Orson Spencer Clawson
Born 15 Aug. 1852 in Salt Lake City.[1] Son of Hiram Bradley Clawson and Ellen Spencer.[2] Baptized as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1860.[3] Attended public schools in the Salt Lake area, finishing at the University of Deseret.[4] Married Nabbie Howe Young, daughter of Brigham Young and Clara Decker, 15 Feb. 1876.[5] Worked for Zion’s Cooperative Mercantile Institution after graduation, overseeing all purchases made in eastern markets.[6] Started Spencer Clawson & Company, 1882.[7] Original member of the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce, director of the Utah Sugar Company, president and board member of public works, president and member of the Salt Lake City council, director of the Consolidated Railway and Power Company, and director of the State Bank of Utah.[8] Treasurer of the Brigham Young Trust Company, which he had a vested interest in on behalf of his children and deceased wife, 1891–1894.[9] Chairman of the Pioneer Jubilee Celebration, 1897.[10] Organized the Utah Historical Society; served on a committee with EBW; served as president, 1897–1915.[11] Received a patent for an improvement to typewriter’s paper consisting of a combined letter sheet and envelope, 1900.[12] Manager of the Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition held in Portland, Multnomah Co., Oregon, 1905.[13] Worked with EBW on the Alaskan Exhibit Committee, 1909.[14] Died 2 Oct. 1916 in his doctor’s office, Salt Lake City.[15]
[1] “Endowment of the Living, 1851–1889,” The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Endowment House, vol. G, 31 Oct. 1868–11 Nov. 1872, p. 114, line 3451, Orson Spencer Clawson, 27 Sept. 1869, microfilm 1239501, DGS 7751472 (restricted access), FHL. “Family Tree,” database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org, accessed 20 Oct. 2020), Orson Spencer Clawson (KWZB-KL7).
[2] “Endowment of the Living, 1851–1889,” The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Endowment House, vol. G, 31 Oct. 1868–11 Nov. 1872, p. 114, line 3451, Orson Spencer Clawson, 27 Sept. 1869, microfilm 1239501, DGS 7751472 (restricted access), FHL. Susa Young Gates and Mabel Young Sanborn, “Brigham Young Genealogy,” Utah Genealogical and Historical Magazine 11, no. 2 (Apr. 1920): 54. 1860 U.S. Census, Great Salt Lake City, Salt Lake Co., Utah Territory, p. 215, Hiram B. Clawson, Ellen C. Clawson, and Orson Spencer Clawson.
[3] “Endowment of the Living, 1851–1889,” The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Endowment House, vol. G, 31 Oct. 1868–11 Nov. 1872, p. 114, line 3451, Orson Spencer Clawson, 27 Sept. 1869, microfilm 1239501, DGS 7751472 (restricted access), FHL.
[4] “S. Clawson Sr. Dies; Death Most Sudden; Heart Trouble Cause,” Salt Lake Herald-Republican, 3 Oct. 1916, 1.
[5] “Sealings of Couples, Living and by Proxy, 1851–1889,” The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Endowment House, vol. K, 15 Nov. 1875–25 July 1878, p. 68, line 859, Orson Spencer Clawson and Nabbie Howe Young, 15 Feb. 1876, microfilm 183401, DGS 5270324 (restricted access), FHL. EBW, Diary, 15 Feb. 1876. 1900 U.S. Census, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake Co., UT, ED 51, p. 1, Spencer Clawson Sr.
[6] “S. Clawson Sr. Dies; Death Most Sudden; Heart Trouble Cause,” Salt Lake Herald-Republican, 3 Oct. 1916, 1. “Bamboozling the Heathen,” Salt Lake Tribune, 8 Sept. 1877, 2.
[7] Manly and Litteral, eds., Utah, Her Cities, Towns and Resources (Chicago: Manly and Litteral, 1891–1892), 48.
[8] “S. Clawson Sr. Dies; Death Most Sudden; Heart Trouble Cause,” Salt Lake Herald-Republican, 3 Oct. 1916, 1. Manly and Litteral, eds., Utah, Her Cities, Towns and Resources (Chicago: Manly and Litteral, 1891–1892), 47–48. “[The Savings Department of the State Bank of Utah],” Salt Lake Herald, 11 Sept. 1891, 8. “President Clawson,” Salt Lake Herald, 2 June 1897, 6. “To Lay Pavement,” Salt Lake Herald, 25 Mar. 1903, 8.
[9] Brigham Young Family Genealogy, Brigham Young Trust Company, 1878, 1891, 1928, Susa Young Gates, Papers, ca. 1870–1933, MS 7692, CHL. Manly and Litteral, eds., Utah, Her Cities, Towns and Resources (Chicago: Manly and Litteral, 1891–1892), 48. “Utah Chamber of Commerce,” Salt Lake Herald, 4 Dec. 1900, 3. “Big Trust Company,” Salt Lake Herald, 25 Feb. 1891, 8. “Mr. Clawson’s Views,” Salt Lake Herald, 28 Feb. 1894, 8.
[10] “The Pioneer Jubilee of July 1897,” Deseret News (Salt Lake City), 24 July 1907, 3.
[11] “Historical Society Committee to Meet the Commission,” Salt Lake Tribune, 30 July 1897, 5. “Utah Historical Society,” Woman’s Exponent, 15 Apr. 1898, 7. “Clawson Again Heads Historical Society,” Salt Lake Herald, 21 Jan. 1913, 9. “Spencer Clawson,” Salt Lake Tribune, 19 Jan. 1915, 16.
[12] “Spencer Clawson’s Patent Letter Sheet,” Deseret News (Salt Lake City), 29 Sept. 1900, 8.
[13] “Utah at the Portland Fair,” Salt Lake Herald, 31 Dec. 1905, 4. “S. Clawson Sr. Dies; Death Most Sudden; Heart Trouble Cause,” Salt Lake Herald-Republican, 3 Oct. 1916, 1. “Passing Events: Spencer Clawson,” Improvement Era, Nov. 1916, 93.
[14] EBW, Diary, 28 Jan. 1908; 4 and 25 Feb. 1909.
[15] “Utah State Archives Indexes,” database and images, Utah State Archives (https://archives.utah.gov, accessed 28 Sept. 2020); Utah Department of Health Office of Vital Records and Statistics Death Certificates, series 81448, file no. 1394 (1916), Spencer Clawson. “S. Clawson Sr. Dies; Death Most Sudden; Heart Trouble Cause,” Salt Lake Herald-Republican, 3 Oct. 1916, 1.