free), includes probate court minutes, 1859-1888.

Vital Records

See also How to order Utah Vital Records or download an application for Utah Birth Certificate, Marriage or Divorce Certificate, Death Certificate Applications to mail.

Birth

Below are the best sources to find birth information (dates and places of birth and names of parents) for Tooele County, Utah Genealogy. Also available: How to Find Birth Information in Utah.

Follow the suggestions under the year span that matches when your ancestor was born:

Birth before 1852

Tooele County, Utah Genealogy was formed on 3 March 1852.

      If your records show the person was born here before the county was formed,
      search parent counties

Birth 1852 - 1897

No birth records were created for Tooele County, Utah Genealogy by either by county or state civil authorities in this time period.

Follow these suggestions to find birth information for this time period:

• Utah Death Certificates 1904-1961 give birth date and place (recorded at the time of death), names of parents, and name of spouse. Search by names or by exact death date.
• Church records usually give birth date and place and names of parents.
• See also other records that give birth information, such as Death records, Census, Cemeteries, Obituaries
• See also neighboring counties for birth information, due to family members living in that area, religious preferences, convenience, and other reasons.

Birth 1898 - present

County clerks became responsible for recording births beginning in 1898. In 1905, the State Department of Health assumed responsibility and required the counties to forward copies of the records to them.

Records open to the public

Birth records created more than 100 years ago State Department of Health Birth, Marriage, and Death Certificates page. are open to the public.

• 1898 - 1905 - Series #83862 at Utah State Archives. Not online, no online index. There are no names of children in the records.
  • FamilySearch Library copy: FSL film 482524 It. 2-3.
  • Idea: use censuses and church records to learn those missing children's names.

• 1903 - 1914 - Utah, Birth Certificates, 1903-1914 at FamilySearch — index and images
• 1906 - 1910 - 1906-1910 online images for Tooele County, Utah Genealogy at the State Archives. Browse the "not yet indexed" area by year and county. Most entries do have names of children.
  
  • Later records open to the public are housed at the Utah State Archives, but not online.
• 1892 - 1941 - Online Utah, Births and Christenings, 1892-1941, a FamilySearch Historical Records Collection. .

Restricted records

Access to official birth records within 100 years is restricted to those who meet certain requirements. Order copies:

• Office of Vital Records and Statistics, 288 North 1460 West, Salt Lake City, Utah, Phone: (801) 538-6105. How to order online, by mail, or in person.

• Tooele County Health Department, 151 North Main Street, Tooele, UT 84074, Phone (435) 277-2301.

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Marriage

• 1805-1992 - Utah, United States Marriages at FindMyPast — index $
• 1855-1929 - Western States Marriage Index. Includes Tooele County 1855-1929.

• 1887-1937 - Utah, Tooele County Records, 1855-1956 a collection digitized by FamilySearch (free), includes marriage records 1887-1937

• 1887-1940 - Utah, County Marriages, 1887-1940 at FamilySearch — index and images

Divorce

Divorce records give the names of the parties and may give the date and place of their marriage. See Utah Vital Records for excellent information.

Death

• 1904-1964 - Utah Death Certificates, 1904-1964 at FamilySearch — index and images . 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, birth date, parents, gender, marital status, spouse and place of residence.

• Pre-1904 - Utah State Burial Data Base This site includes information on many Utah residents, who died before 1904.

• Tooele Genweb site has further information on Births, Marriages, Deaths record sources.

Death Record Substitutes

• 1870 - U.S. Federal Census Mortality Schedules, 1850-1885 at Ancestry ($). Includes 1870 Tooele County, Utah Genealogy mortality schedule.
  

Websites

• Tooele County UTGenWeb
• Tooele County, UT History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
• Utah Genealogy Network Community on Google+
• Utah Genealogy Network Group on Facebook

Links to indexes or images of records:

• FamilySearch.org. Collections are growing at record rates. If the county is not listed, check later.
  • Tooele County Records
  • Utah State Archives records, 1848–2001
  • Also see Utah to search items that include Tooele County, Utah Genealogy.

Links to Tooele County, Utah Genealogy collections:

• FamilySearch Library Catalog
  • Tooele County, Utah Genealogy (Select topics)
  • Towns in Tooele County, Utah Genealogy (Space, then select town)

Sites that gather links to the Internet

• Linkpendium
• CyndisList

Archives, Libraries, etc.

Resources for Tooele County, Utah Genealogy are available in repositories (such as libraries and archives) at all levels: the town, the county, the state (including universities), and the nation.

Check websites and catalogs of archives and libraries for items for this county. Examples: Tooele County, Utah Genealogy items in FamilySearch Library (Utah) or Allen County Public Library (Indiana). When you find items you'd like to access, see Get a Copy

See these headings for Tooele County, Utah Genealogy details: Courthouse · FamilySearch Centers · Libraries · Societies

Courthouse

www.co.tooele.ut.us/
County Clerk, 47 South Main
Tooele, UT 84074
Telephone: (435) 843-3140
Fax: (435) 882-7317

County seat: Tooele

FamilySearch Centers

Family History Centers provide one-on-one assistance and free access to premium genealogical websites. In addition, many centers have free how-to genealogy classes.

• For current information about a center near you, go to the Family History Center Map

• Grantsville Utah Family History Center 115 E Cherry, Grantsville UT 84029 United States Location Map

• Tooele Valley Utah Family History Center752 N 520 E,Tooele UT84074United States Location Map

• Wendover Utah Family History Center269 B St, Wendover UT 84083 United States Location Map

Libraries

Local public libraries usually have histories, genealogies, indexes of cemeteries, copies of local newspapers, or other records for the area they serve. Many libraries in Utah have an area dedicated to local collections and manuscripts.

• Tooele City Library; 128 West Vine Street, Tooele, UT 84074-2059. Phone: 435-882-2182.
  • Collections
• [http://www.grantsvilleut.gov/Library/ Grantsville City Library ; 42 Bowery Street, Grantsville, UT 84029. Phone: 435-884-1670
  • Collections:

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 also a List of Utah Archives, Libraries, Publications, Historical & Genealogical Societies

To access available information, first log into FamilySearch.