Ben E. Rich newspaper clipping scrapbooks, 1906-1907

File — Multiple Containers

Identifier: MSS 7690

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

Includes a scrapbook of newspaper clippings from the "Semi-Weekly News," probably an early version of the Deseret News that was published in Salt Lake City, Utah, between 1889 to 1922. The articles broadly discuss national and international issues and economics in Utah, as well as Ben E. Rich and the Southern States Mission and leadership in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Dates

Creation: 1906-1907

Creator

Rich, Ben. E. (Benjamin Erastus), 1855-1913 (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Open for public research.

Conditions Governing Use

It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain any necessary copyright clearances. Permission to publish material from William Jacobson and Sandy Borbón Rich collection on the Ben E. and Alice M. Rich family must be obtained from the Supervisor of Reference Services and/or the L. Tom Perry Special Collections Board of Curators.

Biographical History

Ben E. Rich (1855-1913) was a Mormon missionary, politician, and newspaperman. He is best known for his service as mission president in the Southern States Mission and the Eastern States Mission.

Ben E. Rich was born on November 7, 1855, in Salt Lake City, Utah, the son of Mormon apostle Charles C. Rich and Sarah De Armon Pea Rich. He was one of fifty-two children; his polygamous father had six wives. He attended school in Salt Lake City, Utah, and moved to Ogden, Utah, at age twenty to work as the Weber County Recorder. Soon after, he served a three-year mission to England. Upon his return he headed a colonial migration to Idaho. He settled in Rexburg, Idaho, and purchased the Rexburg Press. He ran various newspapers and worked in that line of business for several years until he ran for an Idaho state senate seat and began his political career in earnest. After losing the campaign, he instead became a delegate representing Idaho in the Republican National Convention in 1896.

Rich was a polygamist, marrying five times between 1877 and 1899. His wives included Diana Farr (1877), Rosabell Osmond (1885), Andrea Christiana Jenson (1888), Laura Bowring (1898), and Alice Caroline McLachlan (1899).

Rich served in various capacities in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In 1898 he was sent to the Southern States Mission as president, and served there for many years, until being transferred to the presidency of the Eastern States Mission. He passed away in New York City on September 13, 1913, while still serving in that capacity.