Amanda Inez Knight Allen (September 8, 1876 – June 5, 1937) was a

Mormon missionary Missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church)—widely known as Mormon missionaries—are volunteer representatives of the church who engage variously in proselytizing, church service, humanitarian aid, and communi ...

and a

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

politician. In 1898, she became one of the first two single women to be missionaries for

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ch ...

(LDS Church).Diane L. Mangum
"The First Sister Missionaries"
''

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'', July 1980. Amanda Inez Knight was born near Payson,

Utah Territory The Territory of Utah was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from September 9, 1850, until January 4, 1896, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Utah, the 45th state ...

, to

Jesse Knight Jesse Knight (6 September 1845 — 14 March 1921) was an American mining magnate, one of relatively few Latter-day Saints in 19th century Western America to find major success in the field. After the death of his father Newel Knight, Jesse's f ...

and his wife Amanda McEwan. She was born the fourth of five children; her siblings included brothers

Raymond Raymond is a male given name. It was borrowed into English from French (older French spellings were Reimund and Raimund, whereas the modern English and French spellings are identical). It originated as the Germanic ᚱᚨᚷᛁᚾᛗᚢᚾᛞ ...

and J. Will Knight and sisters Jennie Knight Mangum and Ione Knight Jordan. The family moved to Provo and Inez Knight enrolled in

Brigham Young Academy Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day ...

(BYA). By the age of 22, Knight had completed her studies at BYA and had moved to

St. George, Utah St. George is a city in and the county seat of Washington County, Utah, United States. Located in southwestern Utah on the Arizona border, it is the principal city of the St. George Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). The city lies in the northe ...

, where she was involved in family genealogical research.

Missionary service in Great Britain

On April 1, 1898, Knight was set apart as one of the first two single women in the LDS Church to be formally selected as full-time church missionaries. The other was her childhood friend Jennie Brimhall. Jennie Brimhall and Inez Knight were missionary companions in England for a year, leaving Provo on April 2 arriving in England on April 28, 1898. As missionaries, Knight and Brimhall were frequently asked to speak at public meetings and distribute missionary tracts on the street. Because Knight and Brimhall were the first, and for a time only, lady missionaries serving Europe, they were often asked to travel throughout England to speak. In a letter to the '' Deseret Evening News'', missionary Joseph S. Broadbent wrote that "Sisters Jennie Brimhall and Inez Knight, both of Provo, Utah, each spoke at some length on Utah and her people and bore strong testimonies on the restoration of the Gospel and the divine mission of Joseph Smith. There were about 800 people present and a pin could be heard drop." Knight and Brimhall not only traveled extensively in England, but throughout other parts of Europe as well. Knight reported having spent "a month visiting the principal cities of France, Switzerland, Germany, Belgium, and Holland. Knight believed that one of her main purposes as a missionary was to dispel the belief, common throughout Europe, that Mormon women "were downtrodden slaves". Knight and the other missionaries were not always welcome, however. In February 1899, Knight was in attendance at a church meeting in Bristol when all of the windows were broken by anti-Mormon rioters. Knight, her companion, and the other missionaries had to seek protection from the local police. Although Jennie Brimhall returned to Utah in November 1898 due to poor health, Knight continued her mission until 1900 with several other companions, including Liza Chipman and J. Clara Holbrook, both from Utah. Due to the scarcity of lady missionaries, however, at times Knight served alone. She recorded in her journal one meeting in which "I was the only girl. I felt more conspicuous by the elders beginning their remarks; my brethren and sister." Areas in which Knight served included

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Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces the ...

, and

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. Knight returned home from Britain in June 1900, after over two years service throughout Britain, Scotland, and Wales.

Personal life and community work

In June 1902, Knight married Robert Eugene Allen, a prominent local banker and community developer, in the

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital and most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With a population of 200,133 in 2020, t ...

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temple ...

. Robert Allen was born on December 21, 1877, in Coalville, Utah, to Mr. and Mrs. Thomas L. Allen. Mr. Allen served an LDS mission in Liverpool, England, in 1905, and attended the

where he met Knight. They had five sons, including W. Eugene J. Knight, Robert K. Allen, Joseph Knight Allen, and Mark E. Allen. After her marriage, Inez Allen was active in various areas within the church and the community. From 1927 until her death (10 years) she was a member of the Relief Society's general board. Allen was also extensively involved with Brigham Young Academy for several years following her mission to Great Britain. In 1900, just a few months after returning home, Allen was named matron for "Missionary Theology for Girls" of the Academy. Allen was the matron of the school for two years despite personal setbacks, which included falling ill with smallpox in October 1900. Allen helped initiate the community welfare department in Provo and was active in the Red Cross organization of Utah County. Allen was frequently honored for her role as one of the first two single female missionaries for the LDS church. In 1934 she and Jennie Brimhall Knight were honored by Church President

Heber J. Grant Heber Jeddy Grant (November 22, 1856 – May 14, 1945) was an American religious leader who served as the seventh president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Grant worked as a bookkeeper and a cashier, then wa ...

at a meeting of the Yesharah Society. In addition to her leadership in the Relief Society and membership in the Yesharah Society, Allen participated in various other activities and clubs, including the Nelke Reading Club.

Political work

Allen was also active in the

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in Utah, serving on various committees and in different offices as early as 1895 at the age of 19 years old. She was named a member of the executive committee of Governor

George Dern George Henry Dern (1872–1936) was an American politician, mining man, and businessman. He co-invented the Holt–Dern ore roasting process and was United States Secretary of War from 1933 to his death in 1936. He also served as the sixth Gov ...

's advisory council for unemployment relief in 1931. She served four years as a Democratic national committeewoman, during which time she attended two national conventions, one in New York in 1924 and the other in Houston, Texas in 1928. She once ran as a Democratic candidate for

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, and was endorsed by William Jennings Bryan and Heber J. Grant for the position. At times, Allen's political beliefs and religious views clashed. As a national committeewoman for the Democratic party, Inez Allen was a supporter of 1932 Democratic candidate Franklin D. Roosevelt. However, Allen opposed the repeal of the 18th Amendment, one of Roosevelt's platform planks. In 1924, Allen was a Utah delegate to the

Democratic National Convention The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 1852 ...

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

. Because her husband was a Republican, Allen's political experiences were sometimes unique. For example, in 1924, Allen attended both the Democratic and Republican National Conventions, the first she attended as a Democratic national committeewoman, the second she attended with her husband, who was acting as a delegate from Utah. Additionally, Allen was elected to the National Women's Democratic Committee in 1928. Allen was frequently recognized and honored for her political efforts, and was named Utah's "Goddess of Liberty" at the 1898 or 1900 Provo Fourth of July Celebration. In 1937, Allen died unexpectedly in her home in

Provo, Utah Provo ( ) is the fourth-largest city in Utah, United States. It is south of Salt Lake City along the Wasatch Front. Provo is the largest city and county seat of Utah County and is home to Brigham Young University (BYU). Provo lies between th ...

, of

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. Her funeral was held June 9, 1937, and speakers included Dr. Franklin S. Harris, then President of BYU, and Stephen L. Richards of the

Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (LDS Church) In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (also known as the Quorum of the Twelve, the Council of the Twelve Apostles, or simply the Twelve) is one of the governing bodies in the church h ...

. The funeral was large, with members of the Yesharah Society, Relief Society General Board, and faculty of BYU in attendance. She is buried at the Provo City Cemetery.

Legacy

Inez Allen and her husband passed on a legacy of participation in local, state, and national politics to their children. Robert K. Allen served nationally as a U.S. Treasury agent from 1934 to 1945, working both in the United States and at the U.S. Embassy in Paris. He served locally as well, running for Provo City Council in 1961 and for mayor of Provo in 1965. Both Mrs. and Mr. Allen donated generous amounts of money to Brigham Young Academy. Inez Allen began donating as early as 1897. A year before her mission, she donated $10,000 to the institution, the only woman among the ten significant donors that year. As a donor, Allen was asked to give a speech at the 1897 ground-breaking ceremony of the new college building, again being the only woman invited to do so. A men's dormitory hall was named in honor of Mr. and Mrs. Knight in 1937.

Publications

* * *

Notes

External links

Inez Knight Allen diary (finding aid), Brigham Young University, Harold B. Lee Library, L. Tom Perry Special CollectionsInez Knight Allen diary (digitized journal), Brigham Young University, Harold B. Lee Library, L. Tom Perry Special Collections
*Jeffrey S. Hardy
"Amanda Inez Knight"
Mormon Missionary Diaries, byu.edu * {{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, Inez Knight 1876 births 1937 deaths 19th-century Mormon missionaries American leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints American Mormon missionaries in England Brigham Young Academy alumni Female Mormon missionaries People from Provo, Utah Relief Society people Utah Democrats Knight family (Latter Day Saints) Women in Utah politics Latter Day Saints from Utah 19th-century American women politicians 19th-century American politicians 20th-century American women politicians 20th-century American politicians Harold B. Lee Library-related 19th century articles