Series 27442
Summit County (Utah). Probate Court Record books
Dates: 1882-1913.
1.00 cubic foot and 2 microfilm reels
These records are housed in the Utah State Archives' permanent storage room.
Scope and Content
The record books in this series summarize the proceedings of the Summit County Probate Court which primarily dealt with the probate of estates for deceased persons and with guardianship cases. As specified by the Territorial Legislature in 1852, county probate court powers included the authority to probate wills, administer the estates of deceased persons, and establish guardianships for minors, idiots, and the insane. (An Act in Relation to the Judiciary, in Acts, Resolutions, and Memorials passed by the First Annual, and Special Sessions, of the Legislative Assembly. Great Salt Lake City, 1852, Brigham H. Young, Printer, pp. 38-48). The basic procedure for probate cases includes unsealing and admitting a will, if any, and obtaining the testimony of witnesses to prove the will's validity. It also includes such things as appointing administrators; giving notice to creditors; appointing appraisers and filing their report; ordering the sale of property; providing proof of settlement or distribution of the property; and releasing administrators from further responsibility. These record books contain a variety of orders, petitions, wills, and other documents relating to this process.
During the territorial period Utah county probate courts served a variety of additional functions. Early Utah probate courts held jurisdiction in civil and criminal matters, but by 1878 this had been limited to divorces only. Several divorce cases can be found scattered throughout these books.
Arrangement
Chronological by date.
Record Book C covers 1882 to 1889 and is comprised of matters heard exclusively by the Summit County Probate Court. Record Book D has entries that date from 1886 to 1895 that were also exclusively heard by the Summit County Probate Court. However, there are some entries at the end of the book that date between 1896 and 1913 that involve cases heard by the Third District Court of Summit County.
Related Records
Probate case files from the District Court (Third District : Summit County), Series 23288, contains the complete case files for matters cited at the end of Record Book D.
Guardians and executors record from Summit County (Utah). Probate Court, Series 27440, contains guardianship records created by the Summit County Probate Court.
Administrators' record book from Summit County (Utah). Probate Court, Series 27441, contains other records from the probate process created by the Summit County Probate Court.
Custody History
These books were transferred to the State Archives from the Third District Court of Summit County in April 2010.
Additional Forms
This series is available on microfilm.
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 processed by Jim Kichas in May 2010.
Finding Aids
Indexes: Both record books in this series contain separate index books that are kept in the front cover of each volume.
Indexing Terms
- Court records--Utah--Summit County
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