John M. Cannon papers
Scope and Contents
John Mousley Cannon was a successful lawyer in Salt Lake City from the late 1800's until his death in 1917. He had several financial ventures in mining, real estate, and livestock, and many of the papers in the collection describe these investments. The John M. Cannon papers also contain personal correspondence between Cannon and one of his father's six wives, Johanna C. Danielson Cannon, whom John calls "Aunt Johanna." John Cannon himself had two wives, and possibly a third, although they are not mentioned in the papers.
Legal documents in the collection describe Cannon's law practice in Salt Lake City and contain information about politics, leases, and monetary disputes between Utahns in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Two letters from LDS missionaries are included, one being his nephew, Vaughn, who served in Germany in 1914, and the other a friend, Alfred Jensen, who served in Missouri in 1901.
Dates
- Creation: 1883-1915
Language of Materials
Collection materials are in English.
Restrictions
Open to public research.
Copyright
It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain any necessary copyright clearances.
Permission to publish material from the John M. Cannon papers must be obtained from the Special Collections and Archives manuscript curator and/or the Special Collections and Archives department head.
Biographical Note
John Mousley Cannon was born in St. George, Utah in 1865. He married Zina Bennion in 1893, and in 1900 he took a second wife, Margaret Peart. He may have married a third wife, Harriet Seymore Neff, but information on the marriage is limited. Cannon practiced law with his partner, J. Stokes, Jr., from the Hotel Utah Building in Salt Lake City at the time when Utah attained its statehood. He received many petitions for legal advice from family members, whom he lent his services to a number of times. Correspondence between John M. Cannon and his "Aunt Johanna," who was one of his father's plural wives, demonstrates Cannon's strong connection to his family. Cannon's uncle on his father's side was George Quayle Cannon, an apostle of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1873-1901.
Cannon had eleven children with his first wife, Zina Bennion, and three with Margaret Peart, who appears to have had three children from a former marriage who were adopted by John M. Cannon.
Extent
1 box (.25 linear feet)
Abstract
This collection contains 137 letters of correspondence, various legal papers, financial papers, and other documents. It also contains personal correspondence between Cannon and one of his father's plural wives, Johanna C. D. Cannon.
Arrangement
Arranged in numeric sequence according to box and folder.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The John M. Cannon papers were purchased in April 2002 through Charles Apfelbaum of Watchung, New Jersey. The collection included 137 letters and documents.
Geographic
Topical
- Title
- Guide to the John M. Cannon papers 1883-1915
- Author
- Finding aid created by Special Collections and Archives.
- Date
- ©2008
- Description rules
- Finding Aid Based On Dacs (Describing Archives: A Content Standard)
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Finding guide is in English in Latin script.
- Sponsor
- Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) grant, 2007-2008
Revision Statements
- 2009: Template information was updated to reflect Archives West best practice guidelines.
Repository Details
Part of the Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library, Special Collections & Archives Repository
Merrill-Cazier Library
Utah State University
3000 Old Main Hill
Logan Utah 84322-3000 United States
435 797-8248
435 797-2880 (Fax)
scweb@usu.edu