Series 3148
SECRETARY OF STATE [603]LEGISLATIVE ACTS, RESOLUTIONS, AND MEMORIALS JOURNALS, 1850-19117.3 cu. ft. (15 vols.) and 10 microfilm reels
DESCRIPTION: These journals were kept by the Secretary of Utah Territory, and later the Secretary of State, as a record of the official copy of the acts and proceedings of the legislature. Keeping the record of the official acts of the legislature was a duty assigned to the Secretary's Office by the Organic Act which created Utah's government in 1850 ["An Act to Establish a Territorial Government for Utah," Sect. 3 (Sept. 9, 1850) in Acts, Resolutions, and Memorials passed by the First Annual, and Special Session of the Legislative Assembly of the Territory of Utah, Brigham H. Young, printer, Great Salt Lake City, Utah 1852, p. 28]. Usually what has been recorded in the journals is an exact copy of what was finally published as the Laws of Utah after each legislative session. After statehood in 1896, a copy of the published version of the laws was pasted into the journals to replace the handwritten copy.
After Benjamin Ferris assumed his duties as Secretary in October 1852, volume two in the series was opened. Succeeding secretaries evidently then used volume one as a place to record other data pertaining to the legislature. Between 1852 and 1855 several lists of officials entitled to receive copies of territorial laws, a list of individuals elected to serve as members of the legislature in 1854, a list of elected county officials of 1855, and a list of other states which had mailed Utah a copy of their laws, are all recorded following the acts passed before May of 1852. Journals for the sessions of 1886, 1888, and 1890 are missing from the series. After 1911, separate journals were no longer kept, although final copies of all individual acts, resolutions and memorials of the legislature were still kept on file by the Secretary of State.
ARRANGEMENT: Acts of the legislature are entered chronologically as they were passed and approved. Beginning in 1882, journals are organized by the chapter and section that corresponds to the published Laws of Utah.
RELATED RECORDS: Series 4076, LEGISLATIVE BILLS, records the final, passed version of the bill as kept by the Secretary of State after statehood. Series 3150, TERRITORIAL LEGISLATIVE RECORDS, contain working and final drafts of acts of the territorial legislature. Series 83155, LAWS OF UTAH, contains the published version of the laws as passed by the legislature.
PROCESSING NOTE: Archival processing was completed in 1987 by Val E. Wilson. The series was microfilmed in 1988.
CONTAINER LIST
| Reel |
Box |
Description |
| 1 |
1 |
Vol. 1: 1850-1853 |
| 2 |
1 |
Vol. 2: 1852-1861 |
| 3 |
2 |
Vol. 3: 1861-1870 |
| 4 |
3 |
Vol. 4: 1880-1885 |
| 5 |
4 |
Vol. 5: 1878-1884 |
| 6 |
5 |
Vol. 6: 1870-1876 |
| 7 |
6 |
Vol. 7: 1892 |
| 8 |
6 |
Vol. 8: 1894 |
| 9 |
7 |
Vol. 9: 1896 |
| 9 |
8 |
Vol. 10: 1897 |
| 9 |
9 |
Vol. 11: 1899 |
| 9 |
10 |
Vol. 12: 1901 (start-p. 53) |
| 10 |
10 |
Vol. 12: 1901 (p. 54-end) |
| 10 |
11 |
Vol. 13: 1903 |
| 10 |
12 |
Vol. 14: 1909 |
| 10 |
13 |
Vol. 15: 1911 |
