This collection contains three types of material:
first person accounts (diaries, journals, and autobiographies); second person accounts
(biographies, life sketches, and local histories); and transcripts of interviews with
pioneer Utahns. Includes material dealing with early Mormon history in Ohio, Missouri,
and Illinois; Mormon migration west; the march of the Mormon Battalion and its
activities in California; Mormon pioneering in and travel to California, Arizona,
Nevada, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, Nebraska, New Mexico and old Mexico; missionary
activities in North America, Asia, Europe, and Oceania; the Civil War; and Indians and
Indian welfare.
Repository:
Utah State University. Special Collections and Archives Manuscript Collection
Merrill-Cazier Library Utah State University 3000 Old Main Hill Logan, UT 84322-3000 Phone: 435 797-2663 Fax: 435 797-2880 Email: scweb@usu.edu
Languages:
Collection materials are in English.
Sponsor:
Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) grant,
2007-2008
Historical Note
One of the first actions by President Franklin D. Roosevelt during the Great Depression
of the 1930s was to extend federal work relief to the unemployed. One such relief
program was the Works Progress Administration, which FDR established in 1933. By 1941
the WPA had provided employment for 8 million people. One segment of the population
which the WPA helped were artists, musicians, and writers, and the WPA instituted
programs especially designed to utilize the talents of these people. An example of one
such program was the Mormon Diaries project.
With assistance from the Federal Emergency Relief Administration, the Historical Records
Survey, as well as the WPA , Juanita Brooks supervised a project to collect and
transcribe the diaries, journals, and biographical sketches for over 400 Latter-day
Saint pioneers. The project ran 1934 until 1942. The material gathered also contained
the histories of several towns and counties.
In 1942, when the WPA disbanded, the original transcriptions were turned over to the
Library of Congress. The first copy and parts of the second and third carbon copies were
deposited with the Utah State Historical Society. Other copies were deposited with
Brigham Young University, the University of Utah, and Utah State University. In 1950 the
Library of Congress microfilmed the entire collection on 13 reels, and since that time,
microfilmed copies have been added to most major collections of Western Americana or LDS
genealogy in the United States.
Content Description
This collection contains three types of material: first person accounts (diaries,
journals, and autobiographies); second person accounts (biographies, life sketches, and
local histories); and transcripts of interviews with pioneer Utahns. For those pioneers
who had kept written histories, WPA workers copied their diaries (over 400) by hand and
then typed them out. For those pioneers who had kept no diary or other record of their
lives, WPA workers interviewed them using a standard set of questions. The answers to
these questions were generally recorded on one to two pages. Such an entry in the index
is marked as "Interview." A copy of the questionnaire used can be found in each of the
boxes of this collection, as well as in the front of the register for this collection.
Researchers are encouraged to examine the questionnaire in order to understand the
context of the answers given. The diaries in Mss Collection #18 do not represent a
complete set of the Library of Congress Mormon Diaries. However, a complete set of the
diaries is housed in Special Collections in the Utah Reels Collection #220, part 1 - 13.
It appears that the typed transcriptions were made with an original and four carbon
copies. In reference to the carbons, there have been instances where some diaries have
apparently been retyped because the carbons are not identical. The contents of these
diaries provides valuable information on Mormon pioneer life.
Use of the Collection
Restrictions on Access : Restrictions
Open to public research.
Restrictions on Use : Copyright
It is the responsibility of the user to obtain permission to publish from the owner of
the copyright (the institution, the creator of the record, the author or his/her
transferees, heirs, legates, or literary executors). The user agrees to indemnify and
hold harmless the Utah State University Libraries, its officers, employees, and agents
from and against all claims made by any person asserting that he or she is an owner of
copyright.
Permission to publish material from the Mormon diaries must
be obtained from the Special Collections Manuscript Curator and/or the Special Collections
Department Head.
Alternative Forms Available :
Complete set of diaries available in microfilm (OCLC #7335546)
Preferred Citation :
Mormon diaries, 1820-1936. (COLL MSS 18) Utah State University. Special Collections and
Archives Department.
Administrative Information
Arrangement :
Diaries organized alphabetically by surname of Mormon pioneer/missionary.
Acquisition Information :
In 1942, when the WPA disbanded, the original transcriptions were turned over to the
Library of Congress. The first copy and parts of the second and third carbon copies were
deposited with the Utah State Historical Society. Other copies were deposited with
Brigham Young University, the University of Utah, and Utah State University. In 1950 the
Library of Congress microfilmed the entire collection on 13 reels, and since that time,
microfilmed copies have been added to most major collections of Western Americana or LDS
genealogy in the United States.
Processing Note :
Prepared by: Rob Gombach, August 2000, and Susan Gross, May 2003.
Bibliography :
Publications: Name index to the Library of Congress collection of Mormon diaries. Logan,
Utah : Utah State University Press, 1971.
