Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
While social distancing and trying to make sense of everything happening in the world during these unsettling times, we can be uplifted and inspired by those who endured difficult times before us. One extraordinary example is that of Martha Hughes Cannon, a woman trailblazer during the women’s suffrage movement who became the first female state senator.
As a frontier medical doctor, Cannon was instrumental in changing the way water fountains were designed in Salt Lake City to curb the spread of disease. She was also a major proponent for vaccinations during a deadly Smallpox outbreak.
When her baby sister and her father died on the pioneer trail to Salt Lake City, Martha was determined to become a healer. But her chosen road wasn’t an easy one as she faced roadblocks common to Victorian women.
Fighting gender bias, geographic location, and mountains of self-doubt, Mattie pushed herself to become more than the world would have her be, only to have everything she accomplished called into question when she met the love of her life: Angus Cannon, a prominent leader and polygamist in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Forced into exile from the American frontier to her childhood home of Wales, Martha’s path took her on a life journey that is almost stranger than fiction. She sought to reconcile her role as a mother with her desire to leave the world a better place. But as the U.S. government increased persecution of her lifestyle, heartache wasn’t far behind. She learned that knowing who you are and being willing to stand up for what you believe in is what truly defines a person.
To bring to light the remarkable life story of "Mattie," and to commemorate the 100th anniversary of U.S. women’s suffrage, through Shadow Mountain Publishing, Marianne Monson, author of "Frontier Grit and Women of the Blue and Gray," released a new historical fiction novel: "Her Quiet Revolution: A Novel of Martha Hughes Cannon: Frontier Doctor and First Female State Senator." This novel is the story of one woman’s determination to change her world, and the path she forged for others to follow.
Martha is finally receiving overdue national recognition after 150 years. A statue of Cannon will debut in the U.S. Capitol’s National Statuary Hall in August 2020 for the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment’s ratification giving women the right to vote.
The Midwest Book Review praises Monson’s novel: "Deftly written work of fiction...based on the life of Martha Hughes Cannon....The story of one woman’s determination to change her world, and the path she forged for others to follow. She learns that knowing who you are and being willing to stand up for what you believe in is what truly defines a person. An inherently fascinating read from beginning to end, ‘Her Quiet Revolution’ is an especially recommended addition to community library general fiction collections."
Start reading this inspiring story today when you download the eBook online. It’s also available in hardcover wherever books are sold.
