Milton C. Abrams papers, 1872-1998

The Milton C. Abrams papers consist of 14 boxes of materials that Abrams collected throughout his career with the Utah Historical Society, as Director of the Merrill Library at Utah State University, as Chairman of the Executive Board of the Utah Bicentennial District 1, and as a community leader. These materials are beneficial to anyone interestsed in the Utah Historical Society's work with historic sites, the history of Manti, Utah, Utah's American Revolution Bicentennial celebrations, or Milton Abrams' life and career. The materials are split into four sections: the Utah Historical Society, the Manti Public Library, correspondence, and the Utah American Revolution Bicentennial Commission.

The first eight boxes contain the Utah Historical Society records that Abrams accumulated over his time as a member of the organization. These files include reports on historical sites and committees, meeting minutes, correspondence, and other materials related to the Society.

The next two boxes hold information concerning Sanpete County, Utah. During Abrams' time as Director of the Merrill Library, he became interested in acquiring historical materials from various counties in Utah to place in the Library's archive. The bulk of the Sanpete County records appear to have been transferred from the Manti Public Library. Among the materials are papers of the Mothers of the Boys in Service, a service organization started during World War II by Bertha Christiansen. The group's files include minutes of the organization, poems written by the mothers and wives, and letters written by the boys of the 145th Field Artillery to the organization. Also included in the Manti files are biographies of residents such as John Haslem Clark and Foster Kenner, as well as records from the Manti Commercial Club, the Manti first Presbyterian Church, and other organizations and institutions.

Boxes 11 and 12 include correspondence from Milton Abrams' 1985 congressional campaign and his participation in the Democratic Party as well as letters from the Peace Institute, the Mountain West Center for Regional Studies and other organizations and individuals.

The last two boxes, containing the 1990 donation, hold material pertaining to the Utah American Revolution Bicentennial Commmission (UARBC), in which Abrams was involved as a UARBC Heritage Committee member and as Chairman of the Executive Board of the Utah Bicentennial District 1. These files include meeting minutes, memorandums, reports, letters, newspaper clippings and promotional material, as well as UARBC grant project proposals and planned events.