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Cowley, Elva Taylor, 1898-1987

 Person

Dates

  • Existence: 1898 - 1987

Biography

Elva Taylor Cowley (1898-1987) was a school teacher, missionary and the wife of former LDS apostle Matthew Cowley.

Elva Taylor was born in Salt Lake City, Utah on December 3, 1898 to Stanley Franklin Taylor and Matilda Elizabeth Sims, the third of five children. She worked as a school teacher in Heber City, Utah while courting Matthew Cowley. She married Matthew Cowley on July 13, 1922 in the Salt Lake City temple. They had one child together, Jewel Cowley in 1926. In 1938, she was called with her husband to serve a mission in New Zealand. While serving, they adopted a Maori boy named Toni who they then raised. They returned from their mission in 1945. Elva was widowed in December of 1953. She died on August 18, 1987, in Glendale, California.

Citation:
FamilySearch, May 2, 2018 (b. Dec. 3, 1898 in Salt Lake City; d. Aug. 18, 1987 in Glendale California

Wikipedia for Matthew Cowley, May 2, 2018 (married July 13, 1922 in Salt Lake City temple)

LDS.org, February 22, 2019 (b. to Stanley Franklin Taylor and Matilda Elizabeth Sims; school teacher; had Jewel in 1926; served mission in New Zealand 1938-1945; adopted Toni; widowed in 1953)

Found in 2 Collections and/or Records:

Matthew and Elva T. Cowley papers

 Collection — Multiple Containers
Identifier: MSS 1470
Scope and Contents

Holographs, typescripts (some duplicated), printed material and newspaper clippings (photocopies). Contains journals, correspondence, mission papers, speeches and notes, newspaper clippings, and memorabilia concerning Cowley's mission to New Zealand, time as a student in Washington, D.C., his life as a mission president and Apostle, and the development of missionary activity in the South Pacific and Orient. Also included are an autobiography by Elva T. Cowley and Cowley family histories.

Dates: 1914-1980

Matthew and Linda Sheffield collection on Matthew and Elva Cowley family

 Collection — Multiple Containers
Identifier: MSS 8748
Scope and Contents

Contains material concerning Cowley's mission to New Zealand, time as a student in Washington, D.C., his life as a mission president and Apostle, and the development of missionary activity in the South Pacific and Orient, particularly New Zealand and Hawaii. Included are journals, photographs, correspondence, mission papers, speeches and notes, newspaper clippings, and memorabilia. Also contained are scrapbooks, post cards, envelopes, maps, film and film reels, and other ephemera.

Dates: 1898-1975