It was 125 years ago, April 11, 1901, that a group of women gathered at their home and established the Daughters of Utah Pioneers (DUP). That organization was made up of women who were first generation descendants of the pioneers. Some of those members were pioneers themselves. 

The idea for DUP came a few years later at a 1897 jubilee celebrating the 50th anniversary of the arrival of the pioneers in Salt Lake, said Julie Thompson, DUP vice president of the executive board. “There was a huge celebration and they had a relic call. They asked people to bring relics and artifacts and memorabilia from the previous 50 years.”

When they did that there was an amazing collection, she said. “Then most people just abandoned their things and didn’t take them back with them, including Brigham Young’s council wagon that he arrived in when they reached the valley.”

Rather than just discard them permanently, feelings started to build that there should be some way to memorialize this, Thompson said. “They also wanted to collect their histories and stories and so four years later in 1901, Annie Taylor Hyde, who was the daughter of John Taylor got her friends together and established DUP.”

It’s been a continuous organization for 125 years, she said. “Just last year we accepted our 100,000th member. There are members participating in groups all across the United States and in Canada.”

Thompson said their headquarters are at the Pioneer Memorial Museum in Salt Lake. “So we run the museum. It was built largely with funds raised by DUP women. During World War II fundraising was at its peak and it was dedicated in 1950. So the museum celebrated its 75th anniversary last year.”

The administration is at the museum, she said. “We oversee the activities of the groups all over the country and Canada. They each have local leadership as well. So just like the pioneers when they traveled they were assigned to companies and camps. That’s how our organization is set up as well.”

The women meet in small groups, usually a neighborhood, said Thompson. “It’s kind of geographically and then their camps are organized into a company.”

In Utah they dot the landscape, she said. “But California and the west coast are full of groups. So all along the west coast there’s a heavy presence.”

Thompson said the museum also oversees 600 historic markers throughout the United States. “I think there are seven international locations in Europe. We also have satellite museums, cabins and cemeteries that we oversee scattered throughout the West.”

The DUP owns the property where they sit, she said. “Some cemeteries have been deeded to DUP and buildings and cabins. There are certain parts of some city buildings that have been designated as DUP museums so we oversee those collections.” 

The Pioneer Memorial Museum’s collection continues to grow. “The Church History Museum doesn’t have room for a lot of large artifacts and the small ones that we’ve had room for over the years,” said Thompson. “Families that have pieces that have been passed down from generation to generation and to their posterity become so huge that it might be on display in one person’s home or even in a closet where it can’t be appreciated by the family as a whole. So they’ll donate it so that family members can come and see it.”

Just recently a man donated a sword from West Point that belonged to Brigham Young’s son, she said. “The man said ‘it’s about time it came out of my closet. It's been there for 60 years.’ When you think of how large the posterity of Brigham Young is and how few people would have seen it in this man’s closet now it is possible for people to appreciate it.”

Collections and donations come from all over, Thompson said. “Typically they’re from the pioneer era, which is defined as 1847 to 1869 when the railroad was completed.”

The museum has many interesting things, she said. “We have a gold scale that was used during the gold rush at Sutter’s Mill by a member of the Mormon Battalion. Also, everyone always wants to see the two headed lamb.”

Thompson said she believes the DUP brings a connection to those who have gone before. “It’s not just pioneers, when we connect to our ancestors sometimes we look at their stories and think ‘oh, I could never do that.’ But we feel like our association helps us see that we have a lot of their same characteristics and we face things that test us to our very limits as well. So we can draw on that legacy for strength.”

The museum is located at 300 N. Main Street in Salt Lake City. Hours are Monday-Friday from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.