Amy Cassandra Brown
Born 7 Feb. 1872 at Pleasant Grove, Utah Co., Utah Territory.[1] Daughter of John Brown and Margaret Zimmerman.[2] Graduated from Brigham Young Academy Normal School, June 1890; taught in the Brigham Young Academy Primary department, 1890–1894.[3] Married Richard Roswell Lyman, 9 Sept. 1896, at Salt Lake City; two children.[4] Joined the Author’s Club.[5] Volunteered at Chicago Charities and Hull House doing social work while her husband attended the University of Chicago, summer 1902.[6] Lived in Ithaca, Tompkins Co., New York, while her husband attended Cornell University, 1902–1905.[7] Worked in the Primary and Young Ladies’ Mutual Improvement Association prior to her appointment to the Relief Society general board, 1909.[8] Appointed by Joseph F. Smith to assist in modernizing and updating the work and record-keeping practices of the Relief Society.[9] Served as assistant and general secretary to the Relief Society general board; traveled and worked closely with EBW, 1911–1921.[10] Participated with the National Red Cross; encouraged the training and implementation of social work programs.[11] Served in the Utah House of Representatives, 1923–1925; efforts focused on public health, particularly on the Sheppard-Towner Act, which allowed federal money to be appropriated for social welfare work.[12] Appointed to lead the Relief Society, Young Women’s, and Primary organizations when her husband served as president of the European mission, 1936–1938.[13] Served as recording secretary, auditor, and third vice president of the National Council of Women; attended numerous meetings between 1911 and 1945.[14] Served as general secretary and treasurer to Relief Society general president Clarissa Williams, 1921–1928; served as first counselor to general president Louise Y. Robison, 1928–1939.[15] Served as eighth general president of the Relief Society, 1940–1945.[16] Died 5 Dec. 1959 at Salt Lake City.[17]
[1] Utah Stake, Pleasant Grove Ward, 1855–1909, Record of Members, p. 92, Amy Cassandria Brown, Record of Members Collection, 1836–1970, CR 375 8, image 54/528, CHL. “Family Tree,” database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org, accessed 1 Feb. 2018), Amy Cassandra Brown (KWZK-M9S).
[2] Utah Stake, Pleasant Grove Ward, 1855–1909, Record of Members, p. 92, Amy Cassandria Brown, Record of Members Collection, 1836–1970, CR 375 8, image 54/528, CHL. “Endowments of the Living, 1893–1956,” The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake Temple, vol. A, 1893–1900, p. 136, Amy Cassandra Brown, 9 Sept. 1896, microfilm 184067 (restricted access), FHL.
[3] Amy Brown Lyman, In Retrospect: Autobiography of Amy Brown Lyman (Salt Lake City: General Board of Relief Society, 1945), 17, 19, 21. Janet Peterson and LaRene Gaunt, Elect Ladies (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1990), 131–132.
[4] Utah Division of Archives and Record Service, “Box Elder County Marriage Licenses and Applications, 1887–1898,” database and images, Utah State Archives (http://archives.utah.gov/research/agencyhistories/92.html, accessed 30 Jan. 2018), Office of Vital Records and Statistics, series 23352, (1896), p. 204, cert. 6006, Richard L. Lyman and Amy C. Brown. “Sealings of Living Couples, 1893–1905,” The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake Temple, vol. A, p. 77, Richard Roswell Lyman and Amy Cassandra Brown, 9 Sept. 1896, microfilm 1239567 (restricted access), FHL. Vera White Pohlman, In Memoriam: Amy Brown Lyman, 1872–1959 (Salt Lake City: unknown publisher), 8.
[5] Amy Brown Lyman, In Retrospect: Autobiography of Amy Brown Lyman (Salt Lake City: General Board of Relief Society, 1945), 29. EBW, Diary, 26 Feb. 1909.
[6] Amy Brown Lyman, In Retrospect: Autobiography of Amy Brown Lyman (Salt Lake City: General Board of Relief Society, 1945), 29–30. Janet Peterson and LaRene Gaunt, Elect Ladies (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1990), 133.
[7] Amy Brown Lyman, In Retrospect: Autobiography of Amy Brown Lyman (Salt Lake City: General Board of Relief Society, 1945), 29–33. Janet Peterson and LaRene Gaunt, Elect Ladies (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1990), 133–134.
[8] Amy Brown Lyman, In Retrospect: Autobiography of Amy Brown Lyman (Salt Lake City: General Board of Relief Society, 1945), 36, 42. Janet Peterson and LaRene Gaunt, Elect Ladies (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1990), 134. History of Relief Society, 1842–1966 (Salt Lake City: General Board of Relief Society, 1966), 39.
[9] Amy Brown Lyman, In Retrospect: Autobiography of Amy Brown Lyman (Salt Lake City: General Board of Relief Society, 1945), 42. Janet Peterson and LaRene Gaunt, Elect Ladies (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1990), 135.
[10] Amy Brown Lyman, In Retrospect: Autobiography of Amy Brown Lyman (Salt Lake City: General Board of Relief Society, 1945), 42–43. History of Relief Society, 1842–1966 (Salt Lake City: General Board of Relief Society, 1966), 39. EBW, Diary, 26 Feb. 1909; 20 May 1911; 15 Sept. 1911; 16 and 19 Feb. 1917; 21 and 26 Dec. 1917; 21 and 25 Mar. 1918; 19 July 1920. Janet Peterson and LaRene Gaunt, Elect Ladies (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1990), 135.
[11] Amy Brown Lyman, In Retrospect: Autobiography of Amy Brown Lyman (Salt Lake City: General Board of Relief Society, 1945), 63. Janet Peterson and LaRene Gaunt, Elect Ladies (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1990), 135–136. Vera White Pohlman, In Memoriam: Amy Brown Lyman, 1872–1959 (Salt Lake City: unknown publisher), 13.
[12] Amy Brown Lyman, In Retrospect: Autobiography of Amy Brown Lyman (Salt Lake City: General Board of Relief Society, 1945), 82–83. Dave Hall, A Faded Legacy: Amy Brown Lyman and Mormon Women’s Activism, 1872–1959 (Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 2015), 90–91.
[13] Amy Brown Lyman, In Retrospect: Autobiography of Amy Brown Lyman (Salt Lake City: General Board of Relief Society, 1945), 123, 129. History of Relief Society, 1842–1966 (Salt Lake City: General Board of Relief Society, 1966), 15. Janet Peterson and LaRene Gaunt, Elect Ladies (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1990), 139.
[14] Amy Brown Lyman, In Retrospect: Autobiography of Amy Brown Lyman (Salt Lake City: General Board of Relief Society, 1945), 88–89. History of Relief Society, 1842–1966 (Salt Lake City: General Board of Relief Society, 1966), 46–48.
[15] History of Relief Society, 1842–1966 (Salt Lake City: General Board of Relief Society, 1966), 42–48.
[16] History of Relief Society, 1842–1966 (Salt Lake City: General Board of Relief Society, 1966), 46–48. Amy Brown Lyman, In Retrospect: Autobiography of Amy Brown Lyman (Salt Lake City: General Board of Relief Society, 1945), 143. Janet Peterson and LaRene Gaunt, Elect Ladies (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1990), 139–141.
[17] “Utah State Archives Indexes, 1905–1965,” database and images, Utah State Archives (https://archives.utah.gov/research/indexes, accessed 31 Jan. 2018), Department of Health, Office of Vital Records and Statistics Death Certificates, series 81448, file no. 59182757 (1959), Amy Brown Lyman. Vera White Pohlman, In Memoriam: Amy Brown Lyman, 1872–1959 (Salt Lake City: unknown publisher), 8.