Elizabeth Ann Wells
Born 7 Dec. 1859 at Salt Lake City.[1] Daughter of Daniel Hanmer Wells and EBW.[2] Married John Quayle Cannon, 17 Mar. 1880, at Salt Lake City; twelve children.[3] Served with her husband in the Switzerland Zurich mission, 5 Nov. 1883–May 1884.[4] Divorced, 5 Sept. 1886.[5] Remarried John Q. Cannon, 13 May 1888.[6] Worked with EBW as the assistant editor of and a writer for the Woman’s Exponent, June 1905–Feb. 1914.[7] President of the Pioneer Stake Relief Society, 1904–1920.[8] Represented the Eighth District in the Utah Legislature, 1913.[9] Member of the Relief Society general board, 1902–1910, 1919–1939.[10] Compiled and authored poetry for Our Legacy: Relief Society Centennial Anthology of Verse for the Relief Society general board, 1941.[11] Died 2 Sept. 1942 at Salt Lake City.[12]
[1] “Endowments of the Living, 1851–1884,” The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Endowment House, vol. H, p. 164, Elizabeth Ann Wells microfilm 183407 (restricted access), FHL. “Family Tree,” database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org, accessed 13 Dec. 2017), Elizabeth Ann Wells (KWCW-7GP).
[2] “Endowments of the Living, 1851–1884,” The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Endowment House, vol. H, p. 164, Elizabeth Ann Wells microfilm 183407 (restricted access), FHL.
[3] “Sealings of Couples, Living and by Proxy, 1851–1889,” The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Endowment House, vol. L, p. 153, John Quayle Cannon and Elizabeth Ann Wells, 17 Mar. 1880 microfilm 183402 (restricted access), FHL. “Colonel and Mrs. Cannon Observe Golden Wedding,” Deseret News, 17 Mar. 1930, 1.
[4] “Arrivals, Changes and Appointments,” Der Stern (Liahona), 15 Nov. 1883, 346. “Our Trip through Germany,” Der Stern (Liahona), 1 May 1884, 136–138. “Releases and Appointments,” Latter-day Saints’ Millennial Star, 9 July 1883, 439. Switzerland Zurich Mission, 1974–2010, Switzerland Zurich Mission Manuscript History and Historical Reports, 1850–1977, CHL.
[5] “The John Q. Cannon Case,” Deseret News, 13 Oct. 1886, 4. Carol Cornwall Madsen, A Mormon Woman in Victorian America (Salt Lake City: University of Utah, 1985), 81–82.
[6] Salt Lake Co., UT, County Clerk, Marriage Records, 1887–1965, p. 400, microfilm 429053, FHL.
[7] Woman’s Exponent, June 1905, 4. “Book Review,” Woman’s Exponent, 1 Dec. 1912, 4. Woman’s Exponent, Feb. 1914, 100. Anne Wells Cannon, Our Legacy: Relief Society Centennial Anthology of Verse (Salt Lake City: General Board of Relief Society, 1941), vii.
[8] Pioneer Stake, Record of Members, 1903–1955, pp. 388–389, 985, 987, Record of Members Collection, 1836–1970, CR 375 8, CHL.
[9] “Laws of the State of Utah Passed at the Tenth Regular Session of the Legislature of the State of Utah Which Convened at Salt Lake City, the State Capitol, January 13, 1913 and Adjourned March 13, 1913, Utah Government Digital Library (https://digitallibrary.utah.gov/awweb/main.jsp?flag=browse&smd=1&awdid=16, accessed 30 Nov. 2017).
[10] History of Relief Society, 1842–1966 (Salt Lake City: General Board of Relief Society), 53, 99. Jill Mulvay Derr, Janath Russell Cannon, and Maureen Ursenbach Beecher, Women of Covenant: The Story of the Relief Society (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1992), 437. Anne Wells Cannon, Our Legacy: Relief Society Centennial Anthology of Verse (Salt Lake City: General Board of Relief Society, 1941), vii.
[11] Anne Wells Cannon, comp., Our Legacy: Relief Society Centennial Anthology of Verse (Salt Lake City: General Board of Relief Society, 1941), vii.
[12] “Utah Death Certificate Index, 1904–1961,” database and images, Utah State Archives (https://archives.utah.gov, accessed 30 Nov. 2017); from Utah Department of Health, Office of Vital Records and Statistics, series 81448, file no. 1500/1662 (1942), Annie Wells Cannon.