Edwin D. Woolley Jr.

WASHINGTON COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY     (Washington County, Utah)

EDWIN DILWORTH WOOLLEY JR.

(early settler, businessman, church leader)

BIOGRAPHY

Edwin Dilworth Woolley Jr. was born April 30, 1846, in the Mormon community of Nauvoo, Illinois.

His parents, Edwin D. Woolley Sr. & Mary Wickersham, were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Because of the extensive persecution waged against the Latter-day Saints in Nauvoo in the 1840's, the Woolleys were forced to leave their home, along with thousands of other Church members, and become part of the famous Mormon exodus to the Salt lake Valley. After a great deal of suffering and trial, they arrived in the Great Basin on September 27, 1848.

During the trek westward, young Edwin was an infant. During his youth, Edwin D. Woolley Jr., as well as many Mormon boys his age, was given many responsibilities and difficult assignments. When he was only 15 years old, he was sent as a teamster to the Missouri River to aid the Mormon emigrants in their trek westward. Later, because of problems with Indians, he was a participant in numerous expeditions against them, and saw service in the Black Hawk War.

At the age of 20, he was sent to Southern Utah to help colonize St. George.

On March 9, 1867, Woolley married Emma Bentley at the Endowment House in Salt Lake City. Following their wedding, the couple returned to St. George. There, they established their first home and became active participants in community affairs. Soon, Edwin was given ample opportunities for service in many different civic functions, such as Alderman, Constable, Policeman, etc.

On April 12, 1877, ten years after his marriage to Emma Bentley, Woolley married his second wife, Florence Snow, daughter of Apostle Erastus Snow and Elizabeth Ashby. On the day following his wedding he left for a mission in England, which, because of business problems, only lasted six months.

In 1882 Woolley moved to Upper Kanab to manage a church-owned cattle ranch, and in 1884 he was called by Erastus Snow, who was representing the Church leaders, to be the President of the Kanab Stake. In addition to his Church assignments, he was involved in organizing a bank, a store, a coal company, encouraging tourism, and so on. Because of these many efforts, he is a key figure in Mormon and Southern Utah history.

After a very colorful and productive life, Edwin D. Woolley Jr. died on July 20, 1920, following a two-year battle with cancer. Although five of his children had preceded him in death, he left behind eight sons and ten daughters in addition to his two wives, Emma and Florence.


FAMILY

Parents and Siblings:
    Edwin D. Woolley Sr.
    Mary Wickersham
        Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx
        Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx
        Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx
        Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx
        Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx

(xx/xx/xxxx-xx/xx/xxxx)   (married xx/xx/xxxx)
(xx/xx/xxxx-xx/xx/xxxx)
(xx/xx/xxxx-xx/xx/xxxx)   (married Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx)
(xx/xx/xxxx-xx/xx/xxxx)   (married Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx)
(xx/xx/xxxx-xx/xx/xxxx)   (married Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx)
(xx/xx/xxxx-xx/xx/xxxx)   (married Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx)
(xx/xx/xxxx-xx/xx/xxxx)   (married Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx)

First Wife and Children:
    Emma G. Bentley
        Emma Lavina
        Mary Elizabeth
        Edwin Dilworth
        Olive Geneva
        Joseph Anthony
        Royal Bentley
        Rachel Henrietta
        Ruth
        Ella
        Grace


(??/??/????-??/??/????)   (married 3/9/1867)
(12/22/1868-7/??/1881)
(1/31/1870-8/20/1953)   (married Thomas Chamberlain)
(1/??/1872-Infant)
(6/??/1874-Infant)
(6/24/1876-9/1/1961)   (married Margaret E. Holt)
(9/3/1878-??/??/????)   (married Eliz. V. Barney)
(12/2/1880-8/26/1960)   (married Julius S. Dalley)
(11/24/1882-1/21/1963)   (married David D. Rust)
(10/3/1884-??/??/????)   (married Israel H. Chamberlain)
(5/2/1887-10/24/1965)   (married O. C. Bowman )

Second Wife and Children:
    Florence Snow
        Florence Evelyn
        Erastus Dilworth
        Herbert Elliot
        Elizabeth
        LeGrand
        Arthur Snow
        Marion
        Pruda


(??/??/????-??/??/????)   (married 4/12/1877)
(8/26/1878-5/3/1881)
(12/22/1880-??/??/????)   (married Alice Snow)
(5/19/1883-3/11/1952)   (married Prescinda Ballantyne)
(3/11/1885-??/??/????)   (married Albert H. Day and George C. Jensen)
(4/3/1887-10/10/1965)   (married Alida Snow)
(5/12/1889-6/4/1969)   (married Ivy Houtz)
(4/3/1895-6/10/1918)
(7/7/1902-??/??/????)   (married Glen A. Hamblin)


PHOTOS

WCHS photos:
WCHS-00987     Photo of Edwin D. Woolley returning from the Black Hawk War

Other photos on the web:
TBD


REFERENCES

Brief history of Edwin D. Woolley

Edwin Woolley Jr. and Erastus Snow Family Collection in the Harold B. Lee Library special collections

Edwin D. Woolley Jr. collection in the Southern Utah University Library special collections

Edwin D. Woolley Jr. collection in the Southern Utah University Library special collections