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Elizabeth Ann Claridge

Elizabeth Ann Claridge McCune

19 February 1852—1 August 1924

Early Sister Missionaries

Born 19 February 1852 in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, England. Daughter of Samuel Claridge and Charlotte Joy. Married Alfred McCune, 1 July 1872; nine children. Served on Relief Society general board, 1911–1920. The success of her remarks at the London Conference in 1897 helped persuade church leaders to call women as proselytizing missionaries. Died 1 August 1924 in Salt Lake City.1

Emmeline B. Wells

Born 19 Feb. 1852 in Hemel Hempsted, Hertfordshire, England.2 Daughter of Samuel Claridge and Charlotte Joy.3 Emigrated with parents from Liverpool aboard the Golconda, arriving in New Orleans, 26 Mar. 1853.4 Migrated to Utah Territory with the Joseph W. Young pioneer company, arriving 22 Sept. 1853.5 Worked as a telegraph operator in Nephi, Juab Co., Utah Territory, before 1867.6 Traveled with her family to settle the Muddy River Valley, Nevada, 1867.7 Married Alfred W. McCune in Salt Lake City, 1 July 1872; nine children.8 Donated $5,000 to the construction of the Salt Lake temple, before 1892.9 Became acquainted with EBW, by 1894, by attending the same social for Zina D. H. Young, holding a Women’s Suffrage Association (WSA) executive meeting at her home, and offering EBW the use of her carriage.10 Appointed as an ordinance worker in the Salt Lake temple, 12 Sept. 1895.11 Nominated as a delegate to the WSA meeting held in Washington DC, 1896.12 Participated in her son’s missionary efforts while visiting England; spoke at the semiannual London conference, Oct. 1897, which positively influenced the decision to appoint single women as full-time missionaries.13 Served as an aid to Young Ladies’ Mutual  Improvement Association (Y.L.M.I.A.) general president Elmina S. Taylor, 1898–1910.14 Served as patron to the National Council of Women of the United States and as patron and delegate representing the Y.L.M.I.A. at the International Council of Women held in London, 1899; attended with EBW, who served as second recording secretary.15 Appointed a member of the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1904.16 Appointed by Governor William Spry as trustee of the Agricultural College of Logan, 1905–1915; served as vice president of the board, 1913–1915, and was the first woman in the United States to serve in a similar position.17 Served on the Relief Society general board under general president EBW, 1911–1921.18 As a member of the Genealogical Society of Utah, attended the International Congress of Genealogy with EBW in San Francisco, 1915; taught classes and gave lectures.19 With her husband, donated their large home in Salt Lake City to the church, 1920; later became the McCune School of Music and Art.20 Died 1 Aug. 1924 in Salt Lake City.21

Footnotes

  1. 1 Utah State Department of Health, Utah Death Certificates, 1904–1951, Death Certificates, 1924, Salt Lake County (Jan.–15 Sept.), 1 Aug. 1924, file no. 1342, microfilm 2259473/DGS 4121331, FamilySearch Library, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City; “Elizabeth Claridge McCune One of [the] Great Women of the Church,” Church News (Salt Lake City), 13 Mar. 1954, [16]; “I Could Have Gone into Every House,” 24 Aug. 2018, Church History, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, history.ChurchofJesusChrist.org; “Alfred William McCune,” in Orson F. Whitney, History of Utah, vol. 4 (Salt Lake City: George Q. Cannon & Sons, 1904), 508; Susa Young Gates, Memorial to Elizabeth Claridge McCune: Missionary, Philanthropist, Architect (Salt Lake City: n.p., 1924), 27.

  2. 2 England and Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1837–1915, database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org, accessed 22 Jan. 2018), Elizabeth Ann Claridge, 1852, citing Birth Registration, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, England, General Register Office, Southport, Eng. “Endowments of the Living, 1851–1884,” The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Endowment House, vol. G, p. 328, Elizabeth Ann Claridge, 1 July 1872, microfilm 1239501 (restricted access), FHL. “Family Tree,” database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org, accessed 22 Jan. 2018), Elizabeth Ann Claridge McCune (LKVT-157).

  3. 3 “Endowments of the Living, 1851–1884,” The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Endowment House, vol. G, p. 328, Elizabeth Ann Claridge, 1 July 1872, microfilm 1239501 (restricted access), FHL.

  4. 4 “Elizabeth Claridge,” Saints by Sea (https://saintsbysea.lib.byu.edu/, accessed 30 Dec. 2019).

  5. 5 “Elizabeth Ann Claridge,” Pioneer Database (https://history.churchofjesuschrist.org/overlandtravel, accessed 14 Mar. 2018). Joseph W. Young Company Report, 22 Sept. 1853, no. 200, Elizabeth A. Claridge, Brigham Young Office Emigrating Companies Reports, 1850–1862, CR 1234 5, image 10/18, CHL.

  6. 6 “From Adobe Hut to a Mansion of Brick and Stone,” Deseret Evening News, 6 June 1903, 10. Susa Young Gates, History of the Young Ladies’ Mutual Improvement Association of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from November 1869 to June 1910 (Salt Lake City: Deseret News, 1911), 213.

  7. 7 “From Adobe Hut to a Mansion of Brick and Stone,” Deseret Evening News, 6 June 1903, 10.

  8. 8 “Sealings of Couples, Living and by Proxy, 1851–1889,” The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Endowment House, vol. H, p. 194, Elizabeth Ann Claridge and Alfred W. McCune, 1 July 1872, microfilm 183398 (restricted access), FHL. 1900 U.S. Census, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake Co., UT, ED 51, sheet 1, Elizabeth McCune..

  9. 9 Orson F. Whitney, History of Utah in Four Volumes (Salt Lake City: George Q. Cannon & Sons, 1904), 4:606.  59th United States Congress, 1st Session, Senate Documents, vol. 24 (Washington DC: Government Printing Office, 1906), 860–861.

  10. 10 EBW, Diary, 31 Jan. 1894; 20 Feb. 1894; 11–12 May 1894; 30 July 1894.

  11. 11 Female Workers in Salt Lake Temple, “Worker’s List,” 12 Sept. 1895, [2], CHL.

  12. 12 EBW, Diary, 18 Dec. 1895.

  13. 13 Matthew S. McBride, “‘I Could Have Gone into Every House’: Elizabeth McCune Helped Pave the Way for Sister Missionaries,” Women of Conviction (https://history.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/elizabeth-mccune-missionary?lang=eng, accessed 13 Feb. 2018). “London Conference,” Latter-day Saints’ Millennial Star, 28 Oct. 1897, 684.

  14. 14 Susa Young Gates, History of the Young Ladies’ Mutual Improvement Association of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from November 1869 to June 1910 (Salt Lake City: Deseret News, 1911), 215.

  15. 15 “International Council,” Woman’s Exponent, 15 June 1899, 13–14. Susa Young Gates, Memorial to Elizabeth Claridge McCune, Missionary, Philanthropist, Architect (Salt Lake City: n.p., 1924), 26–27.

  16. 16 Genealogical Society of Utah, Genealogical Society of Utah History, ca. 1915, 6–7, CHL. Susa Young Gates, Memorial to Elizabeth Claridge McCune, Missionary, Philanthropist, Architect (Salt Lake City: n.p., 1924), 27, 64.

  17. 17 Susa Young Gates, Memorial to Elizabeth Claridge McCune, Missionary, Philanthropist, Architect (Salt Lake City: n.p., 1924), 26.

  18. 18 History of Relief Society, 1842–1966 (Salt Lake City: General Board of Relief Society), 53. Susa Young Gates, Memorial to Elizabeth Claridge McCune, Missionary, Philanthropist, Architect (Salt Lake City: n.p., 1924), 27.

  19. 19 James B. Allen, Jessie L. Embry, and Kahlile B. Mehr, Hearts Turned to the Fathers: A History of the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1894–1994 (Provo, UT: BYU Studies, Brigham Young University, 1995), 79–81.

  20. 20 Susa Young Gates, Memorial to Elizabeth Claridge McCune, Missionary, Philanthropist, Architect (Salt Lake City: n.p., 1924), 45–46. “Church Sells McCune Mansion,” Ensign, May 1973.

  21. 21 “Utah State Archives Indexes,” database and images, Utah State Archives (https://archives.utah.gov, accessed 22 Jan. 2018); Utah Department of Health Office of Vital Records and Statistics Death certificates, series 81448, file no. 1342/250 (1924), Elizabeth Ann Claridge McCune.