22nd Utah Territorial Legislature

The 22nd Utah Territorial Legislature met in 1876. The regular election for the House of Representatives was held August 3, 1874.[1] The regular election for the Territorial Council was held August 2, 1875.[2]

Session

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The legislative session convened on January 10, 1876, at the City Hall in Salt Lake City, and ended on February 18, 1876.[3][4]

Members

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Name County Office Notes
Territorial Council:
Jacob G. Bigler Millard
Robert T. Burton Salt Lake
John T. Caine Salt Lake
William W. Cluff Summit
Leonard E. Harrington Utah
John W. Hess Davis
Jesse N. Smith Iron
Abraham O. Smoot Utah
Erastus Snow Washington
Lorenzo Snow Weber President
Warren S. Snow Sanpete
Moses Thatcher Cache
Wilford Woodruff Salt Lake
Joseph A. Young Sevier Elected August 2, 1875, died August 5, 1875[5]
Territorial House of Representatives:
George Atkin Tooele Election contested, seated February 1, 1876[6]
William Bringhurst Utah
John Brown Utah
Anson Call Davis
Albert Carrington Salt Lake
Lorin Farr Weber
Joel Grover Juab
Abram Hatch Wasatch
Francis M. Lyman Millard
John R. Murdock Beaver
William B. Pace Utah
Ward E. Pack Summit
Charles W. Penrose Weber
Canute Peterson Sanpete
Orson Pratt Salt Lake Speaker
William B. Preston Cache
Albert P. Rockwood Salt Lake
Lorenzo W. Roundy Washington
John Sharp Salt Lake
Silas S. Smith Iron
Willard G. Smith Morgan
John Taylor Salt Lake
Thomas Taylor Salt Lake
Albert K. Thurber Sanpete
Jonathan C. Wright Box Elder
Brigham Young Jr. Cache

The House seat from Tooele was caught up in a general dispute over the 1874 election in that county. The Liberal Party, a rough coalition of disaffected Mormons allying with non-Mormon residents of the territory, achieved there its first notable victory over the People's Party supported by the Mormon establishment; the Liberal ticket prevailed in the official results, and Erastus S. Foote was chosen as the territorial House delegate over George Atkin. However, each side attacked the validity of the other's votes, keeping the outcome in doubt as further wrangling ensued.

 
George Atkin contested the Tooele election result and was seated as its House delegate halfway through the session

The Liberals argued that many votes for the People's ticket were illegal, having been cast by alien nationals.[7] With a sizable portion of the Mormon population having immigrated from England, including some of its leaders (Atkin among them), this allegation might disqualify many voters and also render candidates ineligible to serve. Most claimed to be naturalized as Americans, but often had their papers issued by the county probate courts, whose jurisdiction to confer citizenship was further called into question.[8][9]

For its part, the People's Party faction alleged that many voters were ineligible due to not meeting the requirement of being taxpayers and resident in Utah for six months. This particularly singled out the relatively transient mining settlements in Tooele County, largely non-Mormon districts that overwhelmingly provided the base of Liberal support.[10] It was claimed that up to 80% of their votes should be disqualified.[11] In response, the Liberals wished to assert that many miners were in fact residents, while the failure to enroll them as taxpayers was due to the negligence of territorial officials. They also questioned the treatment of women voters under the circumstances. The territorial legislature had granted women the right to vote in 1870, but they were not required to be on the tax lists, and most women voters were Mormon, in contrast to the predominantly male mining communities.[12]

The federal appointees in the territory, Governor George L. Woods and Chief Justice James B. McKean of the Supreme Court, sided with the Liberals, so Foote was issued the certificate of election and presented himself at the opening of the legislative session.[3] But the House of Representatives, claiming the power to ascertain the qualifications of its own members, opted to consider Atkin's suit to contest the result, and referred the matter to its Committee on Elections. After conducting an investigation, the committee in its report rejected a significant number of ballots for each side that were deemed illegal, but considerably more for Foote, with the result that the election was awarded to Atkin.[6]

References

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  1. ^ "General Election 1874". Deseret Evening News. August 1, 1874. p. 1. Retrieved May 6, 2024.
  2. ^ "General Election 1875". Deseret Evening News. July 31, 1875. p. 2. Retrieved May 6, 2024.
  3. ^ a b "Legislative Assembly". Deseret Evening News. January 11, 1876. p. 3. Retrieved May 6, 2024.
  4. ^ "Legislative Proceedings". Deseret Evening News. February 21, 1876. p. 3. Retrieved May 6, 2024.
  5. ^ "The Memory of Hon. Joseph A. Young". Deseret Evening News. February 18, 1876. p. 3. Retrieved May 6, 2024.
  6. ^ a b "The Legislative Assembly". Deseret News. February 9, 1876. p. 6. Retrieved May 6, 2024.
  7. ^ "Alien Office-Holders". Salt Lake Tribune. October 4, 1874. p. 1. Retrieved May 7, 2024.
  8. ^ "Mr. Rowberry Explains". Salt Lake Tribune. October 8, 1874. p. 2. Retrieved May 7, 2024.
  9. ^ "General Items". Salt Lake Tribune. October 9, 1874. p. 2. Retrieved May 7, 2024.
  10. ^ "The Record in the Contested Election Cases". Salt Lake Herald-Republican. September 29, 1874. p. 3. Retrieved May 7, 2024.
  11. ^ "To be Contested". Deseret Evening News. October 10, 1874. p. 3. Retrieved May 7, 2024.
  12. ^ "Legislative Assembly". Salt Lake Herald-Republican. February 2, 1876. p. 3. Retrieved May 7, 2024.