Abraham O. Smoot

Abraham O. Smoot
Photo of A. O. Smoot by C. R. Savage.
Born	Abraham Owen Smoot (1815-02-17)February 17, 1815
Died	March 22, 1895(1895-03-22)
Spouse(s)	Margaret Thompson McMeans Sarah Gibbens Emily Hill Diana Caroline Tanner Eldredge Anne Kirstine Mauritzen Hannah Caroline Rogers

Abraham Owen Smoot (February 17, 1815 – March 22, 1895) was a Mormon pioneer, the second mayor of Salt Lake City, Utah, mayor of Provo, Utah, and an early supporter of Brigham Young Academy, which evolved into Brigham Young University (BYU).

Early life

Smoot was born in Owenton, Kentucky on February 17, 1815 to George W. Smoot and Ann Rowlett Smoot. His family moved twice in his childhood, first to southwestern Kentucky and then to banks of the Blood River in Tennessee. His mother converted to Mormonism in 1833, and he did the same in March 1835.

Missions

In February 1836, he was ordained an Elder and began preaching in Kentucky and Tennessee with Wilford Woodruff, David W. Patten, and others. Woodruff would later marry Smoot's niece and name a son, Abraham Owen Woodruff, after Smoot.

Smoot moved to western Missouri in 1837. From there he embarked on a five-month proselytizing mission to southern Missouri and Arkansas in 1838. After participating in the Missouri Mormon War, Smoot moved to Montrose, Iowa. In August 1841, he left to preach in South Carolina, returning in July 1842. He led a branch of the church in Keokuk, Iowa. In 1844, he served another mission in Alabama. Smoot eventually served nine proselyting missions for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in addition to two terms as ward bishop.

Family

On November 11, 1838, he married Margaret Thompson McMeans McMeans in Far West, Missouri.

Smoot officiated in the Nauvoo Temple during the winter of 1845-1846. He began practicing polygamy in January 1846 by marrying Sarah Gibbens and Emily Hill. He eventually married three more women (Diana Caroline Tanner Eldredge, Anne Kirstine Mauritzen, and Hannah Caroline Rogers) and had twenty-seven children, three of whom he adopted. United States Senator Reed Smoot and Brigham Smoot were two of his sons; a daughter was Ida Smoot Dusenberry. Smoot's fourth child and third daughter, Zina Beal Smoot, was the wife of apostle Orson F. Whitney.

Leadership in Utah

Salt Lake City

Smoot led companies of pioneers to the Salt Lake Valley in 1847, 1852, and 1856. He was an alderman from the Sugar House district from 1854 to 1857. He became mayor of Salt Lake City in 1857 after the death of his business partner and then mayor Jedediah M. Grant. He served as mayor until 1866. He also served twice as a bishop in Salt Lake City.

Provo and Brigham Young Academy

Smoot Administration Building at BYU

Early in 1868 Brigham Young called Smoot to be president of the Utah Stake in Provo, Utah. Young was concerned with Church members' unity and cooperation, and he expected Smoot to improve the situation. According to family tradition, Smoot initially protested the call. After more than three decades of church and civic service, including nine missions, Smoot was apparently looking forward to enjoying the comforts that his hard work and successful business ventures had brought him. At the time Young delivered the assignment, he reportedly told Smoot, "There are three places, all on a par, one is as good as the other. They are Provo, Hell, or Texas. You can take your choice." Although Smoot supposedly responded, "I would sooner go to Hell than to Provo," he eventually took Provo, and by February, 1868, he had moved at least two of his wives and their children to the then wild and somewhat disreputable frontier town fifty miles south of Salt Lake. Within a week, Smoot was elected mayor, an office he held until 1881. He was a major investor in the Provo Woolen Mills, and was co-founder of a bank and a lumber company.

Smoot was the first head of the board of trustees of Brigham Young Academy. Smoot is also credited with making major financial contributions to the Brigham Young Academy that allowed it to continue functioning. Today, the administration building at BYU is named after Smoot.

External links

• Utah History Encyclopedia: Abraham Owen Smoot, media.utah.edu
• Guide to A. O. Smoot missionary diaries at the Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University. Click "see diary" to see scans of the original diaries.
• A. O. Smoot papers, MSS 896 at L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Brigham Young University. Contains missionary journals and correspondence written to Abraham Smoot.
• A. O. Smoot papers, MSS 574 at L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Brigham Young University. Contains letters and patriarchal blessing.

Political offices
Preceded by Jedediah M. Grant	Mayors of Salt Lake City 1857–1866	Succeeded by Daniel H. Wells