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Merry May Booth Talmage diary, 1887-1892

 Series
Identifier: MSS 1607 Series 2

Scope and Contents

Includes the original diary of May Booth Talmage, dated September 29, 1887-September 1892. Also includes a photocopy of the diary.

Dates

  • 1887-1892

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

Original diary restricted due to fragile condition; please use photocopies.

Conditions Governing Use

It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain any necessary copyright clearances. Permission to publish material from Merry May Booth Talmage papers must be obtained from the Supervisor of Reference Services and/or the L. Tom Perry Special Collections Coordinating Committee.

Biographical / Historical

From the Collection:

Merry May Booth Talmage (1868-1944) was an educator, suffragate, writer, editor in Utah and wife of Mormon apostle James E. Talmage.

Merry May Booth Talmage was born on September 29, 1868 in Alpine, Utah to Richard Thornton and Elise Edge Booth. At the age of sixteen, she attended Brigham Young Academy. Soon after graduating, she began a brief teaching career in Kaysville, Utah, before being engaged to marry her former professor at BYA, James E. Talmage. The couple married on June 14, 1888 in Manti, Utah, and they had eight children together.

May was a teacher in Kaysville, Utah and part of several educational organizations, including serving as vice president of the first Free Kindergarten Association in Utah. She was involved in the suffrage movement, serving on the executive board for the Utah Territorial Woman's Suffrage Association. In 1893 she went to Chicago and delivered a paper to the World's Congress of Women, and in 1906 she attended the Trennial of the National Council of Women in Toledo, Ohio.

In 1892, May was called as aid to the general board of the Young Woman Mutual Improvement Association. She was active in committees within this organization and served as editor of the "Young Woman's Journal." In 1925, May accompanied her husband and two children to England where Elder Talmage served as president of the European Mission until 1928. While in Europe, May helped in organizing and assisting the women of the Church of the various countries there, as well as the missionaries throughout Europe.

Merry May Booth Talmage died on April 6, 1944 in Ogden, Utah.

Extent

2 folders

Language of Materials

English