Series 26663
District Court (Fifth District : Iron County) Will record book
Dates: 1871-1924.
1 microfilm reel
These records are housed in the Utah State Archives' permanent storage room.
Scope and Content
This series is comprised of one will record book that was started in the Territorial Probate Court of Iron County. After statehood the record was maintained by the clerk of the Iron County District Court until 1924. Content includes handwritten wills presented to the clerk of the court by residents of the county. Legislators at the second Utah Territorial Legislative Assembly organized probate courts in each of Utah's counties and endowed these courts with the right to exercise jurisdiction in the probate of wills and the administration of estates of deceased persons (Laws of Utah, Chapter 42, 1852). The assembly clarified the manner in which estates should be settled. By law any person of full age and of sound mind could dispose of all of his property by will, with the exception that sufficient first be withheld to pay any outstanding debts. The signatures of two competent witnesses in addition to the testator validated a completed will. The law provided that wills could be sealed and deposited with the clerk of the probate court where they would be preserved until the death of the testator. Otherwise, any person having custody of a will could bring it into the court at the death of the testator. The law stated that if the court allowed and attested the will, it should be carried into effect (Compiled Laws of Utah, 1876, Title 14, chapter 1, sections 1-6).
Arrangement
Chronological by date.
Related Records
Probate registers of actions from the District Court (Fifth District : Iron County), Series 18218, available at this institution, can be used in conjunction with this series to determine the exact dates for court proceedings.
Probate case files from the District Court (Fifth District : Iron County), Series 26645, available at this institution, contains the complete case files associated with the wills in these record books.
Custody History
This book was originally transferred to the State Archives from the court in 2007. It was transferred to the regional repository at Southern Utah University in November 2009.
Access Restrictions
This series is classified as Public.
Preferred Citation
Cite the Utah State Archives and Records Service, the creating agency name, the series title, and the series number.
Processing Note
This series was archivally processed by Jim Kichas and Emily Gurr in May 2008 as part of a NHPRC grant project designed to preserve the historic records of Utah's Fifth District Courts.
Indexing Terms
Page Last Updated October 18, 2012.