Archives West Finding Aid

Edna Clark Ericksen was born in Auburn, Wyoming, on 19 November 1889 to Hyrum Don Carlos Clark and Ann Eliza Porter Clark. In 1905, at the age of sixteen, Edna left Star Valley and went to Paris, Idaho, in order to attend Fielding Academy, a LDS Church-sponsored combination elementary and high school. Although she did not complete her studies there, she enrolled at Brigham Young College in 1907. There she met her future husband, Ephraim E. Ericksen, who became the University of Utah's first Professor of Philosophy. They married on 8 June 1910. In 1920, Edna was called to the General Board of the LDS Primary organization, and was assigned the task of developing a program for boys between the ages of nine and eleven. Characteristically, Edna began by listening to the boys themselves, and then went on to develop what has been called the most successful program in the history of the Primary. It was at this time that Edna turned her imagination and flair for craftwork into a home industry that would contribute to the Ericksen family coffers for the next thirty years. She designed, made, and sold uniforms, badges, and insignias for the Primary and other local organizations. In 1932, Edna was elected to the Utah House of Representatives, where she served until 1935. Six years later, she was appointed to fill the State Senate seat vacated by Gordon Weggeland. She was elected in her own right the following year. After the death of E. E. Ericksen in 1967, Edna traveled to Europe, Mexico, and the Far East. In 1974, she was honored by the Utah Women's Political Caucus and the National Organization for Women for her contribution to women's causes.

Edna Clark Ericksen's family is committed to the preservation of her personal history. After a message was sent to the Clark Family Association by Clark S. Knowlton reminding the family that LDS Church authorities have instructed members to keep a record of their lives and the lives of their ancestors various family members taped interviews with Edna Clark Ericksen between 1972 and 1982. Edna Clark Ericksen died in Salt Lake City on 15 August 1983.