Searching for Provo Founders and Pioneers

The major resources for locating information on Provo pioneers and former residents at the Provo City Library:

Local Newspapers

The Daily Herald and its predecessors and competitors are on microfilm at the Library.

Newspaper Databases and Websites for Local Newspapers:

Utah Digital Newspapers

Daily Enquirer in BYU's Digital Collections

The following newspapers can be accessed through Access Newspaper Archive ONLY within the Library.

The Evening Herald (1935-1939)

The Daily Herald (1922-1977)

The Utah County Obituary Index
An online index that can help you determine when and where an obituary actually appeared. Indexing Utah County newspapers from the 1870s through the year prior to the present year, this database includes over 20,000 entries. The index will only name the newspaper and give the date the obituary appeared—to actually locate the obituary it will generally be necessary to consult the newspaper on microfilm.

Biographical Resources

Mormons and Their Neighbors
Database of over 100,000 biographical sketches in over 185 published volumes includes persons who were Mormons as well as others who had association with the Mormons in the West.

Indexes the following paper-copy resources in the Provo City Library:

Pioneers and Prominent Men of Utah (Salt Lake City: Utah Pioneers Book Publishing Co., 1913).
Special Collections C.B. Esshom

Heart Throbs of the West (SLC: DUP, 1939-1947) 12 vols.
Special Collections 979.2 C245h

Pioneer stories compiled by the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers, Chronicles of Courage (SLC: DUP, 1990- ) 8 vols.
Special Collections 979.2 CHR

Our Pioneer Heritage / compiled by Kate B. Carter (Salt Lake City: Daughters of the Utah Pioneers, 1958-1977
Special Collections 979.2 CAR

Treasures of Pioneer History (SLC: DUP, 1957- ) 6 vols.
Special Collections 979.2 C24t

Mormons and their Neighbors does not index the following publications:

Conquerors of the West: Stalwart Mormon Pioneers (Salt Lake City: Sons of Utah Pioneers, 1999) 4 vols.
Special Collections 929.3792 C763 1999 vols. 1-4

Name Index

Information on 1,500 men who trekked to Utah prior to 1869. Each entry generally provides birth and death information, parents' names, the date of arrival in the Salt Lake Valley, marriage information, birth and death information on the spouse, a brief biographical sketch, and a list of the children with their birth, death, and marriage information. Many entries are accompanied by a photograph of the pioneer.

Pioneer Women of Faith and Fortitude ([Salt Lake City]: International Society Daughters of the Utah Pioneers, 1998) 4 vols.
Special Collections 979.2092 PIO 1998

Collection of biographical sketches of over 6,000 women who came and settled in Utah prior to 1869. Each entry includes birth, death, and marriage information as well as parentage, date of their arrival in Utah, their children, and a brief biographical sketch.

Utah History Suite (Provo, Utah: Historical Views, 2001) 1 CD-ROM.
Special Collections 979.2 Ut1 2001

Includes 68 volumes of the Utah Historical Quarterly, History Blazer, Beehive History, and all 29 centennial county histories.

In addition to the above listed books, the following web resources may be useful:

History Card Index
Name index to the 100,000+ pioneer histories on file at the DUP Museum in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Mormon Pioneer Search
Search box is at the bottom of the page, so scroll down to it. This index gives basic information on Mormon pioneers identifying the year they came and the source of that information. Not comprehensive, but a quick place to get a start if you have no idea.

Cemetery Records

Current Provo Cemetery Index
The index is printed off once a year, and deposited in two binders located in the John E. Booth Special Collections room. The index is an alphabetical listing of those who are buried in the Provo City Cemetery. The index provides you with the deceased's birth date, birthplace, death date, block and lot number. Accompanying the binders is a large wall map showing the layout of the cemetery.

Older Cemetery Records

The Chronological Burial Record of Provo City Cemetery (1849-1972)
Special Collections Call No. 929.5097 C468c 1972

Listed by burial date, the entries include the name of the deceased, their birth date and birth place, and the block and lot where there plot is located in the cemetery.

"Sexton's Record," 4 Jan 1849-10 Dec 1938

This handwritten, chronological record includes name, date of birth, place of birth, parents' names, where died, date of death, location of grave, physician (often blank), and remarks (mostly blank).
Microfilm Cabinet

"Sexton's Record," 10 Dec 1938-28 Jun 1982

Handwritten, chronologically arranged record which includes the name, age at death, place of birth, physician (often blank), where died, date of death, location of grave, cause of death, and remarks (mostly blank)
Microfilm Cabinet

"Cemetery Records," 1849-30 Dec 1995

Typewritten, chronologically arranged record which includes the burial date, name, birth date, birth place, block, and lot.
Microfilm Cabinet

Utah Burials Database
Includes 322 cemeteries and 401,775 burials throughout Utah (as of December 2001), including the burials from the Provo City Cemetery as of November 2005.

Local Histories

There are a number of publications featuring the local history of Provo. Here is a brief list of the most useful. Most of these includes an index, but they are often not very thorough.

Cannon, Kenneth L. Provo & Orem: A Very Eligible Place: An Illustrated History (Northridge, Calif.: Windsor Publications, 1987)
Special Collections 979.224 CAN 1987

Carter, D. Robert. Founding Fort Utah: Provo's Native Inhabitants, Early Explorers, and First Year Settlement ([Provo]: Provo City, 2003)
Special Collections 979.224 CAR 2003

Carter, D. Robert. From Fort to Village: Provo, Utah, 1850-1854 (Provo: Provo City, 2008)
Special Collections 979.224 CAR 2008

Carter, D. Robert. Tales from Utah Valley: Spellbinding and Sometimes Strange Selections from the Daily Herald's History Page ([Provo]: Daily Herald, 2005-2007) 2 vols.
Special Collections 979.224 CAR 2005 & 979.224 CAR 2007

Christensen, N. LaVerl. Provo's Two Tabernacles and the People Who Built Them (Provo: Provo Utah East Stake, 1983).
Special Collections 277.9224 C462p

Foote, Merle S. Pleasant Views: A History of the Early Pleasant View Area of Northeast Provo, Utah (S.l.: S.n., [1974?])
Special Collections 979.224 PROVO F739p

Holzapfel, Richard Neitzel. A History of Utah County (Salt Lake City: Utah State Historical Society, 1999)
Special Collections 979.224 HOL 1999

Jensen, J. Marinus. History of Provo, Utah (Provo: Published by the Author, 1924)
Special Collections 979.2 JEN

Memories That Live: A Centennial History of Utah County (Springville: Art City Publishing, 1947)
979.224 MEM 1947

Miller, Marilyn M. and John C. Moffitt. Provo: A Story of People in Motion (Provo: Brigham Young University Press, 1974)
Special Collections 979.224 PRO 1974

Moffitt, John C. The Story of Provo, Utah (Provo : John C. Moffitt, 1975)
Special Collections 979.2 MOF