J. Willard Marriott Library Special Collections
Thomas Battersby Child papers
Child, Thomas Battersby, 1888-1963
ACCN 1877
5.25 linear feet
7 boxes, 1 oversize box, and 1 map case folder
1909-2002
The Thomas Battersby Child papers (1909-2000) consist of his collected writings, focusing on two aspects of his life, the LDS Church, and a park he created in his backyard, the Gilgal Sculpture Garden, now protected by Salt Lake City as a public park. Child was a mason, businessman, husband, and a bishop of the LDS Church.
English
Thomas Battersby Child was born in Salt Lake City, Utah on May 6, 1888. He was an expert mason and masonry contractor; husband; and bishop of the LDS Tenth Ward. Married to Bertha Derrick Runel (1891-1965) in 1911, they had three children. He was president of Thomas B. Child and Co., a masonry contracting firm founded by his father. He built the stone and brick work for many prominent buildings in Utah including: the Ogden High School; the chapel for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Washington, D. C.; LDS temples in Idaho Falls, Idaho and Los Angeles, California; and more. He served as senior member of the Sons of Utah Pioneers Luncheon Club.
One of his crowning achievements of his life was the park he created in his backyard, which amounts to his testament to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The park contains Thomas Child's interpretation, in stone, of the basic tenets of the church, Christianity and work. Called the Gilgal Sculpture Garden, the grounds were purchased from its current owners, the Henry Fetzer family by The Friends of Gilgal in 1999 for $670.000. It was then turned over to Salt Lake City, which maintains and protects it as a public park.
The Thomas Battersby Child papers consist of his collected writings, focusing on two aspects of his life, the LDS Church, and a park he created in his backyard, the Gilgal Sculpture Garden, now protected by Salt Lake City as a public park.
Twenty-four hour advanced notice encouraged. Materials must be used on-site. Access to parts of this collection may be restricted under provisions of state or federal law.
The library does not claim to control copyright for all materials in the collection. An individual depicted in a reproduction has privacy rights as outlined in Title 45 CFR, part 46 (Protection of Human Subjects). For further information, please review the J. Willard Marriott Library's Use Agreement and Reproduction Request forms.
Collection Name, Collection Number, Box Number, Folder Number. Special Collections, J. Willard Marriott Library, The University of Utah.
Donated by Hortense Child Smith in 2003.
Oversize map case folder donated by Robert L. Bliss in 2009.
Donated by Hortense Child Smith(box 2 folders 17-18) in 2003.
Processed by Elizabeth Rogers.
2003 addendum processed by Kristina Barksdale in 2025.
Click here to read a statement on harmful language in library records.
See also the Friends of Gilgal Garden records (ACCN 2610) in the Manuscripts Division of Special Collections.
Child, Thomas Battersby, 1888-1963--Archives
Gilgal Garden (Salt Lake City, Utah)
Sculpture gardens--Utah--Salt Lake City
Outdoor sculpture--Utah--Salt Lake City
Latter Day Saints--Utah--History--Sources
Parks and Playgrounds
Mormonism (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints)
Personal materials and biographies
I
Correspondence
1909-1990
1
1
Day planners
1943
1956
1959
1
2-4
Journals
1961
1
5-6
Notes for memoirs
1
7
The personal journal of Thomas B. Child Jr. [typescript]
1960-1961
1
8
"A Portrait of Thomas B. Child"
1958
2
1
"Reminiscing at 65" the life of Bertha Derrick Rumel Child
1956
2
2
Thomas and Bertha Child life sketches
1963-1993
2
3
Friendships Garden birthday book
1953
2
4
Family events
1958-2000
2
5
Family biographies
2
6
Family group records and addresses
2
7
Genealogy records
2
8
Legal documents
1950-1968
2
9
Printed materials
1936-1995
2
10
Newspaper column and correspondence
2000
2
11
Documents, photocopies and family crests
2
12
Newspaper clippings
1934-2000
2
13-14
Cousins Reunion, descendants of Thomas Child
1996
2
15
Miscellaneous writings
2
16
Article on the golden Angel Moroni statue [photocopy]
2
17
Reprinted Deseret News articles on the founding of Deseret Industries
2
18
Writings
I
"The Niche" books 1-4
3
1-4
"The Niche," volume 1
4
1-3
Preface
4
4
Psalm 139 and preface
4
5
Addenda to Gilgal, 2nd book
4
6
Gilgal
4
7
The testimony of Job and Daniel II
4
8
"The Monument to the Trade" and Hortense H. Child Smith's finished manuscript
1998
4
9
"The Last Chapter of Ecclesiastes"
4
10
"The Alter"
4
11
"The Sphinx"
4
12
"My Religion and My Trade"
4
13
Book 1
5
1
Book 2
5
2
Book 3
5
3
Book 4
5
4
Book 5
5
5
Book 6
5
6
Book 7
5
7
Book 8
5
8
Book 9
6
1
Book 10
6
2
Book 11
6
3
Book 12
6
4
Book 13
6
5
Book 14
6
6
Book 15
6
7
Book 16
6
8
Book 17
7
1
Book 18
7
2
Dictionary with definitions
7
3
"The Dispensation of the Fullness of James" or "Restoration of the Gospel"
7
4
Family records
III
Battersby family record book
7
5
Brown and Mason families record books
7
6
Barrie family record book
7
7
Notes
7
8
Gilgal Sculpture Garden
IV
Ursula M. Brinkmann Pimentel, "Gilgal: A Sculpture Garden in Salt Lake City"
1996
7
9
Oversize materials
V
Baptisms, endowments, and temple lists
8
1
Gilgal planning renderings
8
2
See also the oversize folder located in the map case.
Guest book
8
3
"Creative Teaching in the Elementary School"
1963
8
4
Gilgal Garden designs
2002
1
Landscape design funded by Friends of Gilgal Garden and drawings by Robert L. Bliss.