Joseph Don Carlos Young family papers, 1873-1978

Joseph Don Carlos Young (1855-1938) was the last surviving son of Brigham Young and wife Emily Dow Partridge Young. Joseph Don Carlos Young was one of the first of Utah's native sons to receive a formal education in architecture. Born in Brigham Young's White House, 6 May 1855, he began his education in his father's private school but did not finish. When he returned to school, he enrolled in Fensselear Polytechnic Institute in New York. There he received architectural training and was placed on the school's honor toll, after which he taught briefly at the University of Utah. In the 1880s he engaged in railroading and engineering and served two terms in the Utah Territorial Legislature. He succeeded Truman O. Angell as L.D.S. Church Architect in 1887 and remained in that position for fifty years. In 1881 he married Alice Naomi Downden and from 1895 to 1897 served as a missionary in the Southern states for the L.D.S. Church. In addition to his service as church architect, he also taught mathematics at Brigham Young University from 1897 to 1900. In 1906 he created an architectural partnership with his son, Don Carlos Young, Jr., which lasted u ntil 1915. During this practice, the firm was an official entrant to the 1911 Utah State Capital Competition. Their entry earned second place, and received a cash award of $750. In addition to designing a number of residences and commercial projects, the firm also designed the L.D.S. Church Orrice building at 47 E. South Temple in Salt Lake City. As the church architect, he redesigned the interior of the Salt Lake L.D.S. Temple. Joseph Don Carlos Young continued in the service of his church until three years before his death on 19 October 1938.

Don Carlos Young, Jr. (1882-1960) was the son of L.D.S. Church Architect Joseph Don Carlos Young, and grandson of Brigham Young. Don Carlos Young, Jr. was born in Salt Lake City on 5 August 1882, and attended Brigham Young University and the L.D.S. Business College. Prior to 1905 he worked as a draftsman for the Oregon Short Line Railroad, and apprenticed in his father's architectural office. In 1906 he entered into an architectural partnership with his father which lasted nine years. The firm's work consisted of a large number of residences, mostly in Utah, as well as commercial designs for businesses such as the Z.C.M.I. Department Store. He served a mission in Germany for the L.D.S. Church from 1909-1911, and mattied Louise T. Hagman in June 1912. His second architectural partnership, with Ramm Hansen, commenced in 1916 and lasted nearly forty-five years, until Young's death on 6 December 1960. The firm of Young & Hansen designed for numerous commercial, industrial, and residential clients. Their Savings and Loan Building, the Z.C.M.I Department Store, many buildings for Bennett Oil, and the Federal Reserve Bank of Salt Lake City. Young & Hansen also designed many building on the University of Utah campus. A Major portion of their practice involved designs for the L.D.S. Church. Among their most noted projects were the Mesa Temple in Arizona, the Washington, D.C. Chapel, and a remodeling campaign for all L.D.S. temples in Utah undertaken by the firm between 1935 and 1953. From 1916 to 1934 architect Harry P. Poll (1880-1964) was associated with Young & Hansen. His name was incorporated into the title block of many of the drawings during his eighteen years. Young was a life-long honorary member of the American Institute of Architects and received numerous awards and commendations for his work.

Ramm Hansen (1879-1971) was born 22 July 1897, in Moss, Norway. He was educated in his native country and graduated cum laude from the Royal Academy of Art and Architecture in Oslo. As a convert to the L.D.S. Church, he came to the United States in 1901. Shortly after his arrival in Salt Lake City he began working as a draftsman for architect Richard D. A. Kletting. After working with Kletting for five years, he opened his own architectural office in 1906, and married Karen Moen in Salt lake City the same year. He practiced independently until 1916, when he entered into a partnership with Don Carlos Young, Jr. Hansen worded in a joint partnership with the well-established firm of Cannon & Fetzer on two projects: the Utah State Capitol Competition in 1911, and the 1913 design of the Park Building at the University of Utah. During his long practice with Don Carlos Young Jr., he was credited with co-designing the Federal Reserve Bank Building in Salt Lake City, as well as numerous L.D.S. Church buildings, including the Mesa, Arizona Temple, and the Washington D.C. Chapel. He retired from active practice upon the death of his partner, Don Carlos Young, Jr., in 1960. Ramm Hansen died of natural causes in Salt Lake City on 30 December 1971 at the age of ninety-two.

Francis D. Rutherford (1883?-1933) was born in Salt Lake City. Francis D. Rutherford was educated in local schools and at the University of Utah. In 1900 he was listed in the "Salt Lake City Directory" as an apprentice machinist for the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad. It was not until 1906 that he began to apprentice as an architectural draftsman for a Salt Lake architect. From 1907 to 1910 he and architect Ramm Hansen combined their talents in the firm of Rutherford & Hansen. Rutherford practiced independently from 1911 to 1918. At the beginning of this practice he indicated an interest in entering the Utah State Capitol Competition, although he did not submit an entry. In Utah his professional reputation was based upon public school design, including such Salt Lake area schools as Douglas and Uintah Elementary Schools, and Roosevelt Junior High School. In 1919 he entered into another partnership, which practiced under the name Rutherford & Ashton. The following year he moved to Santa Monica, California, where he practiced architecture until his death on 10 January 1933.