Ruth May Fox

Ruth May Fox (November 16, 1853 – April 12, 1958) was a nineteenth century English-born women's rights activist in the Territory of Utah. Fox was a poet, hymn writer, and a leader of youth in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church).

Early life

Ruth May was born in Westbury, Wiltshire, England to James May and Mary Ann Harding. When Ruth was five months old, her parents converted to Mormonism. When her mother died in childbirth when Ruth was 18 months old, Ruth was sent to live with various Mormon families and relatives. In 1865, James May emigrated to the United States and shortly thereafter brought Ruth and her sister to Philadelphia. The family moved to Utah Territory in 1867.

Family

On May 8, 1873, Ruth married Jesse W. Fox, Jr. In 1888, Jesse Fox married a plural wife without Ruth's knowledge. Around the same time, Jesse lost his business, went into debt, and the Foxes ultimately lost their home. Ruth was the mother of 12 children.

Women's suffrage movement

Fox was active in promoting the women's suffrage movement in Utah and did so largely through her involvement in the Republican Party. She was president of the Utah Woman's Press Club, chair of the Second Precinct Ladies' Republican Club, treasurer of the Utah Woman Suffrage Association, and was a member of the Reaper's Club, the Salt Lake County Republican Committee, the Deseret Agricultural and Manufacturing Society, and the Traveler's Aid Society. In the late 1800s, she worked for the inclusion of woman suffrage in the Utah state constitution and helped draft the suffrage memorial presented and accepted by the 1895 Utah constitutional convention. Fox and Emmeline B. Wells met with Susan B. Anthony and Anna Howard Shaw when the visited Salt Lake City on May 12, 1895.

Church leadership

In 1905, Fox was asked to be the first counselor to Martha Horne Tingey in the general presidency of the LDS Church's Young Ladies' Mutual Improvement Association. Fox served in this capacity until 1929, when church president asked Fox to become the third general president of the YLMIA.

During her tenure as president, Fox changed the name of the organization to the Young Women's Mutual Improvement Association and replaced the organization's slogans with scriptural themes. In 1930, Fox wrote the hymn "Carry On", a song that is now associated with the Young Women and Young Men Organizations of the LDS Church; ["Carry On" is hymn #255 in the LDS Church hymnal.] in 1995, "Carry On" was adopted by Gordon B. Hinckley as the theme of his tenure as President of the Church. [Jeffrey R. Holland, [http://lds.org/portal/site/LDSOrg/menuitem.b12f9d18fae655bb69095bd3e44916a0/?vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD&locale=0&sourceId=772a43097758b010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&hideNav=1 “President Gordon B. Hinckley: Stalwart and Brave He Stands,”] "Ensign", June 1995, pp. 2–3.]

Fox served until 1937, when she was succeeded by her own first counselor, Lucy Grant Cannon.

Death

Fox died at Salt Lake City at the age of 104.

Notes

References

*Linda Thatcher, [http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/cgi-bin/showfile.exe?CISOROOT=/EoM&CISOPTR=3709&filename=3710.pdf "Fox, Ruth May"] , in "Encyclopedia of Mormonism" 2:524–525
*——, "'I Care Nothing for Politics': Ruth May Fox, Forgotten Suffragist," "Utah Historical Quarterly" 49:239–253 (1981)
*——, [http://historytogo.utah.gov/utah_chapters/statehood_and_the_progressive_era/ruthmayfoxforgottensuffragist.html "Ruth May Fox, Forgotten Suffragist"] , "History Blazer", Oct. 1995.

External links

* [http://www.lds.org/pa/display/0,17884,6870-1,00.html Ruth May Fox (1929–1937)] : summary of Fox's tenure as president of the Young Women Organization
* [http://mormonlit.lib.byu.edu/lit_author.php?a_id=2201 Mormon Literature Database: Ruth May Fox]
* [http://www.cainclan.us/AncestryInfo/FOX-EVENSON/Ruth%20May%20Fox/MY%20STORY.htm My Story by Ruth May Fox] : biography written by Fox's son and approved by Fox