Ruth May Fox
| Ruth May Fox | ||
|---|---|---|
 | ||
| 3rd general president of the Young Women | ||
| 1929 – 1937 | ||
| Called by | Heber J. Grant | |
| Predecessor | Martha H. Tingey | |
| Successor | Lucy Grant Cannon | |
| First Counselor in the general presidency of the Young Women | ||
| 1905 – 1929 | ||
| Called by | Martha H. Tingey | |
| Predecessor | Maria Young Dougall | |
| Successor | Lucy Grant Cannon | |
| Personal details | ||
| Born |
Ruth May November 16, 1853 Westbury, England | |
| Died |
April 12, 1958 (aged 104) Salt Lake City, Utah | |
| Resting place |
Salt Lake City Cemetery 40°46′37″N 111°51′29″W / 40.777°N 111.858°W | |
| Spouse(s) | Jesse William Fox | |
| Children | 12 | |
| Parents |
James May Mary A. Harding | |
| Website | Ruth May Fox | |
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Ruth May Fox (November 16, 1853 – April 12, 1958) was a nineteenth-century English-born women's rights activist in the Territory of Utah. Fox was a poet, hymn writer, and a leader of youth in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church).
Early life
Ruth May was born in Westbury, Wiltshire, England to James May and Mary Ann Harding. When Ruth was five months old, her parents converted to Mormonism. Her mother died in childbirth when Ruth was 18 months old. Ruth was sent to live with various relatives and Mormon families while her father was a traveling missionary, and her final stay was with a Mrs. Saxton and her daughter Clara. In 1865 James May emigrated to the United States and shortly thereafter sent for Ruth, Mrs. Saxton, and Clara. On their arrival in Philadelphia, James May married Mrs. Saxton and he and the two girls found work in a textile mill to save money to go to Utah Territory. In 1867 the family traveled by covered wagon and on foot to Salt Lake City.
Family
On May 8, 1873, Ruth married Jesse W. Fox, Jr. In 1888, Jesse Fox married Rosemary Johnson as a plural wife. Around the same time, a nationwide economic depression wiped out the family's wealth and Jesse fell into debt. The Foxes ultimately lost their home. Ruth had to find paid work in order to support her children.
Ruth eventually became the mother of twelve children, of whom ten lived to adulthood. At the time of her 100th birthday in 1953, she had 256 living direct descendants.
Women's suffrage movement
Fox was active in promoting the women's suffrage movement in Utah and did so largely through her involvement in the Republican Party. She was president of the Utah Woman's Press Club, chair of the Second Precinct Ladies' Republican Club, treasurer of the Utah Woman Suffrage Association, and was a member of the Reaper's Club, the Salt Lake County Republican Committee, the Deseret Agricultural and Manufacturing Society, and the Traveler's Aid Society. In the late 19th-century she worked for the inclusion of woman suffrage in the Utah state constitution and helped draft the suffrage memorial presented and accepted by the 1895 Utah constitutional convention. Fox and Emmeline B. Wells met with Susan B. Anthony and Anna Howard Shaw when they visited Salt Lake City on May 12, 1895.
Church leadership
In 1905, Fox was asked to be the first counselor to Martha Horne Tingey in the general presidency of the LDS Church's Young Ladies' Mutual Improvement Association. Fox served in this capacity until 1929, when church president Heber J. Grant asked Fox to become the third general president of the YLMIA.
During her tenure as president, Fox changed the name of the organization to the Young Women's Mutual Improvement Association and replaced the organization's slogans with scriptural themes. In 1930, Fox wrote the hymn "Carry On", a song that is now associated with the Young Women and Young Men Organizations of the LDS Church;[1] in 1995, "Carry On" was adopted by Gordon B. Hinckley as the theme of his tenure as President of the Church.[2]
Fox served until 1937, when she was succeeded by her own first counselor, Lucy Grant Cannon.
Later life and death
Fox's 85th, 90th, 95th, and 100th birthday parties were held in the Beehive House and were attended by members of the First Presidency, the Council of the Twelve Apostles, other Church leaders, and city and state officials. She was 103 when she flew on an airplane to celebrate the golden wedding anniversary of one her sons. Fox died at Salt Lake City at the age of 104.
Notes
- ↑ "Carry On" is hymn number 255 in the LDS Church hymnal.
- ↑ Jeffrey R. Holland, “President Gordon B. Hinckley: Stalwart and Brave He Stands,” Ensign, June 1995, pp. 2–3.
References
- Linda Thatcher, "Fox, Ruth May", in Encyclopedia of Mormonism pp. 524–525
- ——, "'I Care Nothing for Politics': Ruth May Fox, Forgotten Suffragist," Utah Historical Quarterly 49:239–253 (1981)
- ——, "Ruth May Fox, Forgotten Suffragist", History Blazer, Oct. 1995.
- Jenson, Andrew (1936). Latter-day Saint biographical encyclopedia: A compilation of biographical sketches of prominent men and women in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints 4. Salt Lake City, Utah: The Andrew Jenson Memorial Association (Printed by The Deseret News Press). pp. 259.
External links
- Ruth May Fox at the MLCA Database
- Ruth May Fox (1929–1937) : summary of Fox's tenure as president of the Young Women Organization
- My Story by Ruth May Fox : biography written by Fox's son and approved by Fox
- Ruth May Fox at Find a Grave
| The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Martha H. Tingey |
General President of the Young Women December 6, 1904 – 1929 |
Succeeded by Lucy Grant Cannon |
| Preceded by Maria Young Dougall |
First Counselor in the general presidency of the Young Women 1905 - 1929 | |
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