The Governors of Utah, George W. Emery

IMPROVEMENT ERA, Vol. IV. JUNE, 1901. No 8.

THE GOVERNORS OF UTAH.

GEORGE W. EMERY.

The eleventh governor of Utah was Judge George W. Emery, personal friend of General of Tennessee, who, it was said, was a Grant. President On June 12, 1875, the dispatches announced that It was gen- Grant had signed his commission as governor of Utah. of Governor Axtell was immedi- erally believed that the transfer ately brought about by Assistant Secretary Cowen, of the Interior that he had "re- Department. The New York World announced situation, and on his return cently visited Utah to inquire into the change has made recommendation in accordance with which this

been made." period, was very The rotation in governors of Utah, about this administra- common. Since the opening of 1870, when the Shaffer tion began, there had been five changes. It was scarcely to be Chronicle, speaking of wondered at, then, that the San Francisco the Utah governors, should say: "They come and go in swift and ambidextrous Axtell, picturesque succession; as we bow out the

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and greet Emery as the coming man, we already begin to revolve the problem — who next?" Having remained in the territory only six months, Governor Axtell left Salt Lake City on July 22, 1875. He was accompanied — on the train to Ogden by about forty young people young men — and women who went so far to bid him good-by. In one of the cars of the Union Pacific railway, as they bade him farewell, he made a parting speech, in which is embodied a splendid sermon. He said to them: "Only a life of virtue and integrity is a happy one; and the real and grand object of life is to do good." Governor George W. Emery took charge of the affairs of the territory, which at that time were not very arduous, on the 3rd day of July. He is a conservative man; and, on the whole, made a fair governor, trying as near as he could to walk on the line of right, as he saw it, between the contending elements of the territory. He lent no more encouragement to the Liberal element than he con- sidered consistent with justice; and, at the same time, he could not be said unduly to favor the "Mormons." So his five years' admin- istration was comparatively a peaceful and conservative one, con- taining as in such cases little political history. It was doubtless a source of satisfaction to President Grant, who arrived in Salt Lake City on a visit, on October 3, of that year, to know that he had chosen a man who could take such a course; for it is well known that the president changed his views on Utah affairs after what he saw and heard on this visit. His splendid re- ception by the people, opened his eyes to the deception which had heretofore been practiced upon him. Some of the main events in the story of The Church and the commonwealth, during these years, may be named as follows: the organization of the Mutual Improvement Associations, in 1875; the founding of Arizona settlements by colonizers from Utah, in 1876; the dedication, in January, of the first temple, in St. George; the organization of the settlements into stakes of Zion, and the death, August 29, of President Brigham Young, in 1877; the loca- tion of settlements in Castle Valley, Utah, and San Luis Valley, Colorado, and the organization of two stakes of Zion in Arizona, in 1878; the further colonization of Ashley Valley, Utah, and the lo cation of settlements on San Juan and in eastern Arizona, and the

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organization of a branch of The Church in Mexico, in 1879; and the creation, by the legislature, in February following, of the new counties: Emery, San Juan, and Uintah. The 24th session of the territorial legislaturenamed Emery county in honor of the gov- ernor, a distinction which no other executive of Utah has had. Mr. Emery was born in Corinth, Maine, August 13, 1833. At the age of six, his father moved to his native town, Berwick, Maine; and thence to Medford, Mass., when the boy was sixteen. Here his father and mother are buried. He fitted for college in New Hampton and New London, N. H. entered Dartmouth college, ;

and graduated; and subsequently graduated also at the Albany, N. Y. Law School. He then went to Boston, engaging in the practice of law with Gen, B. F. Butler and N. St. John Green. His health not being good, he moved south, and in 1870 was ap- pointed supervisor of internal revenue for Tennessee. To that state were added others, until Tennessee, Kentucky, Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana and Texas constituted his district, and he had under him between twenty-seven and eight hundred men whose appointments came from Washington. He resigned that position in the fall of 1874, being appointed Governor of Utah the following spring, without his asking, or knowing anything about it. In a note to the editor, Mr. Emery says

I called on the President before leaving for Utah to thank him. I

said: "I understand, Mr. President, there are turbulent spirits in Utah as well as in the South-" "Yes," he answered, "the Gentiles and 'Mor- mon' people seem to be having a lively time, but I think you will have little or no trouble." He added: "You go out there and look around and I will come out and see you." He kept his promise, and visited Utah the next fall, remaining with us several days in Salt Lake City. I have always had more interest in Utah's prosperity and happiness than most people have supposed.

Ex-Governor Emery is at this writing a resident of Sea View, Massachusetts. He is the owner of a large tract of land in Box Elder County, Utah, and it was only last winter that he visited our state, calling, while in Salt Lake City, upon many of his old time ac- quaintances, among them being the First Presidency of The Church.