Fox, Ruth May, 1853-1958

Ruth May Fox was a leader in women's organizations in the Mormon Church and active in the campaign for women's rights in Utah. She was born in Wiltshire, England, to James and Mary Ann May. Her mother died when she was an infant. In 1865, her father, a worker in a woolen mill, went to the United States and later sent for his daughter and Mary Thompson Sexton, a widow with whom he had left Ruth, and whom he subsequently married. The family moved in 1867 to Salt Lake City. In 1873 Ruth May married Jesse Williams Fox, a surveyor; they had six sons and six daughters. Ruth Fox served for forty years as a member of the General Board of the Young Ladies Mutual Improvement Association, was treasurer of the Utah Territorial Woman Suffrage Association, and was active in Republican political organizations. She died in Salt Lake City. In 1888 her husband took a second wife, Rosemary Johnson.

From the description of Papers, 1856-1977 (inclusive). (Harvard University). WorldCat record id: 122611633

Ruth May Fox was a women's suffragist, the president of the Young Women's Mutual Improvement Association of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (1929-1937), author of Latter-day Saint hymn "Carry On" and a mother to twelve children.

From the guide to the Ruth May Fox scrapbook, 1953, (L. Tom Perry Special Collections)

Active in the suffrage movement; general president of the Y.L.M.I.A..

From the description of Diary, 1894-1939. (Utah Historical Society). WorldCat record id: 122497759

Ruth May Fox was born on 16 November 1853 to James May and Mary Ann Harding in Westbury, Wiltshire, England. Her family converted to Mormonism and journeyed to Utah in 1867. She married Jesse W. Fox Jr. in May 1873 and they had twelve children. Fox was very involved in the Mutual Improvement Association and Relief Society of the LDS Church during her lifetime. Ruth May Fox died in 1958.

From the guide to the Ruth May Fox papers, 1894-1973, (J. Willard Marriott Library, University of Utah)