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William S. Godbe statement [photocopy], 1884
Overview of the Collection
- Creator
- Godbe, William S. (William Samuel), 1833-1902
- Title
- William S. Godbe statement [photocopy]
- Dates
- 188418841884
- Quantity
- 0.25 linear feet, (1 folder)
- Collection Number
- ACCN 1507
- Summary
- The William S. Godbe statement (1984) is a photocopy of the handwritten version in which Godbe describes his excommunication by the LDS Church, subsequent mining and smelting ventures in Utah Territory, his disagreements with Brigham Young, and his abandonment of polygamy. Godbe was a prominent Utah businessman. He was a member of a group of intellectual LDS dissenters that became known as the Godbeites and was excommunicated by the LDS Church in 1869.
- Repository
-
University of Utah Libraries, Special Collections
Special Collections, J. Willard Marriott Library
University of Utah
295 South 1500 East
Salt Lake City, UT
84112-0860
Telephone: 8015818863
special@library.utah.edu - Access Restrictions
-
Twenty-four hour advanced notice encouraged. Materials must be used on-site. Access to parts of this collection may be restricted under provisions of state or federal law.
- Languages
- English
Biographical NoteReturn to Top
William Samuel Godbe (1833-1902) was born in Middlesex, England. He converted to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1849. In 1851 he was settled in Great Salt Lake City, UT. By the 1860s he had become one of the Utah Territory's wealthiest businessmen. He was prominent in church and community affairs, married four women in polygamy, and fathered twenty children. In 1870, when Congress passed the Cullom Bill that subjected the territory to federal control, he went to Washington, D.C., to plead the LDS cause. In 1873, by mutual consent, he and his wives gave up polygamy and he then lived monogamously with his first wife, Annie Thompson. He was a member of a group of prominent intellectual LDS dissenters that became known as the Godbeites. Other members included businessman, Henry Lawrence; journalists, Edward W. Tullidge and T.B.H. Stenhouse; architect, E.L.T. Harrison; and Eli B. Kelsey.
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
The William S. Godbe statement (1984) is a photocopy of the handwritten document, probably prepared at the request of Hubert Howe Bancroft when he was collecting material for his History of Utah (1889). The original statement is in the Bancroft Library. In the statement, Godbe describes his 1869 excommunication from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that occurred after he advocated developing mining and economic resources in his editorial, "The True Development of the Territory," published in Utah Magazine. After discussing his excommunication and his consequent inability to collect debts owed him, Godbe's statement describes his many profitable ventures into mining and smelting throughout the territory. He explains his disagreement with Brigham Young's religious and economic authoritarianism. He also refers to his years in polygamy, his eventual disengagement with the practice, and his ultimate success and contentment with his life in Salt Lake City, UT.
Use of the CollectionReturn to Top
Restrictions on Use
The library does not claim to control copyright for all materials in the collection. An individual depicted in a reproduction has privacy rights as outlined in Title 45 CFR, part 46 (Protection of Human Subjects). For further information, please review the J. Willard Marriott Library's Use Agreement and Reproduction Request forms.
Preferred Citation
Collection Name, Collection Number, Box Number, Folder Number. Special Collections, J. Willard Marriott Library, The University of Utah.
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Latter Day Saints--Utah--Biography
- Mines and Mineral Resources
- Mines and Mineral Resources--Utah
- Polygamy--Utah
Personal Names
- Godbe, William S. (William Samuel), 1833-1902
Geographical Names
- Utah--Biography
Form or Genre Terms
- Autobiographies
Finding aid created by Dorothy Mortensen.
2006 (last modified: 2019)
