William A. Shannon reminiscence, 1939

William Alexander Shannon (1854-1946) was born in Jacksonville, Illinois in 1854 to Robert Shannon and Sarah Susan (Grey) Shannon. His family moved to Mankato, Minnesota when he was a young boy where they established a small farm. He left Minnesota in 1872 to attend the Garrett Biblical Institute, the Methodist seminary associated with Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. Shannon met many prominent members of the Methodist community during his years at Garrett and considered faculty such as Frances Willard and Charles H. Fowler as personal mentors.

In 1879 Shannon accepted a position as a pastor in Montana. He first served as a pastor in a small church in Bozeman, which was run out of a converted theater. He preached in Bozeman for about four months, before was appointed a Deacon and assigned to the Virginia City circuit. Shannon also ministered in other towns throughout Montana, including Missoula, Helena, and Butte until 1889. In 1890 Shannon was transferred to a new church in West Duluth, Minnesota where he presided for six years. He ministered at several other churches around Minneapolis, Minnesota until he retired in 1921.

Shannon met Elizabeth James (1856-1928) while at Garrett Biblical Institute, and the couple married in 1897 in her home state of Iowa. They had six children, Ethel Shannon (b. 1883), Wiley Shannon (b. 1884), Mabel (Shannon) Ellis (b. 1885), Bessie Lois Shannon (b. 1889), Raymond Shannon (b. 1893), and Grace Shannon (b. 1898). William A. Shannon died on September 25, 1946, in Los Angeles, California.