John William Woolf
Encyclopedia
John William Woolf was an American-born Canadian politician who served in the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories and the Legislative Assembly of Alberta
. Born in Utah
to polygamous parents, he moved with them to Cardston
, Alberta
as a young man. There he became a prominent rancher, and was elected in the 1902 Northwest Territories election
. When Alberta was created in 1905, he became a member of its first legislative assembly. He resigned that office in 1912 to return to the United States; his son believed that this was because he had taken a second wife and feared prosecution under Canadian polygamy laws. Back in Utah, he pursued a number of business ventures with his son. He died in 1950.
, Utah
, the son of John Anthony Woolf II, a polygamous
Mormon
. While he was a young man, his family fled to Canada to avoid anti-polygamy laws and settled near Cardston
, Alberta
. In June 1888, he married Lucinda Marie Layne, with whom he had one child, William Layne Woolf, in 1890. Lucinda died in 1913. In Canada, Woolf established a 900 acres (364.2 ha) ranch, where he remained until he left the country. From this ranch, he supplied the British with horses during the Second Boer War
.
Woolf's home, a rock house rated by his son as one of the two finest in Cardston that replaced a one room log cabin in 1902, was an active social centre. Among those who spent time there was Quina Austin. Woolf's son believed that his father and Austin were polygamously married around 1902 by John W. Taylor.
, defeating Heber Simeon Allen in the district of Cardston. He served in this capacity until 1905, when the new province of Alberta was created out of part of the Northwest Territories. Though in keeping with territorial custom Woolf had served as an independent
in the territorial legislature, federally he was a Liberal
, and in the debate over whether Alberta's politics should be conducted on an independent basis or along party lines, he was a strong advocate of the latter option.
His side prevailed, and when he ran for the Legislative Assembly of Alberta
in the province's inaugural provincial election
, it was as a provincial Liberal
. He defeated Conservative
John F. Parish with the largest majority of any candidate in southern Alberta to win the new provincial district of Cardston
. Historian L. G. Thomas attributes this margin to Woolf's having "the Mormon vote in [his] pocket". In the 1909 election
, he was re-elected by a reduced margin over Conservative Levi Harker.
During 1910's Alberta and Great Waterways Railway scandal
, Woolf remained loyal to Liberal Premier Alexander Cameron Rutherford
. He was rumoured to be Rutherford's choice to succeed Public Works Minister William Henry Cushing
, whose resignation had precipitated the scandal, but Rutherford's government collapsed before he appointed any successor. When Rutherford was replaced by Arthur Sifton, Woolf supported the new government, even though its approach to the Alberta and Great Waterways question was opposed to Rutherford's, which Woolf had also supported.
In 1910, Woolf bought a house in Salt Lake City in preparation for a return to Utah. His son believed that this was due to the activities of a Protestant minister in Cardston who was investigating and bringing to the attention of the authorities violations of Canada's anti-polygamy laws. Beginning in late 1911, he was absent from the legislature, and in 1912 he resigned and returned permanently to the United States. The ensuing by-election returned his brother, Martin Woolf
, as his replacement.
trading. In 1922, he became, in partnership with his son, the worldwide sales agent for Baldwin Headphones, which had recently gone into receivership
. When the company was returned to its original owners following the settlement of its debts, the Woolfs began to sell the radio products of the British Amplion Corporation. They were sued by the Bell Telephone Company for patent infringement
; William Layne Woolf recalls that he and his father were surprised to discover that Amplion had stolen Bell's designs. They subsequently founded Recordgraph Recording Corp.
Woolfe divorced Quina and married for a third time, to Faith Young, with whom he retired to Los Angeles
after selling his share of Recordgraph to his son. Several years, later, they moved to Spokane
, where Faith's daughters were, before returning to Salt Lake City in 1948 where they lived in an apartment in William's house. Woolf died February 22, 1950, of a heart attack.
Legislative Assembly of Alberta
The Legislative Assembly of Alberta is one of two components of the Legislature of Alberta, the other being the Queen, represented by the Lieutenant-Governor of Alberta. The Alberta legislature meets in the Alberta Legislature Building in the provincial capital, Edmonton...
. Born in Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
to polygamous parents, he moved with them to Cardston
Cardston, Alberta
-Demographics:The population of the Town of Cardston according to its 2007 municipal census is 3,578.In 2006, it had a population of 3,452 living in 1,234 dwellings, a 0.7% decrease from 2001...
, Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
as a young man. There he became a prominent rancher, and was elected in the 1902 Northwest Territories election
Northwest Territories general election, 1902
The Northwest Territories general election of 1902, occurred on 21 May 1902 and was the fifth general election in the history of the Northwest Territories, Canada. It was held to elect Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories. This was the last election held until 1951,...
. When Alberta was created in 1905, he became a member of its first legislative assembly. He resigned that office in 1912 to return to the United States; his son believed that this was because he had taken a second wife and feared prosecution under Canadian polygamy laws. Back in Utah, he pursued a number of business ventures with his son. He died in 1950.
Early life
Woolf was born November 27, 1869 in Hyde ParkHyde Park, Utah
Hyde Park is a city in Cache County, Utah, United States. The population was 3,833 at the 2010 census. It is included in the Logan, Utah-Idaho Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
, Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
, the son of John Anthony Woolf II, a polygamous
Polygamy
Polygamy is a marriage which includes more than two partners...
Mormon
Mormon
The term Mormon most commonly denotes an adherent, practitioner, follower, or constituent of Mormonism, which is the largest branch of the Latter Day Saint movement in restorationist Christianity...
. While he was a young man, his family fled to Canada to avoid anti-polygamy laws and settled near Cardston
Cardston, Alberta
-Demographics:The population of the Town of Cardston according to its 2007 municipal census is 3,578.In 2006, it had a population of 3,452 living in 1,234 dwellings, a 0.7% decrease from 2001...
, Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
. In June 1888, he married Lucinda Marie Layne, with whom he had one child, William Layne Woolf, in 1890. Lucinda died in 1913. In Canada, Woolf established a 900 acres (364.2 ha) ranch, where he remained until he left the country. From this ranch, he supplied the British with horses during the Second Boer War
Second Boer War
The Second Boer War was fought from 11 October 1899 until 31 May 1902 between the British Empire and the Afrikaans-speaking Dutch settlers of two independent Boer republics, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State...
.
Woolf's home, a rock house rated by his son as one of the two finest in Cardston that replaced a one room log cabin in 1902, was an active social centre. Among those who spent time there was Quina Austin. Woolf's son believed that his father and Austin were polygamously married around 1902 by John W. Taylor.
Political career
Woolf was elected to the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories in the 1902 electionNorthwest Territories general election, 1902
The Northwest Territories general election of 1902, occurred on 21 May 1902 and was the fifth general election in the history of the Northwest Territories, Canada. It was held to elect Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories. This was the last election held until 1951,...
, defeating Heber Simeon Allen in the district of Cardston. He served in this capacity until 1905, when the new province of Alberta was created out of part of the Northwest Territories. Though in keeping with territorial custom Woolf had served as an independent
Independent (politician)
In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...
in the territorial legislature, federally he was a Liberal
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
, and in the debate over whether Alberta's politics should be conducted on an independent basis or along party lines, he was a strong advocate of the latter option.
His side prevailed, and when he ran for the Legislative Assembly of Alberta
Legislative Assembly of Alberta
The Legislative Assembly of Alberta is one of two components of the Legislature of Alberta, the other being the Queen, represented by the Lieutenant-Governor of Alberta. The Alberta legislature meets in the Alberta Legislature Building in the provincial capital, Edmonton...
in the province's inaugural provincial election
Alberta general election, 1905
The Alberta general election of 1905 was the first general election held in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It was held on 9 November 1905, to elect members of the Alberta legislature to the 1st Alberta Legislative Assembly, shortly after the province was created out of the Northwest Territories...
, it was as a provincial Liberal
Alberta Liberal Party
The Alberta Liberal Party is a provincial political party in Alberta, Canada. Originally founded in 1905, when the province was created, it was the dominant political party until 1921 when it was defeated. It has never been in government since that time...
. He defeated Conservative
Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta
The Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta is a provincial centre-right party in the Canadian province of Alberta...
John F. Parish with the largest majority of any candidate in southern Alberta to win the new provincial district of Cardston
Cardston (provincial electoral district)
Cardston was a provincial electoral district in southern Alberta, Canada.The riding was created in when Alberta first became a province in 1905.The riding has always occupied the most southern portion of the province along the Canada / United States border...
. Historian L. G. Thomas attributes this margin to Woolf's having "the Mormon vote in [his] pocket". In the 1909 election
Alberta general election, 1909
The Alberta general election was 1909 was the second general election for the Province of Alberta, Canada. It was held on 22 March 1909 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta....
, he was re-elected by a reduced margin over Conservative Levi Harker.
During 1910's Alberta and Great Waterways Railway scandal
Alberta and Great Waterways Railway scandal
The Alberta and Great Waterways Railway Scandal was a political scandal in Alberta, Canada in 1910. It resulted in the resignation of the provincial government of Alexander Cameron Rutherford over allegations of conflict of interest in the government's involvement in the financing of the Alberta...
, Woolf remained loyal to Liberal Premier Alexander Cameron Rutherford
Alexander Cameron Rutherford
Alexander Cameron Rutherford was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the first Premier of Alberta from 1905 to 1910. Born in Ormond, Ontario, he studied and practised law in Ottawa before moving with his family to the Northwest Territories in 1895...
. He was rumoured to be Rutherford's choice to succeed Public Works Minister William Henry Cushing
William Henry Cushing
William Henry Cushing was a Canadian politician. Born in Ontario, he migrated west as a young adult where he started a successful lumber company and later became Alberta's first Minister of Public Works and the 11th mayor of Calgary...
, whose resignation had precipitated the scandal, but Rutherford's government collapsed before he appointed any successor. When Rutherford was replaced by Arthur Sifton, Woolf supported the new government, even though its approach to the Alberta and Great Waterways question was opposed to Rutherford's, which Woolf had also supported.
In 1910, Woolf bought a house in Salt Lake City in preparation for a return to Utah. His son believed that this was due to the activities of a Protestant minister in Cardston who was investigating and bringing to the attention of the authorities violations of Canada's anti-polygamy laws. Beginning in late 1911, he was absent from the legislature, and in 1912 he resigned and returned permanently to the United States. The ensuing by-election returned his brother, Martin Woolf
Martin Woolf
Martin Woolf Sr. was a politician, civil servant and police magistrate from Alberta, Canada. He served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1912 to 1921 sitting with the Liberal caucus in government....
, as his replacement.
Later life
On his return to Utah, Woolf engaged in real estateReal estate
In general use, esp. North American, 'real estate' is taken to mean "Property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals, or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this; an item of real property; buildings or...
trading. In 1922, he became, in partnership with his son, the worldwide sales agent for Baldwin Headphones, which had recently gone into receivership
Receivership
In law, receivership is the situation in which an institution or enterprise is being held by a receiver, a person "placed in the custodial responsibility for the property of others, including tangible and intangible assets and rights." The receivership remedy is an equitable remedy that emerged in...
. When the company was returned to its original owners following the settlement of its debts, the Woolfs began to sell the radio products of the British Amplion Corporation. They were sued by the Bell Telephone Company for patent infringement
Patent infringement
Patent infringement is the commission of a prohibited act with respect to a patented invention without permission from the patent holder. Permission may typically be granted in the form of a license. The definition of patent infringement may vary by jurisdiction, but it typically includes using or...
; William Layne Woolf recalls that he and his father were surprised to discover that Amplion had stolen Bell's designs. They subsequently founded Recordgraph Recording Corp.
Woolfe divorced Quina and married for a third time, to Faith Young, with whom he retired to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
after selling his share of Recordgraph to his son. Several years, later, they moved to Spokane
Spokane
Spokane is a city in the U.S. state of Washington.Spokane may also refer to:*Spokane *Spokane River*Spokane, Missouri*Spokane Valley, Washington*Spokane County, Washington*Spokane-Coeur d'Alene-Paloos War*Spokane * USS Spokane...
, where Faith's daughters were, before returning to Salt Lake City in 1948 where they lived in an apartment in William's house. Woolf died February 22, 1950, of a heart attack.
Electoral record
| 1909 Alberta general election Alberta general election, 1909 The Alberta general election was 1909 was the second general election for the Province of Alberta, Canada. It was held on 22 March 1909 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta.... results (Cardston Cardston (provincial electoral district) Cardston was a provincial electoral district in southern Alberta, Canada.The riding was created in when Alberta first became a province in 1905.The riding has always occupied the most southern portion of the province along the Canada / United States border... ) |
Turnout 89.1% | |||
| Liberal Alberta Liberal Party The Alberta Liberal Party is a provincial political party in Alberta, Canada. Originally founded in 1905, when the province was created, it was the dominant political party until 1921 when it was defeated. It has never been in government since that time... |
John William Woolf | 521 | 57.44% |
Conservative | Levi Harker | 386 | 42.56% |
| 1905 Alberta general election Alberta general election, 1905 The Alberta general election of 1905 was the first general election held in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It was held on 9 November 1905, to elect members of the Alberta legislature to the 1st Alberta Legislative Assembly, shortly after the province was created out of the Northwest Territories... results (Cardston Cardston (provincial electoral district) Cardston was a provincial electoral district in southern Alberta, Canada.The riding was created in when Alberta first became a province in 1905.The riding has always occupied the most southern portion of the province along the Canada / United States border... ) |
Turnout N.A.% | |||
| Liberal Alberta Liberal Party The Alberta Liberal Party is a provincial political party in Alberta, Canada. Originally founded in 1905, when the province was created, it was the dominant political party until 1921 when it was defeated. It has never been in government since that time... |
John William Woolf | 480 | 69.57% |
Conservative | John F. Parish | 210 | 30.43% |
| 1902 Northwest Territories general election Northwest Territories general election, 1902 The Northwest Territories general election of 1902, occurred on 21 May 1902 and was the fifth general election in the history of the Northwest Territories, Canada. It was held to elect Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories. This was the last election held until 1951,... results (Cardston) |
Turnout N.A. | |||
| John William Woolf | 176 | 61.75% | ||
| Heber Simeon Allen | 109 | 38.25% | ||