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 letter of introduction to S.B. Elkins on behalf of Franklin S. Richards
Holograph letter of introduction for attorney Franklin S. Richards addressed to S.B. Elkins, industrialist and former member of the House of Representatives from New Mexico.
Letter, Salt Lake City, Utah, to Bishop John M. Whitaker, Sugarhouse, Utah
TLS which relates the remarks of Brigham Young, George Q. Cannon and Lorenzo Snow in reference to blacks and the priesthood. Also includes shorthand notes on the last page by John M. Whitaker.
Letter to "Bro. Elias," Fillmore, Utah
ALS which discussed problems of getting sufficient copy for the Deseret News and its delivery as well as the lack of molasses.
Letters, 1895-1897
Photocopy of a handwritten and signed letter, dated 27 Dec. 1897, and addressed to "Brother Anthony." Cannon asks Anthony to "extend any courtesy to [a friend] that he may need." Also included is a photocopy of a typewritten "Agreement," dated 25 June 1895, and signed by the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, including Cannon. The item relates to an "overdraft" from "Zion's Saving Bank."
Martha Telle Cannon correspondence, 1880-1902
Contains correspondence from Cannon, including seven letters, from 1880 to 1902. Six are addressed to Martha Telle Cannon from a variety of family members, and one is from Martha Telle Cannon to Lewis Telle Cannon.
McCune family association newsletter and George Q. Cannon letter
Typewritten newsletter telling about McCune family matters and histroy. Also included is a photocopy of a letter signed by the Mormon Apostle George Q. Cannon appointing Matthew McCune to preside over the Dundee conference of the Mormon Church in 1863.
Norman Woodbury Osborn photograph collection
This collection contains 86 various photographs, portraits, and postcards of unidentified people. Some of the only identified portraits include Karl G. Maeser and George Q. Cannon. The photographs were found in Norman Woodbury Osborn's attic.
C. R. Savage photographs of Salt Lake City, Utah
Photographs of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles under President John Taylor
Photographs of university trustees
Contains thirty-nine black-and-white photographs of presidents of the Board of Trustees of Brigham Young Academy and University; also views of chairmen of the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees of BYU. Also includes view of Karl G. Maeser's wife, Anna.