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Cannon, George Q. (George Quayle), 1827-1901

 Person

Dates

  • Existence: 1827 - 1901

Biographical History

George Q. Cannon (1827-1901) worked as the Utah Territory Delegate to the United States House of Representative for several years. He also served as a missionary, mission president, and apostle for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

George Q. Cannon was born in Liverpool, England, on January 11, 1827. He was the oldest child of George and Ann Quayle Cannon. The Cannon family sailed to the United States in 1842 after being converted to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and baptized by John Taylor, the husband of George's aunt, Leonora Cannon. Shortly after arriving in Nauvoo, Illinois, George Cannon lost both of his parents. He was raised in John and Leonora Taylor's home and worked as a printer's apprentice.

George Cannon moved west to Utah with the Taylor family, arriving in 1847. Soon after their arrival, George served a mission first in California, and then to the Sandwich Islands, where he mastered the Hawaiian language. He later served as mission president over the California/Oregon, Eastern States, and European missions. He was also commissioned by the church to do work on several different newspapers. In addition, George Cannon was ordained an apostle for the Church in 1859.

In 1862, George Cannon was elected to represent the Utah Territory in the United States Congress. He only served one term in this capacity but in 1872 returned to Washington, D.C., as the Utah Delegate to Congress. He remained a prominent figure in Utah's plea for statehood and as a representative for the church to the federal government for ten years. He left his seat in Congress following the Edmunds Act, which limited the rights of Utah's polygamists. George Cannon was forced into seclusion until 1888 when he surrendered himself and consequently served nearly six months imprisonment in the Utah State Penitentiary for cohabitation.

George Cannon's first (and only legal) marriage was to Elizabeth Hoagland Cannon just following his first mission for the church. She bore him eleven children, six of whom reached adulthood. In 1858, George Cannon took his second wife, Sarah Jane Jenne Cannon, who raised seven children, one of which was adopted. His third wife, Eliza L. Tenney Cannon, had three sons. George Cannon married Martha Telle Cannon in 1868, and eventually nine children came of their union. George Cannon's fifth wife, Emily Hoagland Little Cannon, was sister to Elizabeth Hoagland Cannon. Emily was a widow, and Elizabeth encouraged the match due to concern over her sister's welfare. George Cannon and Emily Hoagland had no children together. Caroline Young Croxall Cannon became George Cannon's sixth and last wife nearly three years after Elizabeth's death. She was a daughter of Brigham Young, and George Cannon's only legal wife during the time they were married. George Cannon adopted her five children from a previous marriage, and together they raised four more children. In all, George Cannon reared thirty-five children (seven of which were adopted), but forty-three are sealed to him eternally.

In 1880, George Cannon became the first counselor in the first presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints under John Taylor. He also served as first counselor under the presidencies of Wilford Woodruff and Lorenzo Snow before his death in 1901, at age seventy-four.

Found in 26 Collections and/or Records:

Academy Fund Day letter

 File — Folder 1: [Barcode: 31197231243905]
Identifier: UA 598
Scope and Contents

Form letter created by George Q. Cannon and Benjamin Cluff announcing "Academy Fund Day," in order to solicit contributions for the Brigham Young Academy.

Dates: 1899

Brigham Young correspondence with Church leaders, 1858-1871

 Sub-Series — Box 15: Series 3 [Barcode: 31197232550779]
Identifier: Vault MSS 792 Series 3 Sub-Series 7 Sub-Series 3
Scope and Contents

Contains correspondence between Brigham Young and George Q. Cannon, George A. Smith, and Daniel H. Wells. Letters include discussion of the Army's presence in Utah, the Mountain Meadows Massacre, and other matters. Materials date between 1858 and 1871.

Dates: Majority of material found within 1858-1871

Bush family papers

 Collection — Multiple Containers
Identifier: MSS 2217
Abstract

This collection, containing letters, journals, newspaper articles, and other family correspondence, has been organized into folders by year, starting in 1846 and ending in 1960.

Dates: 1846-1960

Correspondence

 File — Folder 1: [Barcode: 31197230334432]
Identifier: MSS 1069
Scope and Contents

Photocopies of handwritten letters dated 3 Jan. 1882 and 6 Dec. 1883. John T. Caine and George Q. Cannon write of the death of William Henry Hooper in the 1882 letter, and James Sharp writes to Caine about how the activities of the United States Congress might have an impact on Utah in the missive of 1883.

Dates: 1882-1883

George Q. Cannon correspondence and record book

 Collection — Multiple Containers
Identifier: MSS SC 323
Scope and Contents

Two ALS's to "Brother Elias" from Cannon concerning the accounts at a general store in Fillmore, Utah and a handwritten account book from the same store dated April to September, 1858.

Dates: 1858

George Q. Cannon family correspondence

 Collection — Box 1: Series 1; Series 2; Series 3 [Barcode: 31197230354240]
Identifier: MSS 7426
Abstract

Collection is comprised of letters, most of them written by George Q. Cannon during his time of service as a Utah Territory delegate to the United States House of Representatives. The remainder of the letters were written by a variety of family members and friends to Martha Telle Cannon. The bulk of the letters were written between 1872 and 1882.

Dates: 1868-1902

George Q. Cannon letter

 File — Multiple Containers
Identifier: MSS SC 1374
Scope and Contents

Handwritten and signed letter. The item is an appeal to the "Legislative Assembly" to protect the fisheries of Utah and to preserve the fish in Utah Lake. Also included is a letter by H.C. Yarrow which Cannon refers to as a support for his position. The Yarrow item is a report of fish and fisheries in Utah during a federally funded scientific expedition.

Dates: 1874

George Q. Cannon letter

 File — Folder 1: [Barcode: 31197230322395]
Identifier: MSS SC 2340
Scope and Contents

Typewritten letter addressed "to Presidents of Stakes, Bishops, and Stake Superintendents of Sunday Schools." The item expresses faith in the Sunday School system of the Mormon Church and states that it will help the membership earn their salvation. The letter was signed by Cannon, George Goddard, and Karl G. Maeser as members of the General Superintendency of Sunday School for the Mormon Church. The signatures were placed on the item by some form of mechanical reproducing process.

Dates: 1897

George Q. Cannon letter

 Item — Folder 1: [Barcode: 31197233287793]
Identifier: Vault MSS 237
Scope and Contents

Handwritten and signed letter, dated September 19, 1885, and addressed to George S. Richards. Cannon writes about an autograph of Brigham Young, the second president of the Mormon Church.

Dates: 1885 September 19

George Q. Cannon letter to Wilford Woodruff

 Item — Folder 1: [Barcode: 31197233293122]
Identifier: Vault MSS 743
Scope and Contents

Handwritten and signed letter to Wilford Woodruff written from the House of Representatives in Washington D.C. The item expresses Cannon's concern about a bill before Congress that would "Bind the Mormon people hand and foot" in order to "dispose of them" Cannon argues for constitutional rights for the Mormons, self-government in Utah, and victory in the "war against us."

Dates: 1876