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Levi Edgar Young papers

 Collection
Identifier: MS 0531

Scope and Contents

The Levi Edgar Young papers (1901-1963) consist of two journals, a book of pressed flowers, correspondence, and news clippings. Other miscellaneous papers are also included. The two journals record Young's LDS Church missions to Germany and Switzerland. The news articles were written by Young about the history of the LDS Tabernacle and organ in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Dates

  • 1901-1963

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

Twenty-four hour advanced notice encouraged. Materials must be used on-site. Access to parts of this collection may be restricted under provisions of state or federal law.

Conditions Governing Use

The library does not claim to control copyright for all materials in the collection. An individual depicted in a reproduction has privacy rights as outlined in Title 45 CFR, part 46 (Protection of Human Subjects). For further information, please review the J. Willard Marriott Library’s Use Agreement and Reproduction Request forms.

Biographical Sketch

Levi Edgar Young was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, in 1874, the son of Dr. Seymour B. Young and Ann Elizabeth Riter Young. He attended the University of Utah, from which he graduated with a bachelors degree in 1895. His education continued at Harvard University in 1898, where he principally studied history but also took classes from and became acquainted with the noted American philosopher William James. In 1910, he received a master's degree in History from Columbia University.

After his graduation from the University of Utah, Young began a long career as an educator. He taught in the Salt Lake City public schools from 1895 until 1896. From 1896 to 1898, he taught English at LDS College; and after returning from Harvard in 1899, he was appointed assistant professor in the department of history at the University of Utah. He continued to teach there, with the exception of breaks for further education and missionary service for the LDS Church, until he retired forty years later in 1939.

Young participated actively in the LDS Church. In 1901 he served a mission in Germany. After a year of service he was appointed president of the Swiss Mission. He was 28 years old at the time, making him one of the youngest mission presidents to serve in the LDS Church. Both of the journals in the collection resulted from Young's missions to Germany and Switzerland. Young returned to his teaching duties in 1904, and in 1907 he married Valeria Brinton. Together, they had three children. In 1910 he was made a member of the LDS Church's First Council of the Seventy and, in time, he became the senior president of that group, a position that both his father and grandfather (Joseph Young--a brother of Brigham Young) had held. From 1922 to 1934 Young served as president of the Temple Square Mission in Salt Lake City, Utah; and after retiring from teaching, he again served as mission president for three years (1939-1942), in the New England Mission.

Throughout both his teaching and ecclesiastical careers, Young was honored several times, particularly for his work teaching history. He was named head of the Utah Historical Society in 1945, and lead the group's celebration of the Utah pioneer centennial in 1947. In 1959 the society awarded Young an honorary life membership in recognition of his fifty years of work with the society. In 1960 the University of Utah bestowed an honorary Doctor of Humanities degree on Young for his long service to that institution. Through Young's intercession the university libraries were also able to acquire several historical book collections and rare volumes. Young died in Salt Lake City in 1963.

Extent

0.25 Linear Feet

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

The Levi Edgar Young papers (1901-1963) consist of two journals, a book of pressed flowers, correspondence, and news clippings. Other miscellaneous papers are also included. Levi Edgar Young (1874-1963) was a Utah educator and member of the LDS Church's First Quorum of the Seventy.

Related Materials

See also the Levi E. Young papers located at the Utah State Historical Society, Salt Lake City, Utah.

Separated Materials

Photographs were transferred to the Multimedia Division of Special Collections (P0616).

Processing Information

Processed by Lora Crouch in 1990.

Addendum processed by Tad Davies in 1995.
Title
Inventory of the Levi Edgar Young papers
Status
Completed
Author
Finding aid created by Lora Crouch.
Date
1990 (last modified: 2019)
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
Finding aid written in English.

Repository Details

Part of the J. Willard Marriott Library Special Collections Repository

Contact:
295 South 1500 East
Salt Lake City Utah 84112 United States
801-581-8863