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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 64 Collections and/or Records:

George Q. Cannon testimonial

 File — Folder 1: [Barcode: 31197230241702]
Identifier: MSS SC 485
Scope and Contents

Handwritten testimonial (plus photocopy) signed by 101 polygamist prisoners of the Utah Penitentiary acknowledging Cannon's beneficient influence.

Dates: 1889

John Q. Cannon collection

 File — Multiple Containers
Identifier: MSS 2348
Scope and Contents

This collection contains the 1881 diary of John Q. Cannon, including a typescript, the agenda book of John Q. Cannon (though written in by Annie Wells Cannon), a talk titled, "Spirituality in the Sunday School, and two portraits of John Q. Cannon and George Q. Cannon.

Dates: 1881

Clawson Y. Cannon family scrapbook, 1859-1975

 Series — Carton 1: Series 1; Series 2; Series 5 [Barcode: 31197232480050], Folder: 1-8
Identifier: MSS 7793 Series 1
Scope and Contents Contains an anthology of family and personal histories about Clawson Y. Cannon; his relatives; and the relatives of his wife, Winnifred Morrell. The majority of the histories concern his ancestors, but the series includes a lengthy autobiography of Cannon himself. Includes photographs of friends and family, letters, magazine articles, articles written by the subjects, notifications of awards granted, diplomas, missionary histories, religious speeches, biographies, nostalgic writings, and...
Dates: 1859-1975

Margaret Clayton interview

 Collection — Multiple Containers
Identifier: MSS SC 956
Scope and Contents

Sound tape reel and transcript of an oral interview with Margaret Clayton by Dennis Rowley and John Bluth held on 17 Nov. 1977 in Salt Lake City, Utah. Margaret was a granddaughter of the Mormon Church leader George Q. Cannon and tells of her recollections of the man and his activities. She also tells about the Cannon family.

Dates: 1977

Jesse Wentworth Crosby letter

 Collection — Folder 1: [Barcode: 31197233287264]
Identifier: Vault MSS 216

Davis Bitton papers on George Q. Cannon, 1834-1998

 Series — Multiple Containers
Identifier: MSS 7441 Series 6
Scope and Contents

Contains documents created by or collected by Bitton regarding George Q. Cannon dating from 1834-1998.

Dates: 1834-1998

Deseret News lists

 File — Folder 1: [Barcode: 31197230318609]
Identifier: MSS SC 1952
Scope and Contents

Handwritten record of items purchased by the Deseret News in Fillmore, Utah at the store of Samuel Pierce Hoyt (1807-1889). Also included is a list of persons paid by the Deseret News for work completed. Some of the entries are believed to have been written by George Q. Cannon, the Mormon apostle.

Dates: 1858

Emmeline B. Wells and Annie Wells Cannon papers, approximately 1877-1963

 Series
Identifier: MSS 2344 Series 1
Scope and Contents

Papers of Emmeline B. Wells and Annie Wells Cannon, including biographies, a pedigree chart, a medal of service, letters, poetry, and a geography coursebook. Materials dated approximately 1877 to 1963.

Dates: approximately 1877-1963

Emmeline B. Wells and Annie Wells Cannon photographs, approximately 1877-1963

 Series
Identifier: MSS 2344 Series 2
Scope and Contents

Contains photographs of the family of Emmeline B. Wells and Annie Cannon Wells. Photographs are of family members, some unidentified. Also contains scrapbooks with photographs and clippings, and loose ephemera from scrapbooks. Date dapproximately 1877 to 1963.

Dates: approximately 1877-1963

George Q. and Martha Telle Cannon correspondence, 1872-1891

 Series
Identifier: MSS 7426 Series 1
Scope and Contents note

George Q. Cannon and Martha Telle Cannon correspondence, including forty-one letters exchanged between George Q. Cannon and Martha Telle Cannon, between 1872 and 1891. Their correspondence documents George Q. Cannon's experiences as a Territorial Delegate from Utah to the United States House of Representatives; Martha Cannon's experiences in her Salt Lake City, Utah, home; family relationships and news; and Church events.

Dates: 1872-1891