March 1996 Blazer

Bishop Edwin Woolley and capitalism in early Utah

Bishop Edwin Woolley and Capitalism in Early Utah --- THE ETHICS OF PRIVATE ENTERPRISE and devotion to the Mormon kingdom existed side by side in early Utah. The career of merchant Edwin D. Woolley personifies this. Woolley , longtime bishop of the Salt Lake Thirteenth Ward, where many prominent Mormon and non- Mormon merchants lived, was also the manager of Brigham Young's private business affairs for over a decade. Born a Pennsylvania Quaker, Woolley as a young man followed his girlfriend's family to western Ohio where he became a successful farmer, merchant, and innkeeper. Converting to Mormonism, he again kept store in Nauvoo. Instead of joining the 1847 migration to Salt Lake Valley, at Brigham Young's request he remained in Winter Quarters and helped the migration by operating a branch of the St. Louis firm of Beach & Eddy. Woolley brought his storekeeping instinct to Utah in 1848. Next spring he returned to the States to purchase a private stock of goods which, on his return, he sold out of his freight wagons. But on this trip he also acted as tithing agent, purchaser for the public works, and presiding bishop's representative in carrying $ 5,000 in gold to supply immigration stations along the Mormon Trail. This dual role would characterize Woolley's career from then on. From 1848 to 1852 the role seemed to reform like the walls of an amoeba cell as Brigham Young improvisationally assigned him and other men to this or that task according to the skills the job required, without concern for how the assignment might look on the account books or an organizational flow chart. For instance, during 1852- 53, Woolley took the church cattle herd to California- not because he was an experienced cowhand but because he was a skillful bargainer. While keeping store, he also served briefly as foreman of the public works stonecutters, having learned this craft in his youth. It is clear, however, that the wre of Woolley's service was managing " the Church Store" ( actually Brigham Young's private storehouse), taking $ 1,500 per year in pay for his and his son's services. In this capacity Woolley seems to have been quartermaster or provisioner for Brigham Young's many private enterprises. E. D. supplied the companies and paid the employees ( mostly in goods instead of cash). For a time he was also overall business manager of these enterprises. The lines between Woolley's work for himself, for Brigham privately, and for Brigham Young the church Trustee- in- Trust, were not clearly drawn. The only thing certain is that he did not run the Tithing House; that duty fell to the Presiding Bishopric. While delegating many tasks, Brigham maintained close personal control over both his ( more) THE HISTORY BLAZER XEMTS OF ITTAH'S PAST FROM THE Vtah State Historical Society 300 Rio Grande Salt Lake Citv, lTT 84101 ( 801) 533- 3500 FAX ( 801) 533- 3503 private and church enterprises. This may be one reason why Woolley eventually grew restless in his employ. In 1858, at the time of the move south, Woolley moved his families to Provo where he opened a short- lived private store. Back in Salt Lake, he opened a store in a location separate from the Church Store. Family lore indicates & at Brigham resented his increasing independence. At a housewarming in Woolley's gracious new brick residence, Young attended but stomped out wordlessly. Woolley continued to manage both his own and the Young store until 1864, when he left Young's employ altogether. From then on, their relationship resembled that of every other town merchant to the Mormon leader. When Woolley leased a factory and machinery, it was from Brigham Young. When he used church construction workers to build his house, he repaid the church for their services. It could be said their break was caused by a conflict of personal interest. Brigham Young preached and acted out of dedication to the communal good. Yet his position encouraged diverse activities and created immense resources that allowed his wives and children to live very well by frontier standards. As long as Woolley worked on salary, he was limited in his ability to better his own large family's situation. Thus he came to sympathize with the Godbeites' mercantile attitude, belief in the protit motive, and desire for a more laissez- faire approach to private enterprise by the church. Remaining bishop of the Thirteenth Ward, Woolley continued his dual publidprivate role throughout his life. He sought only the privilege of choosing the mix for himself rather than having a master prescribe the mix for him. Sources: Rebecca Cornwall, " Of Frogs and Fishes, " paper presented to the Mormon History Association, May 1978; Leonard 3. Arrington, From Quuker to Latter- Day Saint: Bishop Edwin D. Woolley ( Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1976). THEH ISTORBLYA ZERi s produced by the Utah State Historical Society and funded in part by a grant from the Utah Statehood Centennial Commission. For more infonnation about the Historical Society telephone [phone] ( BB)