Martha Hughes Cannon
Encyclopedia
Martha Maria Hughes Cannon (July 1, 1857 – July 10, 1932) was a Welsh
-born immigrant to the United States, a physician, Utah women's rights advocate and suffragist, and Utah state senator. In 1896 Cannon became the first female state senator elected in the United States, defeating her own husband, who was also on the ballot.
, Clwyd
, Wales
on July 1, 1857, the daughter of Peter and Elizabeth Evans Hughes. She was known by the nickname, Mattie.
The Peter Hughes family were converts to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and emigrated to the United States. They embarked from Liverpool, England on March 30, 1860, on the ship Underwriter and arrived in New York City, New York on May 1, 1860. In 1861 with the assistance of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints the family was able to leave New York City in 1861 and travel to Utah. Shortly before the family's arrival in the Salt Lake Valley, on September 3, 1861, Martha's sister Annie Lloyd Hughes died and was buried in an unmarked grave. She was 21 months old. Three days after the remaining family had arrived in Salt Lake City, on September 17, 1861, Peter Hughes died. Elizabeth Hughes was left a widow with two young daughters at the age of 28.
Thirteen months later Elizabeth married James Patten Paul, a widower and had five additional children with him. After Elizabeth's marriage to Paul, Martha, at different times in her life, went by the surnames of both Paul and Hughes. Later in life, Paul encouraged Martha to follow her dream of becoming a medical doctor.
and affiliated with the LDS Relief Society
. Hughes chose to study medicine and, after receiving her chemistry
degree in 1875, attended the University of Michigan
medical school from 1878 to 1881. She briefly practiced medicine in Algonac
, Michigan
. In 1882, she earned a B.S. in Pharmacy
from the Auxiliary School of Medicine of the University of Pennsylvania
, and also received a diploma from the National School of Elocution and Oratory. Hughes returned to Salt Lake City
, Utah
and served as resident physician for the newly founded Deseret Hospital from 1882 to 1886.
, superintendent of the new hospital and a local official of the LDS Church, who was twenty-three years her senior. She became the fourth of his 86 plural wives, and bore him three children. In April 1886, under pressure from agents of the federal government, Martha Cannon left Utah with her infant daughter Elizabeth Rachel. Cannon sought to avoid providing federal marshals with proof of her plural marriage
to Angus. She also feared being forced to provide testimony against others, based on information gathered through her obstetrical practice. In 1885, Cannon wrote:
In exile for two years, the mother and child lived in England
, Switzerland
, and Michigan before returning to Salt Lake City in June 1888. Recently published correspondence between Cannon and her husband during this period provides a window into 19th century polygamous life
in Utah and also on "the underground" just prior to the practice's abolition. It was a time when many polygamous families went into hiding to avoid legal pressures which threatened to sever polygamous families. "I would rather be a stranger in a strange land and be able to hold my head up among my fellow beings," she reflected late in her exile, "than to be a sneaking captive at home" (Lieber, p. 269).
School of Medicine. She took an active interest in the work of the Utah Equal Suffrage Association, and became involved in the national women's suffrage
movement. Cannon was a featured speaker and served as a member of Utah’s delegation to the Columbian Exposition, 1893 Chicago World Fair. In 1898, she traveled to Washington, D.C.
to speak to a Congressional Committee in favor of granting women the right to vote in the United States. Cannon felt that education and public service were vitally important for women, stating:
By 1896, a suffrage clause in the new state constitution had restored the right to vote to Utah women. In a much publicized election, Cannon was one of five Democrats running as "at large" candidates for state senator from Salt Lake County. Suffrage activist Emmeline B. Wells
and Cannon's husband Angus were among the Republicans standing for the office.
On November 3, 1896, Martha Hughes Cannon became the first woman ever elected as a state senator in the United States. She served two terms in the legislature and was noted for her efforts on public health issues. She spearheaded funding for speech-and hearing-impaired students, establishment of a state board of health, and a law regulating working conditions for women and girls, "An Act to Protect the Health of Women and Girl Employees." Cannon's third child was born at the end of her second term in office.
After leaving the legislature, Cannon served as a member of the Utah Board of Health and as a member of the board of the Utah State School for the Deaf and Dumb. After her husband’s death in 1915, Cannon settled near her son in Los Angeles, California
where she worked for the Graves Clinic. She died in Los Angeles on July 10, 1932.
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
-born immigrant to the United States, a physician, Utah women's rights advocate and suffragist, and Utah state senator. In 1896 Cannon became the first female state senator elected in the United States, defeating her own husband, who was also on the ballot.
Early life
Martha Maria Hughes Cannon was born near LlandudnoLlandudno
Llandudno is a seaside resort and town in Conwy County Borough, Wales. In the 2001 UK census it had a population of 20,090 including that of Penrhyn Bay and Penrhynside, which are within the Llandudno Community...
, Clwyd
Clwyd
Clwyd is a preserved county of Wales, situated in the north-east, bordering England with Cheshire to its east, Shropshire to the south-east, and the Welsh counties of Gwynedd to its immediate west and Powys to the south. It additionally shares a maritime border with the metropolitan county of...
, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
on July 1, 1857, the daughter of Peter and Elizabeth Evans Hughes. She was known by the nickname, Mattie.
The Peter Hughes family were converts to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and emigrated to the United States. They embarked from Liverpool, England on March 30, 1860, on the ship Underwriter and arrived in New York City, New York on May 1, 1860. In 1861 with the assistance of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints the family was able to leave New York City in 1861 and travel to Utah. Shortly before the family's arrival in the Salt Lake Valley, on September 3, 1861, Martha's sister Annie Lloyd Hughes died and was buried in an unmarked grave. She was 21 months old. Three days after the remaining family had arrived in Salt Lake City, on September 17, 1861, Peter Hughes died. Elizabeth Hughes was left a widow with two young daughters at the age of 28.
Thirteen months later Elizabeth married James Patten Paul, a widower and had five additional children with him. After Elizabeth's marriage to Paul, Martha, at different times in her life, went by the surnames of both Paul and Hughes. Later in life, Paul encouraged Martha to follow her dream of becoming a medical doctor.
Education and career
By the age of 14 Hughes was working as a schoolteacher and, while attending the University of Deseret, became a typesetter at the Women's Exponent, a women's newspaper in Salt Lake City published by Emmeline B. WellsEmmeline B. Wells
Emmeline Blanche Woodward Harris Whitney Wells was an American journalist, editor, poet, women's rights advocate and diarist...
and affiliated with the LDS Relief Society
Relief Society
The Relief Society is a philanthropic and educational women's organization and an official auxiliary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . It was founded in 1842 in Nauvoo, Illinois, USA and has approximately 6 million members in over 170 countries and territories...
. Hughes chose to study medicine and, after receiving her chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
degree in 1875, attended the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
medical school from 1878 to 1881. She briefly practiced medicine in Algonac
Algonac, Michigan
Algonac is a city in St. Clair County of the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 4,613 at the 2000 census.Algonac is located at the southern end of the St. Clair River, just before it splits into a large delta region known as the St. Clair Flats. The St. Clair River drains Lake Huron into...
, Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
. In 1882, she earned a B.S. in Pharmacy
Pharmacy
Pharmacy is the health profession that links the health sciences with the chemical sciences and it is charged with ensuring the safe and effective use of pharmaceutical drugs...
from the Auxiliary School of Medicine of the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
, and also received a diploma from the National School of Elocution and Oratory. Hughes returned to Salt Lake City
Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. The name of the city is often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC. With a population of 186,440 as of the 2010 Census, the city lies in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, which has a total population of 1,124,197...
, 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...
and served as resident physician for the newly founded Deseret Hospital from 1882 to 1886.
Plural marriage and exile
On October 6, 1884, Hughes married Angus M. CannonAngus Munn Cannon
Angus Munn Cannon was an early Latter Day Saint leader and pioneer.-Early life:Cannon was born in Liverpool, Lancashire, England. His parents joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in 1840, being baptized by his uncle John Taylor.In 1842, the Cannon family went to Nauvoo,...
, superintendent of the new hospital and a local official of the LDS Church, who was twenty-three years her senior. She became the fourth of his 86 plural wives, and bore him three children. In April 1886, under pressure from agents of the federal government, Martha Cannon left Utah with her infant daughter Elizabeth Rachel. Cannon sought to avoid providing federal marshals with proof of her plural marriage
Plural marriage
Polygamy was taught by leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for more than half of the 19th century, and practiced publicly from 1852 to 1890.The Church's practice of polygamy has been highly controversial, both within...
to Angus. She also feared being forced to provide testimony against others, based on information gathered through her obstetrical practice. In 1885, Cannon wrote:
In exile for two years, the mother and child lived in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, and Michigan before returning to Salt Lake City in June 1888. Recently published correspondence between Cannon and her husband during this period provides a window into 19th century polygamous life
Plural marriage
Polygamy was taught by leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for more than half of the 19th century, and practiced publicly from 1852 to 1890.The Church's practice of polygamy has been highly controversial, both within...
in Utah and also on "the underground" just prior to the practice's abolition. It was a time when many polygamous families went into hiding to avoid legal pressures which threatened to sever polygamous families. "I would rather be a stranger in a strange land and be able to hold my head up among my fellow beings," she reflected late in her exile, "than to be a sneaking captive at home" (Lieber, p. 269).
Political career
After 1888, Cannon resumed her Salt Lake medical practice and taught nursing courses through a school established at Deseret Hospital. This school was later absorbed into the University of UtahUniversity of Utah
The University of Utah, also known as the U or the U of U, is a public, coeducational research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The university was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret by the General Assembly of the provisional State of Deseret, making it Utah's oldest...
School of Medicine. She took an active interest in the work of the Utah Equal Suffrage Association, and became involved in the national women's suffrage
Women's suffrage
Women's suffrage or woman suffrage is the right of women to vote and to run for office. The expression is also used for the economic and political reform movement aimed at extending these rights to women and without any restrictions or qualifications such as property ownership, payment of tax, or...
movement. Cannon was a featured speaker and served as a member of Utah’s delegation to the Columbian Exposition, 1893 Chicago World Fair. In 1898, she traveled to Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
to speak to a Congressional Committee in favor of granting women the right to vote in the United States. Cannon felt that education and public service were vitally important for women, stating:
By 1896, a suffrage clause in the new state constitution had restored the right to vote to Utah women. In a much publicized election, Cannon was one of five Democrats running as "at large" candidates for state senator from Salt Lake County. Suffrage activist Emmeline B. Wells
Emmeline B. Wells
Emmeline Blanche Woodward Harris Whitney Wells was an American journalist, editor, poet, women's rights advocate and diarist...
and Cannon's husband Angus were among the Republicans standing for the office.
On November 3, 1896, Martha Hughes Cannon became the first woman ever elected as a state senator in the United States. She served two terms in the legislature and was noted for her efforts on public health issues. She spearheaded funding for speech-and hearing-impaired students, establishment of a state board of health, and a law regulating working conditions for women and girls, "An Act to Protect the Health of Women and Girl Employees." Cannon's third child was born at the end of her second term in office.
After leaving the legislature, Cannon served as a member of the Utah Board of Health and as a member of the board of the Utah State School for the Deaf and Dumb. After her husband’s death in 1915, Cannon settled near her son in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
where she worked for the Graves Clinic. She died in Los Angeles on July 10, 1932.