Brigham Young University BYU ScholarsArchive Theses and Dissertations 2002 A Biographical Study of Elizabeth D. Kane Darcee D. Barnes Brigham Young University - Provo Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd Part of the History Commons, and the Mormon Studies Commons BYU ScholarsArchive Citation Barnes, Darcee D., "A Biographical Study of Elizabeth D. Kane" (2002). Theses and Dissertations. 4504. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/4504 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by BYU ScholarsArchive. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of BYU ScholarsArchive. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. ABSTRACT A biographical STUDY OF ELIZABETH D KANE darcee D barnes department ofhistory master of arts this is a biographical study ofelizabeth D kane 183619091836183 619096 1909 travel writer and wife of thomas L kane non mormon friend ofthe nineteenth century cormonsmormons ofutah primary source materials are mainly elizabeths fourteen diaries spanning the years 1853 to 1909 letters and narrative accounts elizabeth was greatly influenced by thomas while maintaining her independence she was interested in religion and feminist issues and those interests combined with her marital relationship shaped her lifes direction thomas kanes interest in the cormonsmormons also influenced elizabeths religious and feminist views and she initially struggled with accepting thomass work for them because of their practice of polygamy when elizabeth went to utah in 1872 her religiosity feminism and marriage provided the context in which she wrote her travel accounts twelve mormon homes 1874 and A gentile in utahs dixie 1995 elizabeth and thomas had a companionate marriage theoretically they were equal partners but thomas often acted as elizabeths mentor introducing her to well known feminists encouraging her to attend medical school and develop her writing talents religion was important to her particularly as she tried influencing thomas to join her christian presbyterian faith elizabeth thought about the womens rights movement and wrote her own ideas regarding womens role endorsing feminist concepts like voluntary motherhood and addressing issues like polygamy and the double moral standard this study analyzes elizabeths travel accounts which provide information on rural utah and mormon polygamous women from the perspective of a trusted outsider during her utah visit elizabeth changed from being resentful ofthe cormonsmormons because of thomass devotion to them to being friendly towards them after thomass death in 1883 elizabeth worked as a local leader in the womens christian temperance union and was a prominent citizen ofolkaneofkanekane pennsylvania the town which she and thomas founded in the 1860s this study is important to womens history because elizabeth represents how many nineteenth century women became more independent and socially conscious it is significant in mormon history because otherofher travel accounts and because her writings provide information on the important relationship between thomas L kane and the Morcormonsmormonsmons A biographical STUDY OF ELIZABETH D KANE by darcee D barnes A thesis submitted to the faculty of brigham young university in partial fulfillment ofthe requirements for the degree of master of arts department ofhistory brigham young university august 2002 BRIGHAM YOUNG university GRADUATE COMMITTEE APPROVAL of a dissertation submitted by darcee D barnes this thesis has been read by each member of the following graduate committee and by majority vote has been found to be satisfactory 7 S ff j Z date tasarolcarolcaroiroi C madsen chair 7 5025 020 Zjv cj 6 date brian Q cannon 17 jirdjurdemjurdwmwMW kwMM date jillmderrjUrd1 M ejii derraderr0 BRIGHAM YOUNG university As chair ofthe candidates graduate committee I1 have read the thesis ofdarceeofdarcee D bamesbarnes in its final form and have found that 1 its format citations and bibliographical style are consistent and acceptable and fulfill university and department style requirements 2 its illustrative materials including figures tables and charts are in place and 3 the final manuscript is satisfactory to the graduate committee and is ready for submission to the university library 6 6e date barotcarotcarotccaroccC madsen ae chair graduate committee accepted for the department thomas G alexander graduate coordinator accepted for the college sallsailsalisalty H14 arlowbarlowA associate dean college offamily home and social sciences acknowledgments I1 would like to thank the members of my committee for the time and effort they gave to help me prepare this work which is much better because of their guidance I1 am also very grateful for the love and support of my husband richard barnes and the patience our daughters rachel and ellie showed during the writing of this thesis CONTENTS chapter 1 introduction I1 biographical sketch dealings with the cormonsmormons 2 FAITHFUL WIFE independent WOMAN ELIZABETH KANEKANES S MARRIAGE relationship 13 the early years emotional dependence thomass training ofelizabeth conflict between thomas and elizabeth 3 A WOMAN OF FAITH ELIZABETH xaneKANEKANESganes S RELIGIOUS LIFE 46 religion in elizabeths personal life thomass acceptance and rejection 4 ELIZABETH KANES BRAND OF FEMINISM 75 thomass influence elizabeths theory 5 STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND ELIZABETH VISITS TWELVE mormonhomesMORMON HOMES 104 the kanes in salt lake city comparison with other travel accounts elizabeths observations observations on polygamy and women 6 CHANGING perceptions A GENTILE IN UTAHS DEVEDIXIE 142 vnviivil stereotypes challenged home and family life among the cormonsmormons religiosity in st george elizabeth crusades for the cormonsmormons 7 LIFE AS AN independent WIDOW 176 life after the utah trip activities ofelizabeths later years 8 conclusion 200 WORKS CONSULTED 205 viiivin CHAPTER ONE introduction at the end ofelizabeth kanes three month visit to the cormonsmormons in utah in 1872 she wrote to her daughter you will not understand how I1 have come to pity this people for you know how hard it was for me to make up my mind to come among them and associate with them I1 have written to you as a sort of penance for the hard thoughts and contemptuous opinions I1 have myself instilled into you 1 she also wrote in her diary that her willingness to stay at brigham youngs lion house in salt lake city at the end of the visit was a public testimony to the little circle ofthose to whom my name is known that my opinion ofthe mormon women had so changed during the winter that I1 was willing to eat salt with them 2 these statements were recorded in her travel account A gentile in utahs dixie 1872731872 73 elizabeth kanes st george journal 1995 this book along with her other better known travel account twelve mormon homes visited in succession on a journey through utah to arizona originally published in 1874 stand out as unique commentaries on nineteenth century mormon life elizabeth kane and her husband thomas L kane visited utah in late 1872 and early 1873 thomas was a great friend ofbrigham young and although not a mormon himself he was very friendly to the mormon people elizabeth was not so friendly to the Morcormonsmormonsmons and as illustrated in the above quotes her contemptuous opinions ofthem elizabeth D kane A gentile account of life in utahs dixie elizabeth kanes st george journal eds norman R bowen and mary karen bowen solomon salt lake city tanner trust fund university ofutah library 1995 170 2tuatuibid 177 had made her reluctant to go to utah in part this thesis will examine how elizabeth kane went from one extreme despising the cormonsmormons to the other calling them her friends it will look at the reasons why she originally did not like the Morcormonsmormonsmons in spite of her husbands strong desire to help them however this will be a study of more than just her relationship with the Morcormonsmormonsmons because she left several diaries and other writings her experiences among the cormonsmormons can be analyzed by looking at three elements that characterized her approach to life this thesis will examine elizabeth kanes life not as a full biography but rather highlighting these three specific themes which are all interrelated elizabeths religiosity her relationship with her husband and her views on womens issues from the perspective of these important themes elizabeths two travel accounts and feelings toward the cormonsmormons will be analyzed in detail elizabeth kane is known for her travel accounts but other aspects ofher life expressed in several unpublished diaries are very interesting and worth studying as well she was a writer physician and reformer at a time when most women were confined mainly to their homes she was also a secretary and advisor to her husband helping him with his many activities including his work on behalf ofthe Morcormonsmormonsmons during her lifetime she published the aforementioned travel account tried her hand at a work of fiction which she never finished and wrote family and community histories she was among the first students at the female medical college of pennsylvania in the early 1850s and was intensely interested in womens issues although not a member of any specific organization promoting womens rights she was also very active in the temperance 2 movement being a local leader in the womens christian temperance union in the late nineteenth century elizabeth