Elizabeth Fetzer Bates
Elizabeth Fetzer Bates (March 30, 1909 – November 20, 1999) was an American Latter-day Saint musician, most noted for being the author of the children's songs "Book of Mormon Stories" and "Pioneer Children Sang As They Walked".
Biography[edit]
Bates was born in Salt Lake City, Utah to John Fetzer, an architect,[1] and his wife Margaret Baer.[2] She was the older sister of Emil B. Fetzer. Elizabeth graduated from LDS Business College.[2] From late 1928 to 1930, she served as a Mormon missionary in the Northern States Mission of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), based in Chicago.[2][3] In 1931, she established a Yesharah Society at the University of Utah, where women who had returned from missions could keep in contact with each other.[4]
In 1934 Elizabeth married Lucian Bates[5] in the Salt Lake Temple. They eventually had six children.[5] Bates also worked as a legal stenographer.[5]
Although Bates lost her sight in an accident in 1951,[5][6] she was still an active member of her community and her church. For a time Bates was the executive secretary to Utah governor Herbert B. Maw.[2] She served a mission again in the 1970s, with her husband, in Washington state.[2]
Bates earned several degrees at the University of Utah, a Bachelor of Science in Sociology,[5] a Bachelor of Arts in Music,[5] a Master of Arts in 1959,[7] followed by a PhD, developing a new system of coding music for blind musicians.[5][6] She taught piano and composed music.[5][6] She was also a member of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.[2] Besides "Book of Mormon Stories", Bates also wrote the song "Pioneer Children Sang As They Walked",[8] described as "Perhaps the most familiar and best loved .. song".[8] Bates had been inspired to write the song after meeting 104-year-old Ruth May Fox, who as a child had traveled on foot and by wagon to Utah.[8] Both songs are included in the LDS Church's Children's Songbook.
References[edit]
- ^ "Girl Unveils Plaque At Zoo". The Salt Lake Tribune. Salt Lake City, Utah. 15 August 1932. p. 12. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f "Obituary: Elizabeth Fetzer Bates". Deseret News. 2 December 1999. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
- ^ "Mission Field Calls Elizabeth Fetzer". The Salt Lake Tribune. Salt Lake City, Utah. 30 September 1928. p. 5. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
- ^ "They Fulfilled Missions. Yesharahs Are Young, But Very Active Group". The Salt Lake Telegram. Salt Lake City, Utah. 8 October 1941. p. 14. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Morris, Judy (17 November 1960). "Memory, Imagination Are Blind Woman's Eyes. 'I See Yesterday and Tomorrow'". The Salt Lake Tribune. Salt Lake City, Utah. p. C1. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
- ^ a b c "Union. Guest Speaker Highlights Meeting". The Jordan Valley Sentinel. Midvale, Utah. 18 February 1966. p. 11. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
- ^ "279 Receive Advanced Degrees Tonight at U." The Salt Lake Tribune. Salt Lake City, Utah. 8 June 1959. p. 49. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
- ^ a b c Latimer, Torri (20 July 1984). "Pioneer Children Enjoyed Games, Sang Songs During Journey West". The Daily Herald. Provo, Utah. p. 19. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
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- 1909 births
- 1999 deaths
- 20th-century Mormon missionaries
- American Latter Day Saint hymnwriters
- American Mormon missionaries in the United States
- Female Mormon missionaries
- Ensign College alumni
- Tabernacle Choir members
- Musicians from Salt Lake City
- University of Utah alumni
- American blind people
- 20th-century American musicians
- Songwriters from Utah
- 20th-century American non-fiction writers
- 20th-century American women writers
- 20th-century American women musicians
- American women hymnwriters
- Latter Day Saints from Utah
- American women non-fiction writers