Clarissa Cordelia ("Clara") Moses Cannon (April 21, 1839 – August 21, 1926) was a

Mormon pioneer The Mormon pioneers were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), also known as Latter-day Saints, who migrated beginning in the mid-1840s until the late-1860s across the United States from the Midwest to the S ...

and a member of the first-ever general presidency of the

Primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Work ...

organization of

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 Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

(LDS Church). She was the second counselor to general president Louie B. Felt from 1880 to 1895. Clara Moses was born in

Westfield, Massachusetts Westfield is a city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, Hampden County, in the Pioneer Valley of western Massachusetts, United States. Westfield was first settled by Europeans in 1660. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield metrop ...

. In 1846 she took the six-month journey on the ship ''Brooklyn'' from

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

via

Cape Horn Cape Horn (, ) is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island. Although not the most southerly point of South America (which is Águila Islet), Cape Horn marks the nor ...

and the Sandwich Islands. Instead of traveling on to

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 st ...

, she settled in San Francisco. In 1859, she married William H. Mason; they had two children. William Mason died in 1868. Clara moved to

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...

and in 1875 she became a plural wife of Angus M. Cannon, who would later be prosecuted for

unlawful cohabitation Cohabitation is an arrangement where people who are not legally married live together as a couple. They are often involved in a romantic or sexually intimate relationship on a long-term or permanent basis. Such arrangements have become incr ...

under the

Edmunds Act The Edmunds Act, also known as the Edmunds Anti-Polygamy Act of 1882,U.S.History.com is a United States federal statute, signed into law on March 23, 1882 by President Chester A. Arthur, declaring polygamy a felony in federal territories, punis ...

; the case of '' Cannon v. United States'' eventually went to the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...

. Clara and Angus Cannon had three children together. Prior to her service in the general Primary presidency, Clara Cannon was a counselor in the presidencies of the

and

Relief Society The Relief Society is a philanthropic and educational women's organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). It was founded in 1842 in Nauvoo, Illinois, United States, and has more than 7 million members in over 1 ...

in the

Salt Lake A salt lake or saline lake is a landlocked body of water that has a concentration of salts (typically sodium chloride) and other dissolved minerals significantly higher than most lakes (often defined as at least three grams of salt per liter). I ...

Stake A stake is a large wooden or metal implement designed to be driven into the ground and may refer to: Tools * Archer's stake, a defensive stake carried by medieval longbowmen * Survey stakes, markers used by surveyors * Sudis (stake) (Latin for ...

of the LDS Church. When Louie B. Felt became the first general presidency of the Primary, Matilda M. Barratt and Cannon were selected as Felt's counselors. Cannon was a counselor until 1895; the next year she was succeeded in the position by Josephine R. West.

Death

Clara Moses Cannon died of

throat cancer Head and neck cancer is a general term encompassing multiple cancers that can develop in the head and neck region. These include cancers of the mouth, tongue, gums and lips ( oral cancer), voice box ( laryngeal), throat ( nasopharyngeal, orophar ...

Centerville, Utah Centerville is a city in southeastern Davis County, Utah, United States. Centerville is part of the Ogden-Clearfield Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 15,335 at the 2010 census. It is located adjacent to the easternmost part o ...

, aged 87State of Utah Death Certificate
and was interred in

Salt Lake City Cemetery The Salt Lake City Cemetery is a cemetery in northeastern Salt Lake City, Utah, United States, that is one of the largest city-operated cemeteries in the United States. Description The cemetery is located north of 4th Avenue and east of N Street ...

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cannon, Clara 1839 births 1926 deaths American leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Burials at Salt Lake City Cemetery Cannon family Counselors in the General Presidency of the Primary (LDS Church) Deaths from cancer in Utah Deaths from esophageal cancer in the United States Latter Day Saints from California Latter Day Saints from Massachusetts Latter Day Saints from Utah Mormon pioneers People from Davis County, Utah Religious leaders from Salt Lake City People from Westfield, Massachusetts