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Thatcher family papers

 Collection
Identifier: MS 0538

Scope and Contents

The Thatcher family papers (1881-1904) consist of the missionary journals and letters of Roy Davis Thatcher and Diana Bean Thatcher.

The Diana Bean missionary journals consist of five books, dating from October 1901 to January 1904. In these books, Bean records her daily activities as a missionary in Bradford and London, England. She writes of her feelings of excitement and satisfaction as well as her feelings of loneliness and despair. Additionally, Bean's journals provide a great deal of information regarding her mission companion, Margaret Thurman, and other individuals serving missions in the Bradford and London areas from 1900-1904. Other materials in the collection relating to Diana Bean Thatcher include a copy of a blessing she received from her grandfather, Abraham O. Smoot, at her birth; brief biographical sketches of prominent Bean family members; a biographical sketch of Margaret T. Smoot, Diana's step mother; and a small record book in which Bean made a daily account of meetings attended, tracts handed out, and gospel conversations held while on her mission.

Roy D. Thatcher's account of his mission is contained in three journals, dating from October 1900 to January 1903. Thatcher spent the first year of his mission (October 1900-1901) in Neuchatel, Switzerland. Journal entries during this period tell of his struggle in learning to speak French and describe his day to day activities as a missionary. In October 1901, part of the Swiss mission was closed and Thatcher was transferred to London where he remained until January 1903, when he was released from his mission. In addition to his missionary journals, the collection contains a 1887 journal Thatcher kept prior to serving his mission. In this journal Thatcher writes of the weather, attending Utah State Agricultural College, church activities, and his family.

Box three of the collection contains a series of fifty-one letters Roy Thatcher wrote to his mother while on his mission. The letters are at times an interesting contrast to his diaries, in that Thatcher is often more open in expressing his feelings about his faith and his mission.

Also included in the Thatcher Family Papers is an 1856 edition of The Mormon, a newspaper published by the LDS Church in New York to counter the increasing amount of anti-Mormon literature being circulated on the East Coast. The paper, signed by the editor and church official John Taylor, has been removed to the Rare Books Division of Special Collections.

Dates

  • 1881-1904

Conditions Governing Access

Access to originals restricted except with permission of the head of the Manuscripts Division.

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

Diana Bean Thatcher was born 7 February 1881 in Provo, Utah, to James William and Olive Smoot Bean. She served an LDS Church mission to England from 1902 to 1904. On 21 February 1905, she married Roy Davis Thatcher in the Salt Lake temple. The couple, who met while both serving missions in London, had four children: Paul Bean, Emerson Bean, Olive, and Miriam. From 1909 to 1923, Thatcher resided in Logan, Utah, where her husband practiced law. In 1923, the Thatcher family moved to Ogden where Diana remained for the rest of her life. She was a member of the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers and a founder of the Modern Literature Club of Ogden. Diana Bean Thatcher died 14 January 1967 in Ogden, Utah, at the age of eighty-six.

Roy Davis Thatcher was born 17 September 1879 to John Bethuel and Sarah Maria Davis Thatcher. Born and raised in Logan, Utah, Thatcher attended the Utah State Agricultural College and in 1909 obtained his bachelor of law degree from the University of Chicago. Thatcher left Logan in 1900 to serve an LDS Church mission to Switzerland and England, returning in 1903. On 21 February 1905, Roy Thatcher married Diana Bean, a fellow missionary he met while in England. Thatcher began practicing law in Logan in 1909 and served as the Logan District Attorney from 1912 to 1920. In 1923, Thatcher and his family moved to Ogden, Utah, where he became associated with the law firm of Spencer and Young. He was a member of the American Bar Association, the Utah State Bar, and was awarded an honorary doctor of laws degree in 1947 from the University of Utah. Active in community and state affairs, Thatcher was associated with the Rotary, Timpanogos, and Aztec Clubs. Additionally, he served on the Board of Trustees of the Utah State Training School, was a member of the governor's committee which formulated Utah's liquor control system, and helped organize and acted as counsel for the First Security Corporation, one of the first bank holding companies in the country. Roy D. Thatcher died 11 August 1955 at the age of seventy-five, in Ogden, Utah.

Extent

2 Linear Feet

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

The Thatcher family papers (1881-1904) consist of the missionary journals and letters of Roy Davis Thatcher and Diana Bean Thatcher.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift of Olive Thatcher Irwin in 1987.

Processing Information

Processed by Allesen Peck in 1989.
Title
Inventory of the Thatcher family papers
Status
Completed
Author
Finding aid created by Allesen Peck.
Date
1989 (last modified: 2019)
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
Finding aid encoded 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