John and Samuel were the progenitors of a large and prominent family. The Bennion family grew and prospered quickly, but due to occupations, religious missions, and educational pursuits, slowly drifted apart geographically. However, they kept close touch through frequent visits and correspondence, much of which is preserved in the collection.

The Bennion Family Organization has been successful in bringing together these records and adding biographies, typescripts of many of the journals and letters, and genealogical data. Much of the data has been published by the family organization in four volumes, which are available in the Historical Society reference library.

Samuel Bennion, the older of the two brothers, wrote very little. His brother John, on the other hand, seems to have enjoyed writing. He wrote many letters in which he frequently reported Samuel's activities as well as his own. No daily journals for John before 1855 have been found, but a number of letters written between 1842 when he left England and 1855 when he began his first journal, were found and are in the collection. They give information of the years the Bennions were in Nauvoo and of their journey west to Salt Lake City.

John practiced polygamy, entering three marriages between 1842 and 1847. Most of the early correspondence was addressed to the parents of his first wife, Esther Wainwright, who stayed in Liverpool, England. That John took the initiative in writing his in-laws, and considering the intimate nature of the exchanges, it is apparent that he was nurturing a long-held fondness for the Wainwright family. He wrote them often during his residence in Nauvoo, and continued to write as the pioneers crossed the plains on their way to the Rocky Mountains. Following his arrival in Utah Territory he continued an active correspondence with the Wainwrights.

John's primary interest was livestock, and many of his descendants continued the business he established. In the fall of 1868, having married twice more, he received a missionary call to labor under the direction of Elder Erastus Snow in the strengthening of the "Muddy" settlements located in Lincoln County, Nevada. With his wife Esther Ann Birch and her family, he started on a mission which occupied five years of his life and required him to establish half a dozen different homes, as he was called from place to place by the church authorities. During his absence he carried on a great deal of correspondence with his other wives at home, especially Mary Turpin. During his later years, his correspondence revealed that he moved around a great deal, but always took time to write his families, friends and relatives.

Of the three wives, Esther Ann was the most prolific writer, or at least more of her correspondence survives than that of the others. Esther wrote many letters to her parents and also to her husband's other wives. She and Mary cultivated a fond affection for each other and each others's children, and many of the letters express concern over the health and welfare of the other. Esther also wrote often to her oldest son Harden during their separations from each other.

Unfortunately, only one letter of Esther Wainwright survives. It is an interesting piece of correspondence, addressed to her mother in Liverpool and dated 1861. The letter describes the effects of the Civil War on Utah, Indian problems, the arrival of the Pony Express and telegraph, the removal of an occupation army and much information about the family. The paucity of records also applies to John's third wife Mary, whose papers are limited to one letter addressed to her son Heber and dated 1872.

Each of John's marriages produced children, and they or their issue and are represented in the collection, as they present a labyrinth of history. The children of John by Mary Turpin are the best represented in the collection. Heber, Alfred, Marcus (and Marcus' son Leo), Edwin and Milton have all contributed. The oldest son, Heber, seems to have been the most committed to keeping a journal. Heber spent much of his early life in developing the livestock industry started by his father. While caring for his flocks in Rush Valley, he wrote the few letters to his parents and brothers (ca. 1873-1877). In the fall of 1882, Heber was called on a mission to the Northern States, first to Wisconsin and later to Minnesota. About the same time as he left on his mission, he started his journal, which continued regularly until shortly before his death in 1932. The journal entries reflect Heber's missionary experiences in the Old Northwest as well as those of his second mission to Kansas during 1887-1889. Upon returning home the second time, the journal records his activities in his church as bishop of Taylorsville Ward for many years, his attention to his livestock, his educational pursuits at the University of Utah, and the various political and honorary positions he attained.

Alfred provided a few widely scattered letters to his bother Heber, and daybooks for 1898 and 1899. There is little to document his earlier life, but the daybooks record his mission to Texas and vividly describe the triumphs and frustrations he experienced. Records of Marcus are also scarce, consisting of a very few letters to his wife, Lucy. But the collection includes recorded recollections of Marcus by his son Leo. A little more survives of Edwin's papers. He also followed the family profession of raising livestock, but his early life is somewhat obscured by the scarcity of those records. He married Mary Elizabeth Lindsay in 1892 and shortly after departed on a mission to Holland, accompanied by his new bride. Mary's father was serving a mission to Great Britain at the time, and she joined him there. After seven months in Europe she returned to Taylorsville with her father, and after two years her husband also came home. It is for this period that a few of Edwin's letters survive, all addressed to his brother Heber.

The youngest son of John and Mary Bennion, Milton, also left only but a few tantalizing bits of correspondence to represent a full and active life of scholarship and civic activity. He began as his brothers working with livestock, but later acquired a university education and earned a number of prestigious civic and political appointments. In 1889 his education was interrupted by a mission call to New Zealand. Upon release he returned by way of Europe, stopping to visit his brother Edwin, who was then serving in the Netherlands mission. The few pieces of correspondence in the collection addressed by him were sent to his brother Heber from New Zealand (1891) and to his mother from Palestine (1893).

Four sons of John Bennion and his second wife, Esther Ann, are represented in the collection: Enoch, Harden, David, and Archie Birch. Harden left the family business to pursue an active and successful political career, including terms as Commissioner of Agriculture and Secretary of State for Utah. He was also active in organizing and managing the Provo Reservoir Company and the Utah Lake Irrigation Company, and became a member of the board of directors of the Wasatch Livestock Loan Company. In 1924 he was chosen as chairman of the Democratic State Committee and was instrumental in the election of George H. Dern as governor. Unfortunately, there is little in the collection to document his life.

Another son of John and Esther Ann, Israel, is barely represented in the collection, but four of his sons are: Mervyn Sharp, Howard S., Glynn Sharp, and Kenneth Sharp. Mervyn enjoyed a remarkable career as a Navy office. His career began at the Naval Academy, from which he graduated first in the class of 1910. He served with distinction in a number of commands, and was Captain of the U.S.S. West Virginia at Pearl Harbor the morning of the Japanese attack on 7 December 1941. During the attack he was mortally wounded, but continued to direct the efforts of his crew and maintain operations against the enemy that earned him the Congressional Medal of Honor posthumously. He had the further honor of having a new destroyer named after him. The U.S.S. Bennion also distinguished itself in engagements against the Japanese in the Pacific. Mervyn's records include biographical material, his official service record, and historical data on the U.S.S. West Virginia and U.S.S. Bennion.

Mervyn's brother Howard chose a career in the Army. He also distinguished himself by graduating at the top of his class at West Point in 1912. Howard was commissioned in the Army's Corps of Engineers and when World War I broke out was a Captain of Engineers in charge of military mapping in the Philippines. He was eventually ordered to Europe and there organized and became chief of the Army's camouflage service. He wrote several manuals on camouflage and shared with our allies the latest techniques. Howard also wrote the official history of camouflage work during the war. Accounts of his service are included in the collection, together with copies of some of his articles. The citation for the Distinguished Service Medal he received for his service in the war is also available in the records.

After the war Howard became assistant chief engineer of the Federal Power Commission. In 1924, he was appointed district engineer of the Fourth Mississippi River District at New Orleans, in charge of levee construction and bank protection works. He resigned from that position to become Director of Engineering of the National Electric Light Association in 1926. In the ensuing years, he also served as managing director of the Edison Electric Institute in New York, and other professional positions. His correspondence and copies of professional journal articles document a successful career and service in his church. During his active professional life he found time to hold many church positions including bishop and stake president.

Three children of John Bennion and his first wife, Esther Wainwright are included in the collection: Samuel Roberts, Harriet, and Angeline. Samuel Roberts prospered in the family livestock business. In 1876 he was called on a mission to the Central States, and served in Ohio. Following his return, he and his cousin Hyrum entered the milling and mercantile business at Taylorsville. In October of 1883 he was called on another mission, this time in Great Britain, where he served for two years. Upon his return he served as stake president of the newly created Uintah Stake in Vernal. In 1906 he was released from the presidency and ordained to the office of Patriarch, a position which he held until his death in 1915. Like his father, he also kept a journal, but not as faithfully. It covers his daily activities more or less continuously from 1871 to 1906. There is little else in the collection to document Samuel's life. There are also only short biographical sketches for his sisters Angeline and Harriet.

Three of Samuel's children are also represented: Enos, Laura and Samuel Roberts, Jr. Most of this material is historical, biographical, or genealogical information compiled by the Bennion family.

The collection of Samuel's papers does includes a daybook covering the period 1858-1872, but the references are cryptic and with many gaps. Fortunately, John's journals has entries for almost every day for two decades (1855-1877), make many references to Samuel. So closely knit were their lives that the story of one is largely the story of both. There is some biographical material and a few personal items for Samuel in the collection.

There are records for two of Samuel's children: Hyrum and Emma; this material, however, is restricted to a few pieces of biography. Two other sons, Joseph Bushell and John Rowland are represented through various of their children. Adam S., son of Joseph Bushell, represents the only significant collection among those offspring. Dr. Adam S. Bennion became a prominent educator and business executive. He was also a noted theologian and served as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Mormon Church and was widely acclaimed for his oratory and scholarship. But considering the great accomplishments of Dr. Bennion, little survives in the collection--only a few examples of his writing.

The records are arranged alphabetically by family member, and by type of material within each member's papers (e.g., correspondence, journals, etc.), and chronologically within each sub-group. The records were received from various family members, at times several members contributing papers from the same ancestor. These papers have been combined to provide easier access. The family inventories of documents donated are preserved in the front of each folder to indicate the type of material available, though the order, as indicated, may now differ from that in which the material was received.

The Bennion family has provided typescripts or copies of many of the older and rarer documents in addition to the originals, and at times instead of the originals. Copies have been made of most of the originals, primarily those before 1900; and copies are provided for patron use to limit unnecessary handling of the originals. The originals have been removed to the end of the collection (boxes 8-10), and stored in the vault in the Society library for greater security.