General Materials

File — Box: 198, Folder: 15

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

From the Collection: The First Unitarian Church of Salt Lake City records (1891-2010) is a rich collection of source materials, containing primarily original documents tracing the history and activities of the Unitarian Church in Salt Lake City. It is organized into 249 boxes of records dating from its founding in 1891 up to 2010.

The collection has been divided into eleven major sections. Section one contains original minutes of the board of trustees meetings from 1891 to 1989 (not inclusive) and board of trustees correspondence and office correspondence. It also contains minutes of the annual congregational meetings from 1891 to 1989 (not inclusive). The three books used during the 1890s also contain signatures of new members, some financial records, telegrams, and correspondence.

Section two contains financial records, treasurers' books, counting committee reports, summaries of church collections, weekly income recaps, contribution lists, and reports of pledge campaigns. Also included in this section are the records of the Endowment Trust Fund, including correspondence, minute books, donor names, and thank you letters.

Section three contains material on the ministers of the church. Each minister of the church since 1891 is represented in the collection, although in the early period only one folder of material is available for most ministers. Copies of sermons preached, radio addresses given, and letters received and sent assist in filling the historical picture. Also included in this section are the speeches and sermons given in Salt Lake City by guest speakers from 1942 to 1989, as well as Unitarian sermons delivered elsewhere.

Section four contains the manuscripts and correspondence involved in organizing the celebrations of various church anniversaries, especially the fiftieth in 1941 and seventy-fifth in 1966. It also includes documents on the construction and expansion of the church buildings located at 138 S. 200 East and 569 S. 1300 East in Salt Lake City. Section five contains copies of the weekly order of service for 1898, 1904, 1927 1949, 1961, and 1989. Also included are files on church music, program notes, christening/dedication services, marriages, funerals, obituaries, and memorials. Section six contains membership cards and lists of members for most years from 1951 to 1988. Also included are biographical sketches of prominent members of the church, as well as those for whom transcripts of oral interviews are available.

Section seven contains files on the women's alliance, which is an organization separate from the church. Over the years it was known as the Ladies' Unitarian Society, Unity Circle, Ladies Unity Circle, Lloyd Alliance, Alliance of Unitarian and Other Liberal Christian Women, and the Alliance of Unitarian Women, Salt Lake Branch. Included in this section are minute books from 1897 to 1989, account books, year books from 1936 to 1978, and correspondence from 1909 to 1979.

Section eight contains material collected by various church committees, including the Budget Committee, Building and Grounds Committee, Caring Committee, Finance Committee, Historian Committee, Long Range Planning Committee, Membership Committee, Ministerial Search Committee, Personnel Committee, Service Committee, Social Action Committee, Summer Forum, Youth Adult Committee, and even a Committee on Committees. Also in this section are files of Religious Education from 1891 to 1988.

Section nine contains files on various affiliated and community organizations and activities. Some of these have been affiliated with the First Unitarian Church of Salt Lake City, while other have simply used the church facilities for meetings or activities. These include such groups as Amnesty International, Browning Club, Cambridge Forum, Channing Club, Church of Religious Science, Church of the Larger Fellowship, Community Cooperative Nursery School, Credo Group, Discovery Group, Eliot Club, Friendship Manor, Humanists of Utah, Laymen's League, Liberal Religious Youth, Marmalade Hill School, Metropolitan Community Church, Planned Parenthood of Utah, Salt Lake Memorial Association, Single Parent Group, Thoreau School, Unidrama Club, Unity Volunteer Club, Womanspirit, Young People's Religious Union, and Zion's First International Church.

Section ten contains various local publications: Unitarian for 1898, newsletters from 1923 to 1949, the Ram's Horn from 1950 to 1960, and the Torch from 196l to 1989. Representative examples of national publications are also included: the Beacon from 1913 to 1915, the Christian Unitarian Register from 1927 to 1964, the Bridge from 1962 to 1972, and the UU World from 1972 to 1988. Because of the close connection between many Unitarians and Humanists, there are some Humanist publications: The Humanist of 1932 and the Humanist World Digest from 1955 to 1968. Section eleven contains a good selection of local Unitarian scrapbooks, which provide valuable information from 1928 to 1988.

Addenda includes material relating to the Board of Trustees, financial material, various committee records, office files relating to the Centennial Campaign for building expansion, auction and fund-raising materials, sermons, orders of service, membership information, records pertaining to the Religous Education program, office files of the Women's Alliance, Humanist Association and social action materials, archives of The Torch newsletter, and news clippings. These materials largely date from the 1980s-2000s.

Dates

1891-2010

Conditions Governing Access

Twenty-four hour advanced notice encouraged. Materials must be used on-site. Access to parts of this collection may be restricted under provisions of state or federal law.