Inez Knight Allen
Amanda Inez Knight Allen (September 8, 1876 – June 5, 1937) was a Mormon missionary and a Utah politician. In 1898, she became one of the first two single women to be missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church).[1]
Amanda Inez Knight was born near Payson, Utah Territory, to Jesse Knight and his wife Amanda McEwan. The family moved to Provo and Inez Knight enrolled in Brigham Young Academy.
On April 1, 1898, Knight was set apart as one of the first two single women in the LDS Church to be formally selected as full-time church missionaries.[1] The other was her childhood friend Jennie Brimhall.[1] Jennie Brimhall and Inez Knight were missionary companions in England in 1898; Jennie returned to Utah in November 1898 due to poor health, and Knight continued her service until June 1900.[1]
In 1902, Knight married Robert Eugene Allen; they had five sons.
After her marriage, Inez Allen was active in the leadership of the Relief Society. From 1927 until her death she was a member of the Relief Society's general board.
Allen was also active in the Democratic Party in Utah. She once ran as a Democratic candidate for State Senate, and in 1924, Allen was a Utah delegate to the Democratic National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio.
Allen died in Provo, Utah, and is buried at the Provo City Cemetery. Allen Hall, a building on the campus of Brigham Young University, is named in honor of Inez Knight Allen and her husband.
Notes
References
- Andrew Jenson. Latter-day Saints Biographical Encyclopedia 4:177, 179.
External links
- Inez Knight Allen diary (finding aid), Brigham Young University, Harold B. Lee Library, L. Tom Perry Special Collections
- Inez Knight Allen diary (digitized journal), Brigham Young University, Harold B. Lee Library, L. Tom Perry Special Collections
- Jeffrey S. Hardy, "Amanda Inez Knight", Mormon Missionary Diaries, byu.edu
- Inez Knight Allen at Find a Grave
- State of Utah Death Certificate: Amanda Inez Knight Allen, utah.gov