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William Riley Hurst papers

 Collection
Identifier: MSS 8812

Scope and Contents

Contains journals and memories of William Riley Hurst, spanning from 1910, during his childhood, to his later life. The journals record Hurst's daily life in Blanding, Utah with his family and in his business. Also included are a few short stories and essays by Hurst, as well as a scrapbook belonging to Hurst's wife, Carol Bayles, from her time at Brigham Young University. Dated 1929 to 1995, with the bulk dated 1964 to 1995.

Dates

  • 1929-1995
  • Majority of material found within 1964-1995

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

Restricted for ten years until 2033 and thereafter open for public research.

Conditions Governing Use

It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain any necessary copyright clearances. Permission to use material from this collection must be obtained from Reference Services at specialcollections@byu.edu.

Biographical / Historical

William Riley Hurst was born on September 5, 1908 to George Arthur Hurst and Mary Maria Terry in Colonia Dublan, Mexico. In 1910 the family moved to Blanding, Utah.

Beginning in 1930, Hurst served a 32-month mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the central United States. He married Carol Bayles on April 5, 1933 in Salt Lake City, Utah. The couple had 6 children.

William served in the navy during World War II, then worked as a bookkeeper from Lyman garage for 10 years.During this period, Hurst struggled with depression and alcoholism. In 1951 Hurst bought the Westside Market, and the family owned and operated it for 25 years. In 1958 Hurst was elected mayor of Blanding, Utah, and served for 3 terms. He later served as a San Juan County Comissioner.

William Riley Hurst died on February 5, 2000.

Extent

1 box (0.5 linear ft.)

9 oversize boxes (4 linear ft.)

Language of Materials

English

Custodial History

Donated by Grant A. Hurst, son of William Riley Hurst, in December 2015.

Donated by Grant A. Hurst, son of William Riley Hurst, in May 2017.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Donated; Grant A. Hurst; December 3, 2015.

Appraisal

Utah and the American West and LDS cultural, social, and religious history (20th Century Western and Mormon Manuscripts collection development policy 5.V, August 2007).

Processing Information

Processed; Elizabeth Kane, 2017.

Processing Information

Additional materials processed; Jeremy Meservy, 2017.

Processing Information

Processed; Megan Hall Thompson; 2020; Item-level description added.

Title
Register of William Riley Hurst papers
Status
Completed
Author
Elizabeth Kane
Date
2017 February 6
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
Finding aid written in English in Latin script.

Repository Details

Part of the L. Tom Perry Special Collections Repository

Contact:
1130 HBLL
Brigham Young University
Provo Utah 84602 United States