Wyoming Genealogy

The upper valley of Green River, famous as the scene of many historic events in the days of the fur traders, was early recognized as one of the finest grazing fields in the Rockies. Most of this section lies within the bounds of the original Uinta County. It is a well-watered basin about one hundred miles in length and fifty in width, and from a scenic point of view is one of the most beautiful regions of the Interior Basin. From one of the tributaries flowing in from the west it received the name of the Piney Country. The first … Read more

Four years after the journey of Whitman and Spaulding to the northwest a missionary of different faith but no less devoted to the service of God and man entered the confines of the original Uinta County. He was Father de Smet, a member of the Society of Jesus, who had come as a young man from his home in Belgium to work in the missionary field. After some years spent among the Indians of the southwest, in April, 1840, he left St. Louis to join an expedition of the American Fur Company, with the purpose of taking the gospel to … Read more

For variety and beauty of scenery the region covered by this history is unsurpassed, and each year sees an increasing number of tourists from all lands enjoying its attractions. Yellowstone Park is the wonderland of the world. Its mountains, rivers, lakes, falls and geysers have been described by the ablest pens in all languages. Due south of it lies Jackson’s Hole In the Shoshone Mountains on its eastern boundary the Yellowstone River has its rise in several small streams and flows north. The Snake, flowing from the north, passes through Jackson Lake, on its southwest journey between wild mountain ravines. … Read more

After the tragic end of the Frontier Index at Bear Town in 1868 no attempt was made to print a paper in the new county of Uinta until 1871, when a man named W. L. Vaughn opened an office for the publication of a weekly paper called the Evanston Age. At the end of a few months he moved away, leaving his little plant behind. Two years later a man named William Wheeler took over the printing press and supplies, and publication was resumed. A mutilated copy dated March 17, 1875, is in the hands of the author. It may … Read more

Next in point of time to the settlement of the Green River tributaries comes that of what is now the western part of Lincoln County. In 1873 a squaw man named Tilford Kutz built a one-room log house on Smith’s Fork of Bear River. He had a ferry boat in which he took travelers across the stream, and the station was known as Smith’s Fork. Shoshone and Bannock Indians from the neighborhood of Fort Hall set up their tepees and there were often several hundred Indians near by. In 1874 two men known as “Syl” Collett and Robert Gee brought … Read more

World War I Draft Registration CardsMicrofilm Roll List, M1509: Wyoming (13 rolls) Uinta County, Wyoming World War II Casualties – Army and AirforceHonor List of Army and Army Air Corps Wyoming World War II Casualty List – Navy, Marines and Coast GuardHonor List of Navy, Marines and Coast Guard World War II and Korean Conflict Veterans Interred OverseasThis database is a listing of American servicemen who fought in the Second World War or the Korean Conflict and were interred outside of the contiguous forty-eight states. Each entry provides the individual’s name, rank, unit, death date, and location of interment (listed … Read more

The first man to make a permanent home in Uinta County was John Robertson. He was commonly called “Jack Robinson”, and more familiarly “Uncle Jack”. Robertson was a familiar character among the early trappers. He had come to the mountains with the Hudson Bay Company, and had later cast his lot with the Ashley men. Having followed the roving life of the trapper for some years, in 1834 he built a cabin well up on Black’s Fork of Green River and made it his home. Other trappers were soon attracted to the beautiful valley and moved in with their squaw … Read more

Fort Bridger takes its name from one of the most famous scouts of the West. James Bridger was born in Richmond, Virginia, March 17, 1804. There is but little known of the family except that there was an older brother and a sister younger than James, and that the parents kept a hotel in Richmond and owned a farm near by. Although this would indicate that they were in comfortable circumstances, James never had the advantages of schooling, and he never learned to read and write. In 1812 the family moved to St. Louis, and five years later he and … Read more

The very name of Jackson’s Hole fires the imagination, so replete is it with historic interest and thrilling tales of adventure. A more beautiful spot does not exist. From the south it is entered by the Hoback Canyon, famous since the days of the early Astorians who followed the Hoback River to its junction with the Snake, crossed the mountain-rimmed valley and climbed the range over Teton Pass. The same route is in use today. A good road about thirty miles long brings the traveler to Victor, Idaho, the nearest railroad station. It attains in one place an altitude of … Read more

At a first glance it might seem that the history of a tier of western counties in the mountain state of Wyoming could hold but little of interest for the general reader, and I must confess that when I began the collection of material for these pages I had but an imperfect idea of the importance of the original Uinta County. Its claims to attention as they have spread out before my view are so many and so varied that my own limitations have been keenly felt. Especially was this true of the badlands of the Bridger Basin, a section … Read more