May Anderson
- For the Danish supermodel, see May Andersen
May Anderson (June 8, 1864—June 11, 1946) was the second general president of the children's Primary organization of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints between 1925 and 1939. Anderson also served as the first counselor to general Primary president Louie B. Felt from 1905 to 1925.
Early life
Anderson was born in Liverpool, England, the third of Scott Anderson and Mary Bruce's twelve children. She emigrated to Utah with her family after the family had been baptized by missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. During the journey to Utah, Anderson met Louie B. Felt, who would become a lifelong friend and co-worker in the Primary Association of the church.
Involvement with the Primary Association
On October 5, 1890, Louie B. Felt, the general president of the Primary Association, asked Anderson to become a member of the general board of the organization. For the next forty-nine years, Anderson would work in some capacity in the Primary organization of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She was the general board's secretary for fifteen years (1890-1905), Felt's first counselor in the general presidency for twenty years (1905-1925), and general president of the organization for fourteen years (1925-1939). Anderson was also the first editor-in-chief of The Children's Friend, the church's official magazine for children.
During her tenure in the presidency of the Primary, Anderson initiated the Primary Children's Hospital in Salt Lake City, which is today part of Intermountain Healthcare. Anderson also helped establish kindergartens in Utah. Anderson's successor to the Primary general presidency was May G. Hinckley.
Anderson did not marry and died and was buried at Salt Lake City.
Suspected homosexuality
Historian D. Michael Quinn has suggested that Andeson and Louie Felt may have been homosexual partners.[1] After Felt's husband Joseph died in 1907, the two lived in the same house and slept in the same bedroom and were inseparable friends. During the period that Anderson was the editor-in-chief of The Children's Friend, it published an anonymous account of the love that existed between Felt and Anderson; the article referred to the couple as the "David and Jonathan of the Primary" organization.[2] Other historians of Anderson's life have not officially taken a position on her sexuality; one has stated only that Anderson "was as close to President Felt as any woman could be".[3]
See also
External links
- Sara Jordan, Lesbian Mormon History, March 1997.
Notes
- ^ D. Michael Quinn, Same-Sex Dynamics Among Nineteenth Century Americans: A Mormon Example, University of Illinois Press:Urbana, 242-247.
- ^ "Mary and May", The Children's Friend, vol. 18, Oct. 1919, 420-21.
- ^ Conrad A. Harward, A History of the Growth and Development of the Primary Association of the LDS Church from 1878 to 1928, Master of Arts Thesis, Brigham Young University, 1976, at 190.
References
- The Children's Friend, vol. 11, June 1912 (special edition dedicated to the life and work of May Anderson).
- Conrad A. Harward, A History of the Growth and Development of the Primary Association of the LDS Church from 1878 to 1928, Master of Arts Thesis, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, 1976.
- Mary R. Jack, "May Anderson: A Friend of the Children", The Children's Friend, vol. 40, Apr. 1941, 148.