William Spry (January 11, 1864 – April 21, 1929) was an American politician who was the third governor of the State of Utah. He is the namesake of the William Spry Agriculture Building that houses the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food.

Life and career

Spry was born at Windsor,

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. He emigrated 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 ...

with his parents at the age of eleven. In 1885, Spry was called as an LDS Church missionary and went to serve in the Southern States Mission. From 1888 to 1891, Spry served as

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

of the Southern States Mission. In 1890, during his mission, Spry received permission from the leaders of the church to return briefly 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 ...

where he married Mary Alice Wrathall. Jenson, Andrew. ''LDS Biographical Encyclopedia''. Vol. 4, p. 381 In 1894, Spry was elected county collector in

Tooele County, Utah Tooele County ( ) is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Utah. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 72,698. Its county seat and largest city is Tooele, Utah, Tooele. The county was created in 1850 and organ ...

. In 1902 Spry was elected to the Utah House of Representatives and in 1905 he was appointed one of the members of the Utah state board of land commissioners. From 1906 to 1908, Spry served as

United States Marshal The United States Marshals Service (USMS) is a Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement agency in the United States. The Marshals Service serves as the enforcement and security arm of the United States federal judi ...

for the District of Utah. He served as governor of

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

from 1909 to 1917. He was a Republican. Spry was a strong opponent of

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic b ...

, and vetoed two bills that would have implemented this. In 1915, Spry refused President

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was the 28th president of the United States, serving from 1913 to 1921. He was the only History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democrat to serve as president during the Prog ...

's request to reconsider the impending execution of Joe Hill and allowed the execution to take place on November 19. From 1921 to 1929 Spry served as commissioner of Public Lands. Ludlow, Daniel H., ed., '' Encyclopedia of Mormonism''. p. 634 Spry died in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, in 1929 when he was still serving as the Federal Commissioner of Public Lands. He was buried at Salt Lake City Cemetery.

References

External links

* , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Spry, William 1864 births 1929 deaths 19th-century Mormon missionaries American leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints American Mormon missionaries in the United States Burials at Salt Lake City Cemetery English emigrants to the United States English Latter Day Saints English leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Farmers from Utah Law enforcement officials from Utah Commissioners of the United States General Land Office Republican Party governors of Utah Republican Party members of the Utah House of Representatives Mission presidents (LDS Church) People from Tooele County, Utah Politicians from Windsor, Berkshire United States Marshals Latter Day Saints from Utah 20th-century members of the Utah Legislature

Life and career

See also

References

External links