Note: this is the first of a
two-part blog on Orson F. Whitney's seminal History of Utah. I originally wrote the
below material around 2007, before I did the research for my biography of
Whitney. That publication, “The Life of Orson F. Whitney: Bishop, Poet, Apostle,” issued in 2014, contains a chapter about the creation of History of
Utah containing further details than that given below and constitutes part two
of this blog on the history. There is some repetition of materials from the Abraham H. Cannon diary in both
parts, but the second part has material about the project from Orson F.
Whitney’s own diary. Writing and publishing the history was a complex, lengthy,
involved, and difficult venture, reading both blog parts will give the fullest
explanation of this work that exists.
Orson F. Whitney, History of Utah, 4 Volumes:
Whitney’s History
of Utah is little known today outside book-collecting and Mormon or Utah historical
circles, but for its time it was a tremendous undertaking. Today it is considered
a prize to those who can find a set and afford its considerable price. It
consists of four large, heavy, beautifully bound volumes, three containing a
comprehensive narrative of the history of Utah and a fourth with short
biographical sketches of prominent Utahns. The fourth volume is now the rarest
and most valuable, and was published well after the others as a “gift” volume, meant
as a reward for those who paid for their original three volumes. This final
volume’s preface contains an explanation that financial difficulties had delayed
its issuance.
Two of the best sources of
information about the enterprise that brought the history into existence are
from the autobiographical writings of its author, Orson F. Whitney (the very
rare but well-written Through Memory’s
Halls), and the superb journal of its principal publisher, Abraham H.
Cannon of George Q. Cannon and Sons publishing company.
From these sources we learn that although the
project started out with bright financial prospects, the increasingly worsening
economic conditions of the 1890s, coupled with management and cash-flow problems,
gradually deflated the prospects of all involved until it almost did not
succeed. A second “ghost” author, Abraham’s brother John Q., was brought in to
speed up the work, and controlling ownership of the publishing enterprise
changed hands. Also troubling was that subscribers often didn’t want to pay for
their very expensive books during the bad times. In the end, only Church
intervention allowed it to succeed.
Orson F. Whitney wrote: “I was told that a project
was on foot for the production of a History
of Utah, and that I had been mentioned as the prospective historian. My
informant was Franklin S. Richards, one of the Church attorneys. A day or two
later I was sent for by President Woodruff, and as soon as I entered his office…he
said to a well-dressed man with whom he and President Joseph F. Smith had been
conversing: ‘Dr. Williams, this is the man we have chosen to write the
History.’
“Dr. John O. Williams, who had been
connected in a business way with Bancroft’s History
of the Pacific States and with Hall’s History
of Colorado, proposed to publish a History
of Utah; the Church to select the historian and sanction the enterprise, he
(Williams) to furnish the means of publication, put the work through the press,
and distribute it. The desired sanction being given, I received my appointment,
and was vouched for by leading men and women of the community. Thus the work
began” (Whitney, Through Memory’s Halls,
201-2). The Church “sanction” (which
later became a matter of some dispute) was probably felt necessary because most
published works without it were generally anti-Mormon or sensationalized
propaganda—not to be accommodated (see Clark, comp., Messages of the First
Presidency, 2:315-20; 6:251-52).
Whitney continued: “Dr. Williams
paid me a salary of two hundred dollars a month, and part of the time my wife
drew fifty dollars a month as my secretary. That was all I ever had out of it,
though I was entitled by contract to twenty-five per cent of the net proceeds,
minus the amount advanced to me in salary. Had the business prospered as
anticipated, I might have pressed my claim; but as it did not, I forbore adding
to the financial perplexities of the situation” (Whitney, 202). Evidently the
use of Whitney’s name and those of the First Presidency—though unauthorized—
was part of the sales pitch of certain “agents” or salesmen in their efforts to
promote a fine but very expensive set of books to potential customers. Continuing:
“My duties were purely literary. At no time did I have anything to do with the
business management; yet my name was used, without my consent, as if I had been
the very head and front of the enterprise. Certain agents employed by Dr.
Williams were reprimanded by him and discarded [fired] for this and other
irregularities. But so much prejudice had been engendered that Williams, in
June, 1891, sold out the business, or the main part of it, to George Q. Cannon
and Sons, whose purchase rescued it from impending disaster…. For my historical
labors I was given the use of a desk in the west wing of the President’s
Office, and was promised all the help that the Historian’s Office could render.
But the scattered condition of the Church records, owing to the operations of
the ‘Crusade’, greatly interfered with the realization of that promise. My
work, however, was read in manuscript to a committee of which the Church
Historian, Franklin D. Richards, was chairman” (Whitney, 202-3).
Elder Abraham H. Cannon’s journal
provides further details, especially of the business and publishing operations:
“[June 8, 1891] Bro. [Heber J.] Grant
and I went to the Gardo House and reported our labors, and in the course of the
conversation the Whitney History of Utah
and Dr. Williams[‘s] management of its
issuance were discussed. The brethren
felt fearful, from reports that reach them, that there is a chance for a big
swindle of the Saints in this affair, and, at any rate, the Presidency do not
approve of the way their names are used to secure subscriptions to the
book. Bishop Whitney was sent for, and
asked in relation to the work. He seems
to have confidence in the integrity of John Williams, but feels desirous that a
committee should give the matter attention, and so arrange the affair that we
all feel secure. I was appointed a
member of such committee….
“[June 9, 1891] At 4 p.m. I
was at a meeting of the committee on publication of Whitney’s History of Utah. The members present were, John R. Winder,
Chairman, F. S. Richards, O. F. Whitney, George Reynolds, C. W. Penrose and
myself. We considered the charges made
against Williams and his agents which come from various parts of the Territory,
and Bishop Whitney said that whenever complaints had reached Dr. Williams they
had been investigated and corrected. He
had made personal visits to settle some feelings which had been created by an
agent in Sanpete County.
“To allay our suspicions concerning
the honesty of Dr. Williams a number of letters were read testifying to his
good character, and the bond of $25,000 which he has furnished as security for
the faithful performance of his labor has been fully verified.
“It was finally resolved to have
Bishop Whitney get an extension of time on his bond for the completion of his
part of writing the history. The history
was to be completed within two years from its commencement, or about one year
from today, the bond for which is $5,000, but the author has only done about
one half of the first volume up to the present.
An extension of time was, however, proffered him. This done we decided to invite the publisher,
Dr. Williams to be present at a meeting and hear the charges made against him,
after which we will request him to increase his bond to $50,000 as he
originally agreed to do.
“My fears concerning this matter are
very much calmed by the conversation of today….
“[June 12, 1891] I wrote some letters at the office
for a short time in the forenoon, and then had a conversation at my room with
Bishop O. F. Whitney concerning the History
of Utah. He says that Dr. Williams
has become so annoyed at the numerous reports which have been circulated
concerning his trustworthiness, and his character has been so maligned, that he
is determined to get out of the business if Bishop Whitney can find someone who
will be congenial to him to buy his interest, which is 45% of the whole
enterprise; 5% is owned by F. S. Richards, who is the attorney, 25% by O. F.
Whitney, who receives $200 per month as an advance on his share for writing the
work, and 25% by Mr. Webster, who is the secretary. The Bishop thinks there is big money in the
enterprise for anyone who will buy it.
He thinks that Dr. [Williams] will take $10,000 for his share of a
business which he feels is worth $30,000.
Orson is very anxious for George Q. Cannon and Sons’ Co. to take the
business, and thus reassure the doubting people of the certainty of the
issuance of the work. We together laid
the matter before Father [President George Q. Cannon] and then before the First
Presidency. After considerable talk on
the subject, on suggestion of Pres. Joseph F. Smith it was decided that O. F.
Whitney and F. S. Richards make another effort to get Dr. Williams to continue
in the business, but if he refuses to do so, then I had better investigate the
matter, and if the results warrant it, buy out his share….
“[June 15, 1891] At 9 a.m. I
met O. F. Whitney and Dr. Williams and had some conversation about the History of Utah. The latter is very desirous that we purchase
his interest and thus reassure the people of Utah that it will be issued,
though he expresses a desire to continue with the thing and work to make it a
gigantic success. I presented the matter
to the First Presidency who told me to investigate the affair, and if everything
was satisfactory to engage in it. Two of
Dr. Williams’ agents, Waterman and Clark, called to see me in the afternoon, as
they had heard rumors of the pending sale, telling me of claims which they hold
against the concern for canvassing services.
The former spoke as though Mr. Williams is a rogue, but he was very
desirous that I should not tell the latter of his visit to me. Mr. Clark said Mr. Webster had always treated
him in the best possible manner. Their
claims are really not due until the first volume is issued and delivered. Father’s principal objection to the
enterprise is the length of time required by Bishop Whitney to complete the
manuscript—5 years from the time it was commenced….
“[June 16, 1891] At 11 a.m.
Frank and I met with Dr. Williams, Mr. Webster and O. F. Whitney. We spent several hours in looking over the
accounts of the Utah Historical Society and inquiring into the details of the
publishing arrangements. The proposition
finally made was that the Dr. remain with the business and receive 33-1/3%
commission on all orders for books and pictures, and that he sell us 70% of the
business with his already accrued commissions for $15,896. The actual orders taken for the book amount
now to over 2,500 at $30 per set.
Available notes would be turned over to us in this deal to the amount of
seven or eight thousand dollars. As
pictured by Williams and Webster there is big money for us in this undertaking,
but it also means a considerable outlay before returns are had. We presented the matter to the First
Presidency and they decided to consider it for a day or two….
“[June 19, 1891] I also wrote
a letter to Dr. John O. Williams making him a proposition in regard to the
purchase of his interest in the History
of Utah. I submitted the letter to
Father and Joseph F. Smith before sending it and they approved it. The offer is that we give him $12,000 for all
his right, title and interest in the work to date. He is then to receive 33-1/3% commission on
all book and picture orders. The amount
is to be paid as follows: $6,000 cash down; $3,000 when the first copy of the
first volume is issued, and the remaining $3,000 when 2,000 copies of the first
volume are issued. In the afternoon he
came in the office and accepted our offer with these changes, that he be
engaged as canvasser for at least three years, and that a certain date be fixed
for the payments of the two latter notes, at such a time as we think the
conditions of our proposition are fulfilled.
We agreed to these modifications….
“[June 24, 1891] About five
hours of today I was engaged in my room with Dr. Williams and Mr. Webster
checking up the History of Utah
business. I found that about 2,700 bona
fide contracts for the work have been obtained.
Notes for about $7,500 are on hand.
There are time commissions due agents when the books are delivered to
the amount of about $7,000. Judging from
what appears on the books the business is in a very good condition. We agreed to meet F. S. Richards tomorrow to
prepare the legal papers necessary to the transfer….
“[June 25, 1891] At 11 a.m. I
met Dr. J. O. Williams and Mr. Webster at F. S. Richards’ office where we
talked over with the latter the terms of our agreement in regard to the
publishing of Whitney’s History of Utah,
and instructed him to prepare the necessary papers for the transfer….
“[June 27, 1891] F. S.
Richards, Frank Cannon and I had a conversation with him in relation to the
Utah History, and read him the papers in relation thereto. He approved of them with two or three slight
changes. At 2:30 p.m. F. S. Richards, O.
F. Whitney, Dr. Williams, Mr. Webster, Frank and myself met in the office of
the first named and consulted about the agreements for the transfer of the Utah
History business. We had considerable
talk about their receiving their full commissions out of the first collections
on the books, and finally compromised by their agreeing to accept ¾ of their
commission out of collections on the first volume, and the other ¼ when the
second volume is delivered and paid for.
“We adjourned till Monday to finish
the business, as we could not do it today owing to the changes to be made in
the papers….
“[June 29, 1891] I was engaged in the office till 10
a.m. at which time Frank and I met Dr. Williams and the others of Saturday’s
meeting and made final arrangements for the payment of the money ($6,000) and
notes ($6,000) this afternoon and the transfer of the business to us. This was done at 4 p.m. when all the papers,
etc., were completed and properly signed, and with the very best of feelings we
started out on our new venture.
“[December 3, 1891] In the afternoon I attended my
Quorum meeting at which were present all the First Presidency, Franklin D.
Richards and myself; George Gibbs, clerk….
“Bishop Orson F. Whitney was present
to obtain information concerning the object in settling this Territory when the
Pioneers came here, as he desires to make a statement concerning it in the History of Utah. He had prepared something in which he affirms
that the Mormons came here to found a new state for the United States. This is incorrect, as it was the expectation
when the people arrived here to establish an independent state, and it was only
when this western tract of land was ceded to the United States by Mexico in the
treaty of Guadelupe Hidalgo (February 1848) that the Mormons began to seek for
admission into the Union as a State, and saw therein their success and destiny.
“[January 14, 1892] In the afternoon I was at the
President’s office to see Father [President George Q. Cannon]…. We had some talk about the History of Utah which is to be issued on
the 1st of March. Bishop
Whitney, the author, is breaking down.
The Bishop coming in at this time we spoke to him about the matter, and
he feels that he cannot get out the work by the time named unless he has
help. This I promised to try and find
for him….”
Of this part of the work, Whitney wrote: “It was in May, 1890, that I
began this, the most voluminous of my literary works. To complete it required
several years, during which I had many other duties to perform, and responded,
as usual, to numerous calls for extra service in various directions. I was in
love with my task—which lightened it greatly—but still it was strenuous and
exacting, as anyone must know who has ever brought out a work of that character
and magnitude” (Whitney, 203). With the mental strain telling on Whitney, help
was needed and quickly found, in the form of A. H. Cannon’s brother. Again from
his journal:
“[January 18, 1892] At noon I went to the President’s
office to see about John Q. [Cannon] beginning his labors on the History of Utah in connection with
Bishop Whitney. The brethren approved of
his undertaking the same, and he accordingly received his instructions from his
co-laborer, and will begin his active work tomorrow….
“[February 19, 1892] The remainder of the day I spent in
the office attending to work which has accumulated since I left. I found that the manuscript of the first
volume of the History of Utah has
been finished by O. F. Whitney and John Q., and the most of it is now in
print. The reading matter will occupy
720 pages. I am now doing my utmost to
crowd ahead the plates so that the binding may be done without any delay. We desire to deliver the book during the next
month.
“[February 23, 1892] We had a car loaded today with the
printed sheets of the History of Utah,
which we are sending to Becktold & Co. of St. Louis to have them bound, as
we are unable to get them gilded and bound in time for delivery this month, and
hands cannot be found in this country in sufficient number to do the work….
“February 27, 1892] I had to borrow from the Deseret Bank
today the sum of $2,000 to meet notes of the office which fall due on Tuesday
in connection with the History of Utah. I got it for seven months. I hope we will get financial relief when we
begin to deliver the first volume, for if we do not I do not know what we will
do to meet our engagements. I had hard
work today to get enough money with which to pay the workmen….
“[April 19, 1892] Father and I had a talk with Bishop O.
F. Whitney today in regard to the second volume of the History of Utah. We urged it
upon him to hurry the work along, and he promised to do so with the help of
John Q. Cannon.
“[April
20, 1892] I was at the President’s office with Mr. Webster for a short time in
the afternoon trying to obtain from the Church an additional subscription to
the History of Utah of 300 volumes or
less; but our efforts were not very successful, though it was not said that the
Church would not take more than already ordered….
“[April 21, 1892] We received from the binders in St.
Louis (Becktold & Co.) a sample copy of the first volume of the History of Utah today. It makes a most excellent work, both in the
contents, printing and binding, and one which pleases and astonishes every
person who sees it. The Presidency are
highly pleased with it. It is bound in
full morocco, embossed in gold and gilded on the edges.
“[May 6, 1892] I was at the office most of the day
attending to the delivery of the first installment of the History of Utah. We
succeeded in getting rid of nearly 150 volumes, and the general feeling is one
of satisfaction on seeing the volume, though we have had one or two subscribers
who tried to get out of taking the work….
“[August 12, 1893, over a year has passed] I…had a talk
with the Presidency concerning the History
of Utah. I told them of our
inability to meet our bills to the author, Bishop O. F. Whitney, and told them
we would like their authorization to pursue our own course with regard to its
continuance. Feeling this labor of
issuing the work to be a mission on us, I did not feel at liberty to discharge
him without the consent of the brethren.
They did not decide about it at this time but will give the matter more
consideration. Bro. Smith said quite
warmly that he considered this work a private enterprise, but Father combated
this idea with equal warmth.
“[August
24, 1893] At 10 o’clock I was at the President’s office and met with the
Presidency and Bishop O. F. Whitney. We
had a talk about the History of Utah,
and I told the brethren that we would be unable to continue the work in our
present straightened financial condition.
The question they should decide is whether the Church can carry the load
of paying Bishop Whitney while he completes the work, and then let us pay for
it as soon as we are ready to print it, or if he shall discontinue his labors
altogether. During the conversation over
the matter Father and Joseph F. Smith had some very heated words over the
matter, because the latter disclaimed as one of the Presidency any
responsibility in connection with the matter, while Father correctly maintained
that the Church had called Bishop Whitney to do the work, and was morally
responsible for its completion. We all
admit the Church has no financial responsibility in the affair. We adjourned without reaching any conclusion
in the matter, until tomorrow.”
One
wonders if President Cannon would have taken such a firm position on the moral
responsibility of the Church if his own company’s involvement had not been at
stake. Yet a workable solution was sought: “[August 25, 1893] At 10 o’clock I
met with the Presidency and Bishop Whitney, and after some discussion it was
decided that the Church will pay him $2,700 for the finishing of the third
volume of the History of Utah, and
then when we desire to publish it, we are to repay the Church this amount. Pres. Woodruff told me that part of his pay
would be in tithing orders, which the Bishop said he would accept.” From other
evidence, as given below, it would seem that its own worsening financial
problems likely precluded the Church from making this lump-sum payment to
Whitney. Abraham Cannon died in mid-1896 before the third volume was completed,
and Brigham T. Cannon, a brother, took over daily management of the family publishing
company, thus overseeing the issuance of the last volumes.
The
fourth and final volume does help with answers about how and when the third and
fourth volumes came about. In a biographical sketch of Orson F. Whitney
included at the end of the final volume is this further explanation: “Mr.
Whitney continued to be employed by Cannon and Sons, as he had been employed in
the first instance by Dr. Williams, to write the History. The supplemental canvass for books and portraits was
retained by the original owners, who refused to sell that part of their
interest, and for alleged unfair practices by some of their representatives,
the publishers and even the author have been persistently and wrongfully
blamed. After the issuance of the first two volumes, in 1892-3, work upon the History was suspended, owing to
financial reverses, the author finding employment elsewhere.” This sketch also
indicates that the third volume was written during 1896 while Whitney lived in
Logan, working as a professor in the Brigham Young College and that “the third
volume of Whitney’s History of Utah
made its appearance in January, 1898” (vol. 4:705-6).
The preface
also included further information about the fourth and last volume issued in
1904: “The major portion of this volume was written several years ago, and was
ready for the printer, but financial disappointments, encountered by the
management, prevented the publication, and Bishop Whitney, in the interval
caused by the unavoidable delay, has re-written the whole book and brought it
down to the present, thus making it a more valuable work than it would otherwise
have been.” For the biographical sketches, Whitney relied heavily on personal
information supplied by the individuals therein noticed, as indicated by an (almost
humorous) exasperated comment found in the addenda notes: “The reader will
probably notice other portraits, scattered through the four volumes, for which
there are no corresponding biographies. The reason for their non-appearance is
that the persons interested have failed to supply the necessary data, though
urgently and in most cases repeatedly requested to do so, in order that the work
might be completed to the satisfaction of all concerned.”
Woodruff Thompson, in his 1949 University of Utah
master’s thesis, analyzed and critiqued the history from a strictly academic
viewpoint, something a little unfair considering Whitney’s own era. He wrote:
“It is ironic that Whitney is best known as a historian when he was projected
into history writing somewhat accidentally. Although recent, more objective
scholarship has produced volumes which have in a measure superseded his work,
his four volume History of Utah
remains the great storehouse of data on Utah history to 1890, and his work is
cited in the bibliographies of all studies of Western American history. In 1941
Robert Joseph Dwyer, a Catholic historian could say, ‘with all its faults and
inaccuracies—and they are legion—the work has not yet been superseded.’”
Thompson
continued: “Whitney lacked training as a scientific historiographer;
consequently, his insufficient documentation of source materials, diffuseness,
and cumbrous arrangement of data annoy the scholarly historian and truly
detract from the value of the history. More serious is the irrefutable (and
self-admitted) charge that he wrote with a strong pro-Mormon bias. This bias is
understandable when it is remembered that he was appointed to the work by the
president of the Mormon Church when the strife and hatreds of the polygamy
crusade were still rampant and galling. Detrimental as the bias is to the work as
good history, it contributes very much to the spirit and literary tone of the
writing…. Only this bias and a fervent desire to vindicate his church from
charges of disloyalty to the federal government and perpetration of crimes
against Gentiles can explain his inclusion of so much material not ordinarily
found in histories. In the first volume, for example, Chapter III is a treatise
on the Book of Mormon and a defense of its authenticity by seeking to prove
that it did not originate in Solomon Spaulding’s Manuscript Story. Chapter V is an explanation of Mormonism, and
Chapter XIII is a fervent defense of polygamy. His telling the anecdote of the
‘Bogus Brigham’ reveals something of the spirit of the work. William Miller,
who resembled Brigham [Young], put on a coat belonging to Heber C. Kimball and
delivered himself to officers seeking to arrest the Mormon leader. The ruse
permitted Brigham to escape. One can almost hear Whitney chortle, as Brigham
did, at the chagrin of the outwitted pursuers. This note of joy in the triumphs
of the underdog shows throughout the whole work.”
Further: “In presenting an account most favorable to his
people, Whitney carefully chooses source materials that support his theses. Such
is the vivid, very sympathetic description of Nauvoo by Colonel Thomas L. Kane,
great friend of the Mormons. Similarly, he quotes Captain Gunnison’s favorable
account of Mormon courts. In fairness to Whitney, it must be made clear that
the great bulk of quoted material is legitimate and valuable documentation in
support of the historical narrative.
Representative of this valuable historical material is the letter of
Governor Ford of Illinois to Brigham Young proposing to the latter that he take
his people to California. The value of much of the primary data is increased by
the present difficulty—if not impossibility—of obtaining them elsewhere”
(120-22).
Examples of literary excesses are then quoted by
Thompson—oratorical, flowery, poetic prose not normally seen in historical
writing—and then this comment: “There are more of these ‘literary asides’ in
the first volume then in the two succeeding ones, in which he is concerned with
the details of court cases, Indian wars, futile attempts to achieve statehood,
and the events of the anti-polygamy crusade under legislative enactments of
1862, 1882, and 1887. Undoubtedly such trivial information is included in the 2,327
pages (exclusive of indexes) of the three volumes—information listing orders of
march for parades and names of jurymen, and giving lengthy quotations of court
testimony. But much of this information, which is squeezed out of the ordinary
text book, aids in giving a true history of the period. Those who would blame
Whitney for being unduly long must remember that he is doing more than
chronicling the history of Utah to 1890. His is also trying to ‘set the record
straight’ on such old contentions as the one charging that Brigham Young
opposed the coming of railroads and to absolve the Mormon Church and its
leaders from alleged complicity in crimes. Thus he gives a detailed account of
the death and funeral of Leonidas Shaver, Associate Justice of Utah Territory,
to quiet the rumor that Brigham Young had had him poisoned. Likewise, he
adduces elaborate evidence to prove that the Church was not responsible for the
massacre of Captain Gunnison and his men.
“Limitations of space in his two shorter histories of
Utah force Whitney to omit most of the long documents and rhetorical excursions
common in the four-volume work. The
Making of a State and Popular History
of Utah are abridgments of the History
of Utah except that the narrative is carried forward from 1890 to their
respective publication dates. The tone of both shorter histories is less
militant, for they were written when an era of mutual good feeling had replaced
the old bitterness between Mormon and Gentile” (125-26).
It is likely that Woodruff Thompson did not know that
John Q. Cannon worked as a ghost writer on parts of the history (he does not
mention John) and that could account for changes in tone and literary style
throughout.
One wonders if the impact of Whitney’s History of Utah gave impetus to the
organization of the Utah State Historical Society, founded in 1897, since both
the book company and the later society were given the same name and one
followed the other by only a few years, Whitney himself serving a term as the
state society’s president.
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