William Whitaker Taylor
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| William Whitaker Taylor | |
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Utah Territorial Legislature
1883-1884 Assessor and Collector of Taxes for Salt Lake City, Utah 1884 |
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| Born | September 11, 1853 Salt Lake City, Utah |
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| Died | August 1, 1884 Salt Lake City, Utah |
| Political party | unknown |
| Spouse | Sarah Taylor Hoagland Selma van Cott |
William Whitaker Taylor (September 11, 1853 – August 1, 1884) was a member of the Utah Territorial Legislature, member of the Presidency of the Seventy in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and a son of LDS church president John Taylor. He was a half brother to John Whittaker Taylor, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve who was dropped from the body and excommunicated for refusing to give up plural marriage.
While crossing the ocean with his half brother on the Steamship Dakota[1] on the way to a mission in England, William reported having a remarkable dream in which Jesus Christ appeared to him, took him by the hand, looked in his face, and asked "Will you ever doubt again?"[2]
Two years after returning from his mission, William was named one of the First Seven Presidents of the Seventy at the age of 26.[3] Soon thereafter he was also appointed to the Council of Fifty, a group considered mysterious by some and whose members moved among the highest church circles.[2]
Some historians consider it significant that, despite the near-universal view that John Taylor refused compromise on plural marriage, over a third of general authorities appointed under President Taylor were monogamists, including William and his half brother.[4] It wasn't until just before his death that William finally took on a plural wife, Selma van Cott.
In addition to his rise within the church, William was elected to the Utah state legislature in the 1883 general election. Within months, he was also elected assessor and collector of taxes for Salt Lake City in February 1884. However, on a Saturday evening that summer, he was attacked with "bilious colic" and died from the effects within a week.[5][6]
Given his meteoric rise in church and public office, one historian commented that William would be much better known if his life hadn't ended at such an early age.[2]
[edit] See also
- Cannon Family (political family)
[edit] References
- ^ "Steamship Dakota at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard dry dock." University of Washington Libraries. Special Collections Division. UW 4078. See [1].
- ^ a b c Lewis, William O. III. "William W. Taylor, General Authority." GA Pages. Accessed 25 February 2007. See [2].
- ^ See Quinn, D. Michael. "The Council of Fifty and its members, 1844-1945." 1980. Brigham Young University Studies 20 (winter): 163-97.
- ^ Quinn, D. Michael. "LDS Church Authority and New Plural Marriages, 1890 - 1904." Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, Spring 1985.
- ^ Deseret News, Vol. 33 (weekly), p. 470.
- ^ Wells, Junius F. "Biography and Death Note of William W. Taylor." Contributor 5 (1884): 434.
[edit] External links
| Members of the Cannon Political Family |  |
|---|---|
| George Q. Cannon • John Taylor • Angus Cannon • Martha Hughes Cannon
John Q. Cannon • William Whitaker Taylor • Frank Cannon • Annie Wells Cannon • George M. Cannon • Joseph J. Cannon • Edwin Q. Cannon • Cavendish Cannon Edwin B. Cannon • Howard Cannon • Donald Cannon • Joe Cannon • Chris Cannon |
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