Rebecca Herrod Beesley
Born 10 Nov. 1839 in Whitewater, Franklin Co., Indiana.[1] Daughter of John Beesley and Mary Miller.[2] Baptized as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, by 1853.[3] Migrated to the Salt Lake Valley, driving an oxen team for her family, arriving 28 Aug. 1862.[4] Married John Palmer Doolan, 29 Aug. 1863; eight children.[5] Counselor in the Provo Third Ward Primary, 1883–1885; president of the Provo Third Ward Primary, 1887–1992.[6] Teacher in the Provo Second Ward Relief Society, 1890, in Provo, Utah Co., Utah Territory.[7] Secretary of the Provo Woman Suffrage Association, 1890–1894.[8] Active member of the Utah Women’s Press Club, serving as vice president, president, and treasurer, 1897–1905. [9] Member of the executive committee of the Utah State Council of Women, 1901.[10] Utah delegate to the national executive committee of the First International Woman Suffrage Council, in Washington, DC, 1902.[11] Died 27 Mar. 1909 in Salt Lake City.[12]
[1] Record of Members Collection, 1836–1970, Provo 2nd Ward, Records of Members, Part 1, 1907–1940, p. 4, Rebecca H. Beesley, CR 375 8, folder 1, image 181/547 (restricted access), CHL. "Endowments of the Living, 1851–1884,” The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, vol. D, 27 Apr. 1861–20 Feb. 1864, p. 236, line 13, Rebecca Beesley, 29 Aug. 1863, microfilm 183404, DGS 5270327 (restricted access), FHL. “Family Tree,” database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org, accessed 31 July 2018), Rebecca Herrod Beesley (KWVC-CG6).
[2] Record of Members Collection, 1836–1970, Provo 2nd Ward, Records of Members, Part 1, 1907–1940, p. 4, Rebecca H. Beesley, CR 375 8, folder 1, image 181/547 (restricted access), CHL. “Endowments of the Living, 1851–1884,” The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, vol. D, 27 Apr. 1861–20 Feb. 1864, p. 236, line 13, Rebecca Beesley, 29 Aug. 1863, microfilm 183404, DGS 5270327 (restricted access), FHL.
[3] “Endowments of the Living, 1851–1884,” The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, vol. D, 27 Apr. 1861–20 Feb. 1864, p. 236, line 13, Rebecca Beesley, 29 Aug. 1863, microfilm 183404, DGS 5270327 (restricted access), FHL. Record of Members Collection, 1836–1970, Provo 2nd Ward, Records of Members, Part 1, 1907–1940, p. 57, line 569, Rebecca H. Beesley, CR 375 8, folder 1, image 63/547 (restricted access), CHL. “To the Children or Grandchildren of Rebecca H. Doolan,” in “Family Tree,” database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org, accessed 9 Oct. 2020), Rebecca Herrod Beesley (KWVC-CG6), Memories.
[4] “Noted Utah Woman Is Called by Death,” Salt Lake Tribune, 30 Mar. 1909, 14. “Rebecca Herrod Beesley,” Pioneer Database (https://history.churchofjesuschrist.org/overlandtravel/, accessed 6 Oct. 2020).
[5] “Sealings of Couples, Living and by Proxy, 1851–1889,” The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, vol. D, 22 Nov. 1861–29 Dec. 1866, p. 243, line 6047, Rebecca Beesley and John Palmer Doolan, microfilm 1149514, DGS 7226455 (restricted access), FHL. 1900 U.S. Census, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake Co., UT, ED 44, p. 1B, Rebecca H. Doolan.
[6] “To the Children or Grandchildren of Rebecca H. Doolan,” in “Family Tree,” database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org, accessed 9 Oct. 2020), Rebecca Herrod Beesley (KWVC-CG6), Memories.
[7] Rebecca B. Doolan, Notebook, MS 5593, folder 1, CHL.
[8] “Woman’s Convention at Provo,” Woman’s Exponent, 1 Apr. 1890, 166. “Utah W.S.A. Convention,” Woman’s Exponent, 1 Jan. 1894, 78.
[9] EBW, Diary, 30 Oct. 1897. “U.W.P.C.,” Woman’s Exponent, 1 Dec. 1897, 220. Utah Women’s Press Club, Papers, 1903, MS 3339, folder 1, CHL. Linda Thatcher and John R. Sillito, “Sisterhood and Sociability: The Utah Women’s Press Club, 1891–1928,” Utah Historical Quarterly 53, no. 2 (Spring 1985): 144, 152. Rebecca B. Doolan, Notebook, MS 5593, folder 1, CHL. “Editorial Notes,” Woman’s Exponent, Dec. 1901, 53.
[10] “Social and Personal,” Deseret Evening News (Salt Lake City), 16 Nov. 1901, 8.
[11] First International Woman Suffrage Conference and the 34th Annual Convention of the National American Woman Suffrage Association, Washington, D.C. (New York: National American Woman Suffrage Association, 1902). “State Council of Women,” Salt Lake Tribune, 22 Dec. 1901, 17.
[12] “Utah State Archives Indexes,” database and images, Utah State Archives (https://www.archives.utah.gov, accessed 8 Mar. 2019); from Utah Department of Health, Office of Vital Records and Statistics, series 81448, file no. 465/450 (1909), Rebecca H. Doolan. “Death of Mrs. Doolan,” Deseret Evening News (Salt Lake City), 29 Mar. 1909, 11.