b1575 East Mill Creek Ward History Collection, ca. 1853-1994 A Register of the Collection at the Utah State Historical Society Utah State Historical Society 2004 Finding aid encode in EAD 1.0 by Craig Ringgenberg using XMetaL 1.0, 2004. Finding aid written in English.

The machine-readable finding aid for this collection was created by the

Collections Management staff, Utah State Historical Society. Utah State Historical Society 2005
Salt Lake City, Utah

Copyright 2005, Utah State Historical Society. All rights reserved. Reproduction, storage or transmittal of this work, or any part of it, in any form or by any means, for commercial purposes, is prohibited without prior authorization of the Utah State Historical Society. This work may be used for scholarly and other non-commercial use provided that the Utah State Historical Society is acknowledged as the creator and copyright holder.

Summary Description Utah State Historical Society Mss B 1575 Unknown East Mill Creek Ward History Collection, ca. 1853-1994 .5 lin. ft. (1 box)

The items in the collection are photocopies of the originals.

 The collection includes amateur histories and biographies surrounding the settlement of Mill Creek and the East Mill Creek Ward, located in Salt Lake County, Utah and founded 1853. Topics: East Mill Creek, Salt Lake County-Utah The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Persons: Capson, Albert Alphonso, 1862-1938 Capson, Martha Ann Russell, 1869-1952 Keller, Alva, 1809-1883 Neff, John, 1794-1869 Neff, John Jr., 1837-1918 Organizations: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Sons of the Utah Pioneers Places: Mill Creek Canyon, Utah Form or Genre: Newspaper clipping, biography, memoir Background Background Note

Alva Keller (1809-1883) and his family were some of the first settlers of the Mill Creek area in 1848. Alva and his wife Roxey (1810-1901) joined the Mormon Church on 5 December 1835. They traveled with the Mormons through its mid-western moves. The Kellers settled with the Mormon Church at Nauvoo ca. 1839-1840, where Alva served as a member of the Nauvoo Legion. As a member of the Nauvoo Legion, Alva helped destroy the Nauvoo Expositor Printing office in 1844, which was founded by disgruntled church members who sought to expose Joseph Smith as a fallen prophet.

Alva was one of the early pioneers to settle Utah, and one of the first to settle in the Mill Creek area. John Neff (1794-1869) was a fellow settler, who brought his milling machinery with him to the Salt Lake Valley. Neff reassembled it at Mill Creek, and by the end of 1848, Neff was producing flour. The collection includes a biographical sketch of Alva Keller, and the histories of Mill Creek discuss John Neff's milling business.

The Mill Creek Ward was established in 1853, but it became the East Mill Creek Ward in 1877. The chapel was finished 1878. The collection includes amateur histories of the Mill Creek area and the East Mill Creek Ward, whose first bishop was John Neff Jr. (1837-1918), serving from 1877 to 1912. The collection also includes biographical sketches of Martha Ann Russell Capson (1869-1952) and her husband, Albert Alphonzo Capson (1862-1938), Bishop of the East Mill Creek Ward from 1912-1914.

Scope and Content

The collection includes amateur histories and biographies surrounding the settlement of Mill Creek and the East Mill Creek Ward, founded 1853.

 Administrative Information Preferred Citation:

East Mill Creek Ward History Collection, ca. 1853-1994, Utah State Historical Society.

Acquisition Information:

Bequeathed, 9 November 1999.

Restrictions on Use

The East Mill Creek Ward History Collection is the physical property of the Utah Historical Society, Salt Lake City, Utah. Literary rights, including copyright, may belong to the authors or their heirs and assigns. Please contact the Historical Society for information regarding specific use of this collection.

Processing Information: Collection processed by Melissa Ferguson, 2005 Finding aid compiled by Melissa Ferguson, 2005 Finding aid edited by Linda Thatcher, 2005 Collection cataloged by Linda Thatcher, 2005 Finding aid encoded for the World Wide Web by Craig Ringgenberg, 2005 Sources:

"Along East Mill Creek of the East Mill Creek Ward: A Brief Pictorial History."

Sillitoe, Linda. A History of Salt Lake County. Utah Centennial County History Series. Salt Lake City: Utah State Historical Society, Salt Lake County Commission, 1996.

Mackay, Esther Luella Capson. "The Life of Albert Alphonzo Capson," n.d.

Mackay, Esther Luella Capson. "The Life of Martha Ann Russell Capson," n.d.

Tondro, Opal Gustaveson. "Alva Keller." Salt Lake City, 1994.

 Container list Box Folder Contents 1 1 Along East Mill Creek of the East Mill Creek Ward: A Brief Pictorial History: 1853-1971, 1971. 1 2 East Millcreek 14th Ward. "Our Mountain Home So Dear," Vol. I: Area History, 1980. 1 3 Historical and Pictorial Remembrance Booklet. Salt Lake City: East Mill Creek Chapter Sons of Utah Pioneers, 1972. 1 4 Mackay, Esther Luella Capson. "The Life of Albert Alphonzo Capson," n.d. 1 5 Mackay, Esther Luella Capson. "The Life of Martha Ann Russell Capson," n.d. 1 6 Memoirs of East Mill Creek, n.d. 1 7 New Bishopric of East Mill Creek Ward. Deseret News, 10 February 1912. 1 8 Tondro, Opal Gustaveson. "Alva Keller." Salt Lake City, 1994. 1 9 Tyler, S. Lyman. "The East Mill Creek Settlement," n.d.