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Cornelia Paddock

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Cornelia Paddock (1840–1898, aged 57) was a leader of the anti-polygamy movement in Utah. She was a founding member of the Utah Ladies' Anti-Polygamy Society.

Life

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Paddock was born in New York City in 1840[1] and moved to the Utah Territory with her husband Alonzo[2] in 1870, at which point she became involved in political movements that opposed plural marriage.[1]

Involvement in the anti-polygamist movement

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In 1878, Paddock formed the Ladies Anti-Polygamy Society, along with Sarah Ann Cooke and Jennie Anderson Froseith.[3]

Paddock's writing frequently appeared in the Anti-Polygamy Standard from 1880 to 1883.[2] She also published two novels with anti-Mormon themes, titled The Fate of Madame La Tour and In the Toils; or, Martyrs of the Latter Days (1879).[2][4]

In 1884, Paddock signed a petition against women's suffrage, in conjunction with Angie Newman and the Women's Christian Temperance Union.[2]

Some historians theorize that Paddock may have influenced the strict anti-polygamist policies of Nebraska politician Algernon Paddock, who was her husband's cousin.[2]

Woman's Home Association

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In October 1894, she was elected president of the Woman's Home Association of Salt Lake City (WHA),[2] an organization formed with the mission of providing employment training for sex workers. The WHA was disbanded in 1901, three years after Paddock's death.[4] In 1884, Paddock signed a petition against women's suffrage, in conjunction with Angie Newman and the Women's Christian Temperance Union.[2]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Cornelia Paddock". Better Days Curriculum. Retrieved 2022-09-14.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Nichols, Jeffrey D. (2002). Prostitution, Polygamy, and Power: Salt Lake City, 1847-1918. University of Illinois Press. ISBN 978-0-252-02768-0.
  3. ^ MacKay, Kathryn L. (2005). "Women in Politics". In Scott, Patricia Lyn; Thatcher, Linda; Whetstone, Susan Allred (eds.). Women in Politics: Power in the Public Sphere. Paradigm Or Paradox?. University Press of Colorado. pp. 360–393. doi:10.2307/j.ctt4cgr1m.14. ISBN 978-0-87421-625-7. JSTOR j.ctt4cgr1m.14. Retrieved 2022-09-14. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  4. ^ a b "Woman's Home Association Tried to Help the "Fallen"". History to Go. Retrieved 2022-09-14.