Southern Utah Co-op ledger

This collection documents original entries and transferred entries from other legers, of the United Order's co-op business transactions in Washington County, Utah. The United Order was an organization in the early days of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), under the direction of Brigham Young, where the church members sought to live the law of consecration. They promised to dedicate their lives and material property to the church. Individuals shared property, goods, and profits, and in return received these items according to their needs and wants. All members of the order shared the cooperative’s net income, often divided into shares, or stocks, based on the amount of property originally contributed. Sometimes, the members of the order would receive wages for their work on the communal property. The law of consecration remained effective in Washington County, Utah between 1874 and 1895. After the failure of the United Order due to unequal participation, the LDS church implemented a tithing policy instead.

The bulk of the material is created from 1880-1883 by Elizabeth Beames, and from 1915-1920 by her son, Blueford Beames. The collection contains an original ledger book in which Elizabeth documented (in ink at the top of each page) the accounts for individuals and companies that participated as part of the co-op. She noted the items that they donated to the co-op, the order on stock, the loss on stock, as well as the balance of their account. Blueford Beames wrote his entries in pencil at the bottom half of each page. The purpose of his writing is unknown, but it seems to be kitchen supply accounts and building floor plans when he was in his early twenties.

There are pages in the ledger labeled: Cash Ledger; Expenses; Utah Southern Tithing Office; Rockville Tithing Office; Virgin City Tithing Office; Virgin City United Order; St. George Stake Jubilee Fund; Assessment Work; and Board, with the member’s name listed.