Emmeline B. Wells

Emmeline Blanche Woodward was born on February 29, 1828 in Petersham, Massachusetts. She was the seventh child of David and Deiadama Hare Woodward.[2] Her father died when she was four years old.[4] She would later claim that her widowed mother inspired her to be a woman's rights advocate.[5]^:15 When her mother remarried to Samuel Clark Jr., the Woodward family moved to North New Salem, Massachusetts. There, Emmeline spent ten years of her childhood.[5]^:16 Religion heavily influenced her first years of life; her family attended the local village church, per New England tradition.[5]^:24 As a child, she wrote poems and stories which she shared with her friends. She often enjoyed being in nature. Woodward was very intelligent and began studying in public school until she enrolled in the New Salem Academy.[2] She graduated from the Academy at the age of fourteen.[6]

The revivalist movement disrupted New Salem's previous religious unity, and Woodward's community was split among different denominations. Following her mother, siblings, and a few friends, Woodward joined the LDS Church on March 1, 1842. After her baptism, she returned to the Academy and continued her schooling; she did not attend church meetings for her first year of membership. When she applied to be a teacher, discrimination against her new faith proved to be a challenge. Nevertheless, she persevered, and taught school briefly in Orange, Massachusetts, before her first marriage at the age of fifteen.[5]^:25–36

She married 15-year-old James Harris, also a new church member, on July 19, 1843, [2] in Vernon, Vermont.[5]^:36 This marriage proved to be difficult for the young Emmeline; her mother-in-law disapproved of her, and she was unprepared for married life. Later, she wrote that she had been too emotional to make such an important decision and regretted marrying at such a young age. Life for Emmeline (now Harris) only became more difficult when she, along with the Harris family and a group of other New England Latter-day Saints, left for the Mormon settlement of Nauvoo, Illinois, in 1844. After a time, her mother- and father-in-law left the church and Nauvoo, so she and James were left alone. She gave birth to a son, Eugene Henri, on September 1, 1844. Unfortunately, Harris had been sick with "ague" during her pregnancy, and at six weeks old, her infant son became sick as well and did not survive. In addition to battling her own illness and the sorrow of losing her son, Emmeline said goodbye to her husband, who left to find work in St. Louis. He asked her to leave Nauvoo to live with his parents once more, but she refused.[5]^:37–53 James Harris died as a sailor in the Indian Ocean and never returned to his wife.[4]

Emmeline B. Wells writing

The young Emmeline Harris returned to teaching. Through his children's attending her school, Harris met and later married Newel K. Whitney on February 24, 1845, under the Mormon practice of plural marriage. Emmeline Whitney admired her new husband and felt much safer as his wife.[2] She left Nauvoo in 1846 and, along with the large Whitney family, left Winter Quarters, Nebraska, for Utah Territory in 1848.[7] They traveled with the Heber C. Kimball company at the invitation of then-church president Brigham Young. During the journey, Whitney grew close to her sister-wives.[5]^:75–79 She was pregnant when the company reached the Salt Lake Valley on October 8, 1848.[5]^:90 Her first daughter, Isabel "Belle" Whitney, was born in the back of the same wagon that had carried her mother across the country; Emmeline later recounted, "our poor wagons and tents were the only homes we had."[5]^:91–92 After a Whitney family home was constructed, her second daughter, Melvina Whitney, was born on August 18, 1850. Unfortunately, this good news was followed in short order by her second husband's unexpected death. Emmeline Whitney deeply mourned his passing. By age 22, she had been widowed twice.[5]^:95–97

Newel Whitney's death in 1850 prompted her to begin teaching school once more, as means of providing for her daughters.[2] She remained primarily responsible for financially supporting herself for the rest of her life.[8]^:11 She then approached Daniel H. Wells, a friend of her late husband's and a prominent civic leader, about marriage. In 1852, she became his seventh wife.[9] Their early marriage was distant, as Wells was heavily involved in civic and church duties and had six other families.[4] She lived separately from Wells's other wives.[5]^:110 She had another daughter in 1853, Emma[2] "Emmie" Wells.[5]^:112 When the Utah War broke out in 1857, Emmeline moved south to Provo.[5]^:117–118 There, she continued to teach school.[5]^:120 In 1859 she gave birth to her fourth daughter, Elizabeth Ann Wells, who she named after Elizabeth Ann Whitney.[5]^:121 Though the early years of their relationship had been difficult, Daniel and Emmeline Wells became fond and loving companions later in life.[4] She did not regret or doubt her participation in polygamy.[5]^:138 Daniel Wells passed away on March 24, 1891.[2] By the end of her life, she had been widowed three times.[10]

"The aim of the paper has always been to assist those who needed assistance in any or every line. ... We love women and would ever strive to uplift and help them to attain their ideals."[10]

From a young age, Emmeline Wells had been writing poetry and short stories; but her career truly blossomed with the editorials she wrote for the Woman's Exponent.[8]^:34–35 Established in 1872,[4] the periodical published news about women in the LDS church along with articles advocating for women's educational, economic, and voting rights.[3] The Exponent became part of a nationwide network of feminist journalism, exposing Wells's voice beyond Utah.[8]^:35–36 She wrote many articles about women's rights, particularly the right to run for office and the right to vote.[3] Under the pseudonym "Blanche Beechwood," she published 40 articles arguing fervently for suffrage, societal reform, and religious freedom.[8]^:51–52 Wells became the Exponent's associate editor in 1875 when Cornelia H. Horne ended her term as business manager.[8]^:43 Following Lula Greene Richards, Wells was the second and last editor[8]^:41–43 of the periodical from 1877 to 1914.[3] She also assumed responsibility as its publisher, business manager, and owner.[8]^:43 As editor, she became known for her executive talents and her superb memory.[11] She continued to publish her own essays and poems, now under the name "Aunt Em."[10] In response to a special request from church president Brigham Young, she wrote and compiled the life stories of many Latter-day Saint women for publication in the Exponent.[5]^:165 Her different writing selections over the years balance feminist and romantic views, as well as her religious beliefs.[9]^:5–8 The Exponent served as a space for LDS women to express their views, including those of polygamy.[8]^:38–39 Near the end of her tenure as editor, Wells enlisted the help of her daughter Annie Wells Cannon as assistant editor. After her failed request to have the Exponent become the Relief Society's official publication,[8]^:45 the suffragist periodical closed in February 1914 with Wells's last editorial titled "Heartfelt Farewell."[12]

Wells continued to write numerous short stories and poems, many of which were published.[6] She later compiled her poetry into a single volume, Musings and Memories; it was so well received that she published a second edition. In 1912, she became the first Utah woman to receive an honorary degree, in literature, awarded her by Brigham Young University.[10]

Emmeline Wells

"I believe in women, especially thinking women."[13]

When women were enfranchised in Utah in 1870, Wells was among the first to vote in local elections. In 1871, women's rights activists Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony visited Utah during their tour of the western United States. Wells attended their conference and was inspired by their messages, especially as she reflected on her mother's life, as well as her own limitations relative to self-sufficiency. She wished for greater freedom and independence for her five daughters. Feminist writer Margaret Fuller also inspired Wells. [5]^:129–132 Wells became an early advocate of women's rights, writing under the name "Blanche Beechwood" for the Woman's Exponent.[6] She did not adhere to or believe in the usual role of the submissive Victorian woman.[2] Through her anonymous submissions, she expressed her frustration with society's views of the roles of a wife.[5]^:135–137 She wrote 43 essays for the Exponent and became its editor in 1877.[5]^:134–135 In addition to reporting news of the Relief Society, she used the publication to support women's suffrage, as well as educational and economic opportunities for women.[3] She was in frequent contact with women's rights leaders and other pro-suffrage editors around the nation. The publication Woman's Words brought her writing to the east coast.[5]^:163 In order to inspire her readers to advocate for change, she wrote 57 articles arguing for more independence for women.[5]^:179

Emmeline B. Wells pictured with Women's Suffrage Leaders, including Susan B. Anthony

In 1879, Wells was appointed as a Utah representative to a suffrage convention in Washington, D.C., by national feminist leaders Stanton and Anthony.[3][4] She and Zina P. Young Card were "the first official representatives of LDS women to a national women's conference."[5]^:168 In Washington, Wells spoke against anti-polygamy legislation, especially when it threatened to disenfranchise Utah women. She and Card met with President Rutherford B. Hayes and first lady Lucy Hayes to present their case. They also addressed the House Judiciary Committee and the Senate Judiciary Committee on the matter.[5]^:185–188 Wells and Card were ridiculed for attending the convention, but Stanton defended their right to be there.[9]^:4 In addition to these national efforts, Wells was a delegate to the 1882 Utah State Constitutional Convention, where she served on the committee on education and the committee on schedule and elections.[8]^:192–193 Wells joined the National Council of Women of the United States in 1891.[2]

As early as in 1879, Wells advocated that women be granted the right to hold office in Utah Territory. In 1878, she turned down a nomination for Salt Lake County Treasurer from the People's Party because women were not eligible to hold office in the territory. In 1879 she, along with Sarah M. Kimball, urged Governor George Emery to support women holding office, which he declined. In 1880, Wells was the leading force involved in convincing Charles W. Penrose to introduce legislation to grant women the ability to hold office. She wrote that her wish to be a political representative was "not an aggressive act on the part of women but a progressive one which will remove the discrimination that exists among equal citizens."[8]^:186–87

For 30 years, Wells linked LDS women with national suffrage organizations.[9] Wells gathered signatures from women in Utah to appeal to Washington, D. C., for a constitutional amendment that would grant women the right to vote.[3] She also remained life-long friends with Stanton and Anthony as she represented Utah in the national battle for suffrage.[3] For nearly thirty years she represented Utah women in the National Woman Suffrage Association and the National and International Councils of Women. In 1893, Wells was elected president of the Utah Territorial Women's Suffrage Association.[8]^:270 As such, she represented the National Council at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago as a speaker, session conductor, and exhibit organizer.[10] She also traveled to Atlanta in 1895 to represent Utah at the annual NAWSA conference.[9] Wells was also involved in the ultimately successful effort to restore suffrage to Utah women in the 1896 Utah state constitution.[8]^:275–288 In 1899, she was invited by the International Council of Women to speak in London as a representative of the United States.[2][4] A year before her death, Wells was able to see the passing of the 19th Amendment.[3]

After Utah gained statehood, Wells did run for election. In a much-publicized election, the 66-year-old Wells stood as one of several "at large" Republican candidates for state senator from Salt Lake County. Martha Hughes Cannon, a physician and former employee at the Women's Exponent, was one of five Democrats running for the office. On November 3, 1896, Cannon defeated the field and became the first woman ever elected as a state senator in the United States.

Wells while president of the Relief Society

Much of her involvement in women's rights movements, she felt, had been inspired by her involvement in the LDS Church's women's organization, the Relief Society. For several years Wells served as its corresponding secretary, and as such was responsible for planning its 1892 jubilee celebration.[8]^:268

Wells was then selected as general secretary for the Relief Society by Eliza R. Snow and served for twenty-two years in the position under succeeding presidents. In her youth in Nauvoo, Wells briefly knew Joseph Smith, founder of the church. In 1905, as Relief Society Secretary, she wrote the following to the young women of the church:

In the Prophet Joseph Smith, I believed I recognized the great spiritual power that brought joy and comfort to the Saints. ... He was beyond my comprehension. The power of God rested upon him to such a degree that on many occasions he seemed transfigured. His expression was mild and almost childlike in repose; and when addressing the people, who loved him it seemed to adoration, the glory of his countenance was beyond description. At other times the great power of his manner, more than of his voice (which was sublimely eloquent to me) seemed to shake the place on which we stood and penetrate the inmost soul of his hearers, and I am sure that then they would have laid down their lives to defend him. I always listened spell-bound to his every utterance—the chosen of God in this last dispensation.[14]

Wells was appointed by Brigham Young in 1876 to head a church-based grain-saving program, and managed the church-wide program until the beginning of World War I. In 1919, Wells received a personal visit in her Salt Lake City home from U.S. President Woodrow Wilson, who presented her with a commendation for selling the collected wheat to the government for the war effort.[2] Under her leadership, 200,000 bushels had been saved for this time of shortage.[10]

Wells' grave marker

Wells was called as the Relief Society's general president in 1910 at the age of 82.[4] She served for eleven years, administering service issues related to the world war and dealing with issues relating to growth and administrative expansion.[2] She sought to lead the organization as Joseph Smith had originally organized it.[10] To her sorrow, the Relief Society Board declined to continue their support of the Women's Exponent, and the publication closed in 1914.[2] Poor health led her to be released in 1921, at the age of 93.[4] Wells died three weeks later and was buried at the Salt Lake City Cemetery. Her first counselor Clarissa S. Williams succeeded her as Relief Society general president.[15] Her funeral was held in the Salt Lake Tabernacle, making her the second woman ever to receive that honor.[2]

Wells authored the text of the Latter-day Saint hymn "Our Mountain Home So Dear", which is hymn number 33 in the church's 1985 English-language hymnal.[16]

A bust of Wells, inscribed "A Fine Soul Who Served Us", is found in the rotunda of the Utah State Capitol. The bust was funded through the efforts of women's groups in Utah, including the feminist community, LDS women's groups, and women's groups from other church organizations and was made posthumously as a tribute to Wells.[10][11] She is the only woman to receive this honor.[13]

• "Charity and Faith". Relief Society Magazine. 1 (4): 1–3. April 1914.
• "Relief Society Memories". Relief Society Magazine. 1 (5): 1–4. May 1914.
• "Loyalty". Relief Society Magazine. 1 (7): 1–2. July 1914.
• "The Grain Question". Relief Society Magazine. 1 (9): 1–3. September 1914.
• "Relief Society Conference". Relief Society Magazine. 1 (11): 1–3. November 1914.
• "Relief Society Conference". Relief Society Magazine. 1 (12): 1–3. December 1914.
• "The Mission of Saving Grain". Relief Society Magazine. 2 (2): 46–49. February 1915.
• "Augusta Joyce Crocheron". Relief Society Magazine. 2 (7): 301–303. July 1915.
• "Relief Society Conference Address". Relief Society Magazine. 6 (8): 459–461. August 1919.
• "Testimony of President Emmeline B. Wells". Relief Society Magazine. 7 (10): 561–564. October 1920.

• "At Evening". Relief Society Magazine. 3 (9): 539. September 1916.
• "Our Lovely Human Heritage". Relief Society Magazine. 4 (2): 74–75. February 1917.
• "Spring Days". Relief Society Magazine. 14 (4): 161. April 1927.