Utah Historical Quarterly Volume XXVI

Historical notes - 2

HISTORICAL NOTES On Sunday, February 16, 1958, from 3:00 to 5:00 P.M., the opening of the first art exhibit to be sponsored by the Historical Society was held in the ballroom of the Mansion at 603 East South Temple. Through the generosity of Mr. and Mrs. N. G. Morgan, Sr., the Society recently has acquired a collection of sixty reproductions of paint­ings by William H. Jackson (1843-1942), "Picture-Maker of the Old West." Mr. Jackson was himself a pioneer and witnessed many of the scenes which he portrayed. The collection of his work is unique, for the pictures are authentic recordings by the artist of the transition period of the West, 1861-1869, when the covered wagon and the Pony Express were being replaced by the railroad and the telegraph. Depicted are scenes of the Old West - old forts and missions, Pony Express stations, and the life and activities surrounding these historic places. Buffalo stampedes, Indian ambushes, stage coach adventures, and the terrain of the country along the Mormon, California, and Oregon trails from the Missouri River to the Pacific Coast, are graphically portrayed. From 1930 to 1942, while research secretary of the Oregon Trails Association, Mr. Jackson made from seventy-five to one hundred water color paintings from pencil sketches he had made in 1866. He com­pleted this task when he was past ninety-nine years of age. These origi­nal paintings are scattered among national museums, universities, li­braries, and private collections throughout the country. Mr. Clarence S. Jackson, son of the painter, has retained photographic copies of most 202 UTAH HISTORICAL QUARTERLY of these which he reproduces as hand-colored photographs, faithfully preserving the technique and color values of the originals. In addition to the Jackson pictures, the sculptured works of Ortho Fairbanks-the statue of Eliza R. Snow, the Tilman D. Johnson plaque, the statue of Karl G. Maeser, busts of Louis Buchman, former governor Charles R. Mabey, and others-are on display in the ballroom and other areas of the building. The extensive collection of the drawings of his­toric buildings and scenes of Utah, the work of the noted artist, Carlos Andreson; the historic photograph collection housed on the second and third floors; and the notable works of art exhibited in the halls of the building are continuing to be a source of delight and interest to all visitors to the Society. Through the processing of recent acquisitions from the office of the secretary of state by the Archives Division, exceedingly valuable and important research materials are being made available. The com­plete records of the Utah Commission as contained in the Letter Books and Minute Books are now available for students. In the Minute Books of the commission are found the reports of the commission to the Secre­tary of the Interior. In the Secretary of Territories correspondence (1853-1895) are found many official documents - petitions to the legis­lature, original bills of the legislature, election results, appointments to office, Commissioner of Deeds appointments, and oaths of office. A most important collection, one which came into custody of the Society in a way which no one knows and the whereabouts of the rest of which no one knows - an example of the way invaluable documents have been tossed around, lost, and destroyed in the past - are transcripts of the 1929-30 case of the United States vs. Utah over title of the stream-bed of the Green, Colorado, and San Juan rivers. The materials consist of both published and unpublished reports given before the watermaster appointed to hear the case and numerous exhibits presented at the trial. The exhibits include pictures, diaries, Indian treaties, and maps. Un­fortunately, testimony reveals that the exhibits numbered in the hun­dreds, but there are only eighy-eight in the present collection. These papers are sources of information for the case that is arising to determine the extent of navigability of the San Juan River, and the Archives Divi­sion is now in the process of trying to reconstruct these valuable files in order to serve better certain members of the University of Utah and others who are doing research on the Glen Canyon area under a special foundation grant. HISTORICAL NOTES 203 Comments pro and con the new format of the Quarterly have been received with interest and appreciation in the editorial offices of the Society. The general consensus seems to be in line with the main pur­poses of the change - that is to bring Utah, Mormon, and Western his­tory to a wider audience - and the feeling seems to be that the new format is a step in the right direction to do just that. In addition to his daily routine work, the business of running the Society, planning and working on Quarterly revisions and an extended publications program generally, your Director has had a busy fall, winter, and spring program. He has been called upon to talk to various clubs and groups on historical matters. On January 2 and 3, in connec­tion with his activities on the State Parks Commission, Dr. Mortensen traveled to Kanab, Utah, and the Glen Canyon damsite with Mr. C. J. Olsen, director of the State Parks Commission. At the banquet meeting of the Utah State Association of County Officials in Salt Lake City, January 24, 1958, he served as toastmaster for the occasion. On matters nearer home, at the request of the Public Relations Committee of the Board of Trustees, he delivered the first lecture of the Society's newly inaugurated public lecture series, the first meeting of which was held Friday, March 7, in the rooms of the Mansion. His subject was "The Historical Society, a Public Institution," and was an excellent keynote for the rest in the scheduled series. The University of Utah chapter, Alpha Rho of Phi Alpha Theta, national honorary history fraternity, held its initiation meeting at the Mansion of the Historical Society on Thursday evening, January 23, 1958. Mr. Nicholas G. Morgan, Sr., addressed the group, his subject being Abraham Lincoln. The activities of the evening were completed with a tour of the building and a review of the resources of the Utah State Historical Society and its state Archives Division. Since it was inadvertantly omitted from the January issue of the Quarterly, acknowledgment is hereby given to the Huntington Library, San Marino, California, for its gracious permission to reproduce "Fort San Bernardino, from the North East, Oct. 1852," which appeared on page 29 of Utah Historical Quarterly, Volume XXVI, Number 1. The Daughters of Utah Pioneers completed their series, Treasures of Pioneer History, upon publication of Volume VI. A third series, Our Pioneer Heritage, will be forthcoming the latter part of this year. 204 UTAH HISTORICAL QUARTERLY Thomas F. O'Dea, author of the recently published book, The Mor­mons, and associate professor of sociology at Fordham University, will conduct a course on the Sociology of Religion at the summer, 1958, session of the University of Utah. Mr. Bertram J. Silliman of Greenriver, Utah, died in December, 1957. In his passing the Society lost a valued and respected supporter. Mr. Silliman had a profound interest in the history and exploration of this western land of ours, and the files of the Library are the richer for several pieces of material which he accumulated and prepared on vari­ous phases of the Old Spanish Trail, mining in the Henry Mountains, and various other subjects. An interesting addition to the collections of the Society was the recent gift from the Naval Supply Depot, Clearfield, Utah, of thirteen trophy cups, one trophy, and two plaques, along with a book giving the histories of United States warships named for people and places in Utah. The ships are: U. S. S. Utah, U. S. S. Salt Lake City, U. S. S. Bennion (named for Captain Mervyn Sharp Bennion), U. S. S. Lyman K. Swenson (named for Captain Lyman Knute Swenson), U. S. S. Merrill (named for Ensign Howard Deal Merrill), U. S. S. Robert Brazier, U. S. S. Ogden, U. S. S. Bryce Canyon, U. S. S. Wayne, and the U. S. S. Escalante. Gifts are always appreciated, and the Society wishes to extend thanks to the following: Donald Prince, Mrs. John D. Giles, E. L. Winn, Mrs. M. Walker Wallace, Stanley S. Ivins, J. N. Bowman, Hugh F. O'Neil, Carl I. Wheat, Abraham Kambler, Miss Lucile M. Francke, S. George Ellsworth, Milton C. Abrams, Mrs. Kate B. Carter, N. G. Morgan, Sr., M. Wilford Poulson, American Gilsonite Company, University of Utah Press, William A. Dawson, Ivard R. Rogers, New­man C. Petty, Eugene McAuliffe, and Brig. Gen. Franklin Riter. Special thanks are accorded Mr. John Spencer of Universal Microfilm Company for his gift of $100 to the Archives Division to be used in the microfilm program. UTAH STATE H I S T O R I C A L SOCIETY BOARD OF TRUSTEES (Terms Expiring April 1,1961) JUANITA BROOKS, St. George LELAND H. CREER, Salt Lake City NICHOLAS c. MORGAN, SR., Salt Lake City JOEL E. RICKS, Logan RUSSEL B. SWENSEN, PrOVO (Terms Expiring April 1,1959) LOUIS BUCHMAN, Salt Lake City GEORGE F. EGAN, Salt Lake City CHARLES R. MABEY, Bountiful WILLIAM F. MCCREA, Ogden LEVI EDGAR YOUNG, Salt Lake City (Ex-Officio Member) LAMONT r. TORONTO, Secretary of State OFFICERS 1957-59 LELAND H. CREER, President NICHOLAS G. MORGAN, SR., Vice-President A. R. MORTENSEN, Director PUBLICATIONS COMMITTEE JUANITA BROOKS, Chairman LEVI EDGAR YOUNG A. K. MORTENSEN MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE JOEL E. RICKS, Chairman A. R. MORTENSEN PUBLIC RELATIONS COMMITTEE GEORGE F. EGAN, Chairman WILLIAM F. MCCREA CHARLES R. MABEY EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTIONS: The Society was or­ganized essentially to collect, disseminate and preserve important material pertaining to die history of the state. To effect this end, contri­butions of manuscripts are solicited, such as old diaries, journals, letters, and odier writings of the pioneers; also original manuscripts by present-day writers on any phase of early Utah history. Treasured papers or manuscripts may be printed in faithful detail in the Quarterly, without harm to them, and without perma­nently removing them from their possessors. Contributions for the consideration of the Pub­lications Committee, and correspondence relat­ing thereto, should be addressed to die Editor, Utah State Historical Society, 603 East South Temple, Salt Lake City 2, Utah. The Utah State Historical Society assumes no responsibility for statements made by con­tributors to this publication. MEMBERSHIP: Membership in the Society is $3.00 per year. The Utah Historical Quarterly is sent free to all members. Non-members and institutions may receive the Quarterly at $3.00 a year or $1.00 for current numbers. Life membership, $50.00. Checks should be made payable to the Utah State Historical Society and mailed to die Editor, 603 East South Temple, Salt Lake City 2, Utah. Entered as second-class matter January 5, 1953, at the Post Office at Salt Lake City, Utah, under the Act of August 24, 1912. Election Notice! In accordance with the provisions of Law and by direction of "The Board of Registration and Election," notice is hereby given that AN ELECTION WILL BE HELD at Precinct, in. County, Territory of Utah, on TUESDAY, NOVEHBEfl 5th, 1895, tor the purpose of choosing persons to till the following offices: T B H R I T O R I A L . -- flUUBKH OF TIIK LKIiWMTnt: COUNCIL FOR , DISTRICT. CONSISTING o r THE 4-01 NTIEM o r ._ „ „ ... MEMBER Or THE HOI HE OF KEPBENENTATI* E» VOM-..-...- DISTRICT, COMPOSED Or . COUNTIES. C o u n t y . ONE SUPEBINTENDKNT Ol' DISTRICT SCHOOLS. PEECIWCT. 1-IT7 IT I C I P JLX-. ONE HAVOR. ONE HECOKnEK. ONE TREASURER. ONE MARSHAL. ONE CITY J l STICE. HE3IBKRH CITY COUNCIL. - S T A T E . - ONE REPRESENTATIVE TO THE 54th CONGRESS OP THE UNITED STATES. ONE GOVERNOR. ONE SECRETARY Or STATE. ONE STATE 4ID1TOR. ONE STATE TKEASI RER. ONE ATTORNEY GENERAL. ONE HI I'ERINTENUENT Ol' PUBLIC INSTRUCTION. THREE SUPREME JUDGES. ONE DISTRICT JUDGE POR CONSISTING OP - ONE MEMHER OF SENATE FOR-DISTRICT, -COUNTIES. ..... -DISTRICT, CONSISTING OP THE COUNTIES OF - _ ONE MEMHER OE HOUSE OE REPRESENTATIVES FOB DISTRICT, CONSISTING OF THE COUNTY OF - And atl*o on the question of the adoption or rrjertlon of the O O W S T I T p T i o a r For the proponed State of Utah. Said election will commence at one hour after sunrise, and continue until sunset, on the 5th day of November, 1895. [Sun riaea at 7 and Beta at 4:30, sun time. Standard time ia 37 minutes faster than sun time.] Dated at Precinct,. this day of October, 1895* .County, Utah Territory, Registrar (or Precinct. . County. Notice of Election! distributed by the Utah Commission to local registrars, it provided for several contingencies: (1) adoption of a state constitution, (2) a slate of state officials, (3) territorial officials, should the constitution be rejected.