Cannon, George Q. (George Quayle), 1827-1901
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 64 Collections and/or Records:
George Q. Cannon correspondence and record book
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.
George Q. Cannon family correspondence
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.
George Q. Cannon letter
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.
George Q. Cannon letter
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.
George Q. Cannon letter
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.
George Q. Cannon letter to Wilford Woodruff
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."
George Q. Cannon letters to John Steel
Two ALS's written from Washington, D.C. to John Steele of Toquerville, Utah. The 1875 letter replies to a request made by Steele for remuneration from the Postmaster General. The 1877 letter concerns a bill to grant pensions to Mexican War veterans and another bill for the reclamation of desert lands. Both letters are written on House of Representatives letterhead.
George Q. Cannon note
Handwritten and signed note dated 19 Oct. 1875 requesting that Brigham Young, second president of the Mormon Church, pay George C. Lambert $3.50 in cloth.
George Q. Cannon notes
Holograph quotations (in pencil) on liberty during Revolutionary War times.
Photographs and negative of George Q. Cannon
Collection includes photographs and one corresponding negative with images of George Q. Cannon, taken between the 1870s and the 1900s. Most are albumen prints.