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Show Girl with a Heritage 5 Clarissa Cordelia Moses Mason, a widow with five children; in 1884, Dr. Martha Hughes, a physician, soon to be the first American woman elected to a state senate; in 1886, Maria Bennion, a farm operator in Taylorsville, Salt Lake County; and in 1887, Johanna Cristina Danielson, a Swedish convert-immi grant. By his six wives Angus had twenty-seven children, in addition to the five adopted children of widowed Clarissa.' Intelligent, experienced, and loyal to his faith, Angus Cannon became a leader in Mormonism. In 1861, three years after his marriage to the Mousley girls, he was called to help settle Southern Utah, where he served as-first mayor and town mar shal of the bustling community of St. George. He was also county prosecuting attorney and district attorney. After six years, in 1867, he and his family returned to Salt Lake City, where he became business manager of the Deseret News, and Salt Lake County Recorder. He also served a six-month church mission and operated a farm and livestock ranch in south Salt Lake Valley. In 1876 he was appointed president of Salt Lake Stake, the "center stake" of Zion-largest unit of the L.D.S. Church with fifty-four wards." He held this position until the stake was divided in 1904-a total of twenty-eight years. He died in 1915, age eighty-one. The force of character, ecclesiastical dominion, and social prejudices of Angus Cannon were exhibited in 1882 when a twenty-three-year-old returned missionary, James H. Moyle, asked to be released from his stake activities (he was a home missionary; that is, available to preach and teach in Mormon Country) so he could go East to study law. President Cannon struck his fist violently on the counter of the county recorder's office and angrily exclaimed, "You will go to Hell!" Cannon explained it was a violation of religious duty to use the law to contend with a brother, and, even worse, to encourage and facil itate such a wrongdoing, and still more a violation to take either side in a controversy. After considerable reasoning from young Moyle, the president recommended he talk with his brother, George Q. Cannon, counselor in the First Presidency of the Church. President Cannon, in turn, insisted that he talk with the president of the church, John Taylor. With some emphasis, |
