Worth Their Salt

by Colleen Whitley

This collection of biographies portrays eighteen women with diverse cultural and social backgrounds who have made important but sometimes unrecognized contributions to Utah's story, past and present. They range from participants in Utah's early history such as Mormon midwife Patty Sessions and African American pioneer Jane Manning James to modern figures such as community activist Esther Landa and prominent author and historian Helen Zeese Papanikolas. The other women portrayed include actress Maude Adams, school and hospital founder Mother M. Augusta (Anderson), theater and teaching pioneer Maud May Babcock, poet Sarah E. Carmichael, Ute leader Chipeta, silver queen Susanna Bransford Engalitcheff, legislator Alice Merrill Horne, Greek midwife Georgia Lathouris Mageras, socialite and builder of one of Salt Lake City's finest houses Elizabeth Ann McCune, United States Treasurer Ivy Baker Priest, Ladies Literary Club founder Eliza Kirtley Royle, artist Mary Teasdel, journalist Kuniko Muramatsu Terasawa, and Park City madam Mother Urban.

Genres: Nonfiction

280 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 1996

Reviews

[Alice · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this book. I love it so much I wanted to read the sequel! These amazing unsung heroes are people we can learn so much from. This book has inspired me to write a book about my more local female heroes!

[Charlotte · Rating 5 out of 5]

Notable But Often Unnoted Women of Utah
Worth Their Salt
Interesting stories of 18 women...one is my grandmother...Alice Merrill Horne

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Intriguing stories and a potpourri of biographers make this collection seem a bit haphazard but a good ten-minute story or reference source. I used it in conjunction with Women of Character:Profiles of 100 Prominent LDS Women.

I serendipitously found my own Great-Grandmother, Phoebe Ann Morton Angell, mentioned in the Patty Bartlett Sessions chapter (on page 9) and quickly found that most of the women mentioned and I had some sort of tie …

…Thanks to Maude May Babcock I was able as a youth to perform in Kingsbury Hall and on the Babcock stage at Pioneer Memorial Theater.

…I snickered at the way Alice Merrill Horne worked the Rules Committee in the Utah House of Representatives (my stomping grounds!) to combine two committees (with her as Chair!) in order to have a forum to push her particular arts bill through (and have benefited from the bill which created the Utah Arts Council).

…Even as small as learning more about Elizabeth Ann Claridge McCune, a much revered Great-Grandmother of a good friend.



I immediately recognized names which are shared with cities, counties, public buildings and colleges all around me and gained insight into some of the nuances of this peculiar state and its culture:

“Esther [Rosenblatt Landa] confronted few barriers growing up as a Jew in Mormon Utah. In fact, the handful of Salt Lake City Jews fit easily into this philo-Semetic world. The Mormons see Jews as Biblical brethren descended from Joseph, their mutual patriarch. A recent history of Midwestern pogroms, and exodus across the Mississippi River into the western wilderness, and the settlement in a promised land with its own dead sea confirmed in Mormon minds a similar chosen destiny. Latter-day Saints are, as well, fervent Zionists, predicting in accordance with ancient covenant and prophecy the eventual gathering of the Jews in Israel. Because conversion of the Jews was expected to occur only after their return, Mormon proselytizing efforts are inconsequential (p. 231).”


“Immigrant and Mormon cultures clashed not primarily because of political and economic differences but ‘in the differing attitudes toward familial relationships.’ For example, ‘Though adhering in principal to a patriarchal family, …[immigrant] families were really centered on the mother, who served as the glue which held the extended family together (From Helen Zeese Papanikolas, p. 255).’”




I was especially intrigued with the lives of Eliza Kirtley Royle (I can’t help but wish that I could belong to her exclusive Ladies Literary Association);the lesser known but highly talented artist, Mary Teasdel; and Sarah Elizabeth Carmichael, whose beautiful poetry was "so well done as to cast doubt upon her authorship (p. 63)."


Pale, blighted flowers, the summer time
Will smile on brighter leaves;
They will not whither in their prime,
Like a young heart that grieves;
But the impulsive buds that dare
The chill of April showers,
Breathe woman-love's low martyr prayer -
I kiss your leaves, pale flowers.

Sarah Elizabeth Carmichael
p. 73



I do question the “notable” title for some of these women. What really makes a person worthy of note? I find that many amazing women leave this earth having touched lives without any trace of history. And yet, here is a section on Mother Rachel Urban, the bordello Madam of Park City. A great deal of time is spent touting her business abilities as a benefit for the people of Utah! “The fact that Mother Urban was managing sixteen houses [of ill repute] indicates that she was extremely competent at business (p. 126)” and “Without Mother Urban, the miners might have made the long journey to Salt Lake City, resulting in absenteeism in the mines (p. 127).” Yes. Heaven forbid they should return home to their wives.

Another waste of space seems to be the chapter on Susanna Bransford Emery Holmes Delitch Engalitcheff whose greatest talent seems to be marrying rich men and making sure she is secured in her social circles.

In addition, it seems the section about Chipeta is more speculation than fact.

[Mzford · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is quite an amazing collection of articles about 18 outstanding but lesser known women in Utah, each by a different author. Some of their stories I enjoyed more than others, but they all had something to teach me. I loved reading about Helen Zeese Papanikolas, an expert on Greek immigrants, and I plan to read one of her books soon. Ivy Baker Priest was another favorite as her daughter was in my first grade class in Bountiful before Ivy became national Treasurer. There were Mormon connections with many, but religion was not the focus of these sketches. I loved the ethnic variety offered in this collection; it gives such a broader taste of Utah cultures than we might otherwise assume.

[Vicky · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading a short, inspirational bio each morning. I'll read the second volume soon.

[Sharon]

Patty Bartlett Sessions

[Keith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent short histories of women who are important in Utah history. Maude Adams is a favorite.