The Daughters of the Utah Pioneer Collections

A little known organization outside the Intermountain West of the United States is the Daughters of the Utah Pioneer (DUP): www.dupinternational.org. This society was founded in 1901 as a women’s organization. Membership is based upon being able to trace an ancestor who arrived in Utah before the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad on 10 May 1869 which linked the United States for the first time by rail.

The DUP is international in scope with 21,451 members in 15 states and Canada. While many of its members are Mormon, and there is a focus on Mormon Studies, this is only part of the DUP. Many different types of people were attracted to Utah Territory prior to the 1869, making this a lineage society far beyond the pioneer Mormons.

There are 86 DUP museums where pioneer artifacts are displayed, histories and photographs gathered. These are in Utah, Idaho, Nevada and Wyoming. The largest is in downtown Salt Lake City.  

The DUP website has a “Pioneer Index – History Card” which lists the name of the pioneer, maiden name, birth and death date. If an ancestor’s name appears on the index, this means the DUP Library has information on that person. The website also has “Other Resources” which has links to organizations with an interest in pioneer Utah history. It has an index to the DUP Publication Pioneer Pathways, volumes 1-11.

The genealogies, books and even the DUP publications will document immigrants from Ireland. If you have an ancestor who settled or spent time in Utah Territory, then the DUP collections may have information you will find in no other place.