Collegiate Grads of BYA 1896



Collegiate Grads of BYA 1896's Website
Alphabetical Alumni
411, BYA Collegiate Students

411, BYA Collegiate Students

BYA Collegiates 411

In this Alumni Directory, our focus is on the often-forgotten BY Academy secondary senior classes between 1877 and 1903, and on the BY High School senior classes from 1904 to 1968.

In 1881 Brigham Young Academy's Scientific Department broke new ground by awarding a "collegiate diploma" to James E. Talmage, the first such BYA diploma to be issued. This raised serious questions about whether a secondary school could issue a "collegiate diploma" that would be recognized by colleges. James Talmage and others were required to take extra tests at other colleges before their collegiate credential was accepted.

BYU and the BYU Alumni Association keep records of BYA collegiate-level graduates, but have not in the past kept comprehensive lists of BYA high-school-level graduates. That is why our emphasis in this Directory is on high school graduates. Nevertheless, in this Directory we will also track the relatively small number of BYA students who received BYA collegiate degrees between 1881 to 1903, simply to avoid confusing the two groups, and because there is much overlapping. [We have also added the earliest BYU graduates, 1904 to 1935, for the same reasons.]



Click here for detailed information.


411, Class of 1896

411, Class of 1896

Class of 1896 411

Class of 1896.

The BY Academy Class of 1896 included seven High School graduates. These seven were commercial students [Babbitt, Hakes, Jordan, Kleinman, Lesueur, Nielson, and Shepherd].

It also included eight collegiate graduates [Booth, Brimhall, Christensen, Findlay, Hedquist, Maeser, Mendenhall, and Rasmussen]. Shepherd was listed as a BYA "Commercial College" graduate, but he is listed on the Commencement program with the High School Commercial Class of 1896. The Deseret News of 1896 mentions another BYA Commercial College graduate, Edgar T. Reid. We need to confirm whether this is correct by additional research. [Walter Hasler qualified for collegiate graduation (B. Pd.) in 1896, but actually graduated with the Class of 1897.]

Source 1: Students Record of Class Standings B. Y. Academy, Book 1. ~ ~ ~ ~ Source 2: Graduating Exercises Program Class of 1896, BYU Special Collections, US 1008, Box 1, Fd 1. ~ ~ ~ ~ Source 3: Annual Brigham Young Academy Report Vol. VI, BYU Special Collections, UA 10008, Box 1, Fd 1. To date, we have found only one of the 1896 Normal graduates, Anna Louise Hedquist.

Booth, Joseph Wilford

Booth, Joseph Wilford
Aleppo, Syria, Turkey TR

Joseph and 2 Booth

BY Academy High School Class of 1889, Collegiate Class of 1896. Joseph Wilford Booth. Joseph Booth received a Certificate: Elocution. Source: Utah Enquirer, May 28, 1889.~ ~ ~ ~ BY Academy Collegiate Class of 1896. J. W. Booth of Alpine, Utah. Graduated May 1896 with Bachelor of Pedagogy (B.Pd.). Source 1: Deseret News, May 30, 1896. Source 2: Graduation Program 1896. Source 3: Students Record of Class Standings of B. Y. Academy, Book 1, page 3. ~ ~ ~ ~ Joseph Wilford Booth was born on August 14, 1866 in Alpine, Utah. His parents were Richard Thornton Booth and Elsie Edge Booth. He married twice: First, to Mary Rebecca Moyle on May 28, 1891 in Logan, Utah. Second, to Edith Young [Nora Effie Young] on June 23, 1915. He died on September 5, 1928 in Alleppo, Syria, Turkey, at the age of about 62. Interment, Alpine, Utah. [One record says he married Rose Harvey of Pleasant Grove, Utah -- would have been his third marriage.] ~ ~ ~ ~ Joseph Wilford Booth was born in Alpine, Utah, on August 14, 1866, the ninth of ten children in his family. His parents, Richard Thornton and Elsie Edge Booth, joined the Church in England and emigrated to Utah, settling in Alpine in 1858 when the Saints were moving south to avoid the imminent invasion of Johnston’s Army. Though living in a rough, frontier environment, and without benefit of formal schooling themselves, Richard and Elsie emphasized the importance of education with their children. Father Booth is reported to have said that his children “shall always have books even if they had to go without shoes or other necessities.” The children, though heavily engaged in farm labor and other jobs to help meet family needs, were all literate and learned to relish the life of the mind. Booth’s early journals reflect a fascinating mix of the drudgery of manual labor, characteristic of life in late 19th century rural Utah, and his delight in more cerebral interests. He was a “cowboy poet” if ever there was one, a rustic intellectual with an endlessly eager mind who wrote a prodigious number of poems and songs and newspaper articles, gave many public speeches, read voraciously, played chess, engaged in rough-and-tumble politics, and often out of curiosity attended Catholic and Protestant church services. During the long summer evenings while tending animals high in the Wasatch mountains, he studied the stars, organized debates on current issues, and devised number games and math problems to challenge his mind. Two entries from his journal reflect this interplay of rugged frontiersmanship and relentless inquisitiveness. July 22, 1889, after shearing sheep all day: “At night we had a debate in the tent. Subject: Resolved the Negro has more cause of complaint than the Indian. There were four on a side. The result was 7 to 6 in favor of the affirmative. I was on the losing side.” Nov. 14, 1890. On the way home, “had a horse race with an Indian . . . and at night made a lot of bullets for my rifle. And a few hours were spent in the study of astronomy & theology.” On October 15, 1887, at the age of 21, Booth began attending Brigham Young Academy in Provo. He loved his studies, once writing that the education offered at B.Y.A. was “more precious than Rubies”. His instructors included Abraham O. Smoot, Karl G. Maeser, and the brilliant young English scientist, James E. Talmage who later married May Booth, Wilford’s younger sister. The journals during this period reveal his enthusiasm for learning but also his painful awareness of being a farm boy lacking polish who often doubted whether he belonged there and wondered if he could succeed. Majoring in Pedagogy, he was a diligent, eager student who made many friends, developing along the way a reputation as an orator and comedian. He was selected by his classmates to give the “class humor” speech at graduation ceremonies for BYA. Booth graduated in with a Bachelor of Pedagogy (B. Pd.) in 1896, nine years after he initially enrolled as a freshman. Booth’s delayed graduation can be explained by a phenomenon that continues even today to stretch time to graduation beyond the desired four-years: marriage. At the time he started attending BYA, Joseph was courting Miss Mary Rebecca Moyle, also from Alpine. Reba, as she was often called, was born in Alpine, Utah, on June 28, 1869. Her parents — pioneers who crossed the plains — were Henry Moyle and Mary Moss Moyle. She graduated from high school in Alpine, marrying Wilford in the Logan temple on May 28, 1890. After their marriage, the Booths lived in various places, including Pleasant View, Castle Rock, and Montpelier, Idaho. After moving back to Alpine, they built a new home and Wilford taught school and operated a general store. While Wilford was serving his first mission in the Middle East, they rented out their Alpine home and Reba lived with her relatives. She continued taking classes when possible at BYA, earning her Kindergarten teaching certificate in 1899 and teaching school in Alpine and Provo. These experiences teaching in school and church helped prepare her for leadership and teaching roles in the Turkish-Armenian missions, when she single- handedly established Primary and Relief Society organizations. ~ ~ ~ ~ In the late afternoon heat of August 3, 1898, an “immense crowd” of family and friends gathered to the meeting house block in Alpine, Utah, to honor a young LDS missionary, Joseph Wilford Booth, leaving the next day for his mission to Turkey. Together they picnicked, listened to speeches, sang songs, and engaged in “spirited” dancing. Handshaking, farewells, and kisses were abundant, and the customary collection to support a young elder’s mission yielded the hefty sum of $150. Booth’s subsequent travels took him across two continents and two oceans to Constantinople, the capital of the Ottoman Empire, and from there around Asia Minor to Aleppo, Syria. Booth had no idea that this bustling city, an ancient center of Middle Eastern trade and culture, would become a second home to him and, thirty years later, his final resting place. He eventually served three missions in the Middle East totaling seventeen years, during which he five times made the arduous trip across North America, the Atlantic Ocean, Europe, the Mediterranean, and Asia Minor; preached the restored gospel across the length and breadth of the Ottoman Empire, traveling by foot, horse, donkey, carriage, boat, car, train, and even bicycle; saved the lives of many Armenian church members after World War I; and meticulously wrote his observations in journals that would prove to be a rich repository of information about LDS church history and Middle Eastern social history in the late 19th and early 20th century. His journey from Alpine to Aleppo turned out to be physical, spiritual, and historical in nature, a watershed event that changed the course of his life, shaped the future of the Armenian members with whom he labored, and, long after his death, acted as a catalyst in establishing the Church and his alma mater, Brigham Young University, in the Middle East. ~ ~ ~ ~ Joseph Wilford Booth served for seventeen years during his three missions to the Middle East: from 1898-1902 as a proselyting elder, and from 1903-1909 and 1921-1928 as president. His wife, Reba Booth, served for ten years (1903-1909 and 1924-1928) with her husband while he was presiding over the mission and was the only sister missionary during that time. The Booths’ mission experiences following World War I are particularly noteworthy. In 1921, three years after the end of the war, Booth approached the First Presidency about providing help for the members in Turkey who had been sending letters pleading for assistance. In response, President Heber J. Grant called Booth as president of the newly named Armenian Mission and gave him the charge “to go to Turkey to carry help to the Saints there”. When President Booth arrived in the Middle East in November 1921, he found the mission in total disarray and ravaged by war: the number of church members was depleted by death, emigration, and deportation, and those who remained were scattered, lonely, and suffering from disease and starvation. One of the Armenian saints, a young man named Reuben Ouzounian, states in his autobiography that “all the Aintab Branch presidency lost their lives, as did a great many of the members.” He adds that “at times, the people had to eat the leaves of trees” to survive. Rather than pursuing normal ecclesiastical and missionary activities, then, Booth focused his efforts on dealing with problems of disease, poverty, illiteracy, and unemployment among church members. In December 1921, because of continued threats against Armenians and the dangers posed by the Turkish civil war, Booth petitioned General De Lamothe of France (which controlled Syria and parts of southern Turkey in the post-war mandate period) to evacuate LDS church members from Aintab, Turkey to Aleppo, Syria where they could be given proper care and safekeeping. The general was reluctant at first to approve Booth’s request and set a precedent that would “stir up strife” with other groups, but he finally relented. Booth noted in his journal: “I have prayed almost night and day for the Lord to open the way for us to rescue the Saints, and they in Aintab have fasted for 8 days so they write, and I surely felt to thank God for his answer to my prayers when the General at last said, ‘We will grant you permission to bring the 50.’” President Booth next turned his energies to the logistical challenges of transporting the members (including small children and women in poor health) and their household goods over sixty miles of wintry muddy roads to Aleppo. As preparations for departure neared completion, Booth began to have some second thoughts about the wisdom of this move, but these doubts quickly passed: “No persuasion could change the desire of the Saints to get out of the country in which they had seen so much suffering and bloodshed.” Booth then returned to Aleppo to prepare for the arrival of the Saints from Aintab, and to his great satisfaction was able to rent eight rooms with a communal kitchen and outdoor bathrooms in a building called Khan Jebria. On Friday evening, December 16, the train of 10 wagons and 57 people arrived in Aleppo after a grueling four-day journey from Aintab. Of the safe arrival of the little convoy he later wrote with satisfaction and gratitude: All was confusion in mud and rain, but we finally settled down for the night. I am now thankful to the Lord for his mercy unto us. He has guided and controlled affairs for us in answer to our fastings and prayers in such a marvelous manner that I am truly anxious to manifest my gratitude and heartfelt thanks and praise unto Him who has led the little flock out of the danger of death and destruction which seems to be hanging over the city of once proud now almost ruined Aintab. This exodus from Aintab was subsequently viewed by the Armenian Saints as a miraculous event in Church history – a “manifestation of God’s power and goodness” as Booth said – and was commemorated each year on December 16 in programs featuring original plays, poems, songs, essays, and stories written by the Armenian members. Booth’s final journal entry, dated December 3, 1928, reflects the energy, industry, and selflessness that had characterized his life of 62 years. It reads: “Was busy all day with checking, packing, and shipping the rugs.” Just below, written in Sister Booth’s hand, is this touching note: “My dear husband, Joseph Wilford Booth, passed away Dec. 5, 1928, at Aleppo, Syria.” President Booth was buried in Aleppo next to one of his own missionaries, Elder Emil Huber, whose funeral he had supervised twenty years earlier. Booth’s own words, written in tribute to the four LDS missionaries who had died in the Middle East, apply now to him and make a fitting epitaph: "We do not complain that they are here, neither do I think their loved ones at home feel that any slight has been intended. It seems more like the ruling of a wise Providence to allow their bodies to rest here under the dew and the sod, 'that their monuments might perpetuate their work in bearing witness of the truth.' . . . Each one has gained a good name, better than precious ointment. Each died in honor and in the harness of the priesthood, and surely the rest of each will be a glorious one." ~ ~ Alice Louise Reynolds Lecture, BYU, April 3, 2002: “From Alpine to Aleppo: The Booth Journals as Chronicle and Catalyst of LDS Growth in the Middle East” By James A. Toronto with David P. Charles, Laura R. Ostler, and Joshua W. Gubler.

Brimhall, Grace

Brimhall, Grace
Salt Lake City, Utah US

Grace and John Calderwood

BY Academy Collegiate Class of 1896. Grace Brimhall of Spanish Fork. Graduated May 1896 with Bachelor of Pedagogy (B.Pd.). Source 1: Deseret News, May 30, 1896. Source 2: Graduation Program 1896. Source 3: Students Record of Class Standings B. Y. Academy, Book 1, page 3. ~ ~ ~ ~ Grace Brimhall was born on September 5, 1875 in Spanish Fork, Utah. Her parents were George Washington Brimhall and Rachel Ann Myers. Grace married John Calderwood on June 20, 1900. Grace Brimhall Calderwood died on June 19, 1963 in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Christensen, Elsie Kathrine

Christensen, Elsie Kathrine
Provo, Utah US

Elsie and Alma Bartholomew

BY Academy Collegiate Class of 1896. Elsie Christensen of Gunnison, Utah. Graduated May 1896 with Bachelor of Pedagogy (B.Pd.). Source 1: Deseret News, May 30, 1896. Source 2: Graduation Program 1896. Source 3: Students Record of Class Standings B. Y. Academy, Book 1, page 12. ~ ~ ~ ~ Elsie Kathrine Christensen was born on March 8, 1875 in Mayfield, Sanpete County, Utah. Her parents were Lauritz Mathias Christian (Lars) Christensen (Christenson) and Elsie Katherine Christen Christensen (Andersen). The family lived for a time in Gunnison, Utah. She married Alma C. Bartholomew on June 26, 1901 in Fayette, Sanpete County, Utah. She died on June 28, 1964 in Provo, Utah. Her interment, Payson, Utah.

Findlay, Janette Ireland

Findlay, Janette Ireland
Provo, Utah US

Janette and Franklin Spencer

BY Academy High School Class of 1888, and Collegiate Class of 1896. Jenett Findlay received a Normal Certificate in 1888. Source: Deseret Evening News, May 28, 1888. ~ ~ ~ ~ BY Academy Collegiate Normal Class of 1896. Jenett Findlay of Panaca [not Pauaca], Nevada, received a Bachelor's of Pedagogy degree (B. Pd.). Source: Graduation Program 1896. A second source [note spelling differences]: "Janette Findley" - BY Academy Collegiate Class of 1896. Graduated May 1896 with Bachelor of Pedagogy (B.Pd.). Source 2: Deseret News, May 30, 1896. Source 3: Annual Brigham Young Academy Vol. VI, BYU Special Collections, UA 1008, Box 1, Fd 1. ~ ~ ~ ~ Jenette Ireland Findlay was born on October 9, 1871 [or 1872] in Bountiful, Utah. Her parents were Allen McPherson Findlay and Jessie Ireland Findlay. She married Franklin Spencer, Jr. on October 12, 1901. Franklin was born on March 20, 1872 in Manti, Utah. He died on August 28, 1943 in Salt Lake City, Utah. His interment, Provo City Cemetery. Jennette Spencer died on October 4, 1913 in Provo, Utah. Her interment, Provo, Utah.

King, M. E.

King, M. E.

M. E. King

[BY Academy Collegiate Normal Class of 1896. M. E. King. This person gave the 1896 Class Poem at Commencement Exercises on May 19, 1896, but is not listed with the class as an 1896 graduate.]

Maeser, Karl Emil B. (1866-1910)

Maeser, Karl Emil B. (1866-1910)
Salt Lake City, Utah US

Emil and Fanny Maeser

BY Academy High School Class of 1890, and Collegiate Class of 1896. Emil Maeser, Normal diploma. Source: Utah Enquirer, May 23, 1890. ~ ~ BY Academy Collegiate Class of 1896. Emil Maeser. Graduated May 1896 with Bachelor of Pedagogy (B.Pd.). For some reason, he was absent from Commencement Exercises. Source 1: Deseret News, May 30, 1896. Source 2: 1896 Graduation Program ~ ~ Faculty & Staff. ~ ~ ~ ~ Emil B. Maeser, German, Mechanical Drawing, and Military Tactics, 1891-1894. He appears in a photo of the first faculty to serve under Principal Benjamin Cluff in 1892. ~ ~ ~ ~ Karl Emil B. Maeser was born on March 29, 1866, in Salt Lake City, Utah. His parents were Karl Gottfried Maeser and Annie Henrietta Theresa Mieth. He married Fanny Lillian Loveland on March 29, 1894 in Salt Lake City, Utah. He died on January 19, 1910 in Salt Lake City, Utah. Interment, Salt Lake City Cemetery.

Mendenhall, Irene Boyer

Mendenhall, Irene Boyer
Salt Lake City, Utah US

Irene and Joseph Jensen

Brigham Young High School Class of 1892, and Collegiate Class of 1896, also Faculty & Staff. Irene B. Mendenhall appears in a photograph held by the BYU Archives purporting to be "the first class to graduate from the new Academy Building, 1892." (UAP 2 Folder 037) ~ ~ ~ ~ BY Academy Collegiate Class of 1896. Irene B. Mendenall of Springville, Utah. Graduated May 1896 with Bachelor of Pedagogy (B.Pd.). She served as President of the Normal Class of 1896. Source 1: Deseret News, May 30, 1896. Source 2: Graduation Program 1896. Source 3: Students Record of Class Standings B. Y. Academy, Book 1, page 8. ~ ~ ~ ~ Faculty & Staff. Irene Mendenhall, Training School, 1892-1894. She appears in a photo of the first faculty to serve under Principal Benjamin Cluff in 1892. ~ ~ ~ ~ Irena Boyer Mendenhall was born on December 13, 1871 in Springville, Utah. Her parents were Richard Lovell Mendenhall and Mariah Catherine Boyer Mendenhall. Irena married Joseph Jensen on December 23, 1896 in Salt Lake City, Utah. Joseph Jensen was born on December 5, 1867 in St. Charles, Bear Lake County, Idaho. Irena was a housewife. Irena Jensen died on June 11, 1953 in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Rasmussen, Daniel

Rasmussen, Daniel
Salt Lake City, Utah US

Daniel and Anne Rasmussen

BY Academy Collegiate Normal Class of 1896. Daniel Rasmussen of Mt. Pleasant, Utah, graduated May 1896 with Bachelor of Pedagogy (B.Pd.) He served as the Vice President of the Normal Class of 1896. Source 1: Deseret News, May 30, 1896. Source 2: Graduation Program 1896. Source 3: Students Record of Class Standings B. Y. Academy, Book 1, page 28. ~ ~ ~ ~ Daniel Rasmussen was born on February 25, 1876 in Mt. Pleasant, Utah. His parents were Morten Rasmussen and Karen Maria or Maria Christiansen Rasmussen. Daniel married Anne Jane Jorgensen on July 30, 1902 in Manti, Utah. Daniel Rasmussen died on June 29, 1959 in Salt Lake City, Utah. His interment, Mt. Pleasant, Sanpete County, Utah.

Reid, Edgar T.

Reid, Edgar T.
Salt Lake City, Utah US

Edgar and 3 Reid

BY Academy High School Class of 1896, Commercial College, and BYA High School Class of 1901, Normal. Class of 1896. Edgar T. Reid. He graduated May 1896 with diploma from the BYA Commercial College. Source: Deseret News, May 30, 1896. ~ ~ ~ ~ B. Y. Academy High School Graduate, Class of 1901. Edgar T. Reid. He received a "Normal Diploma, & Diploma in Shorthand & Typewriting, and Bookkeeping". Source: Students Record of Class Standings B. Y. Academy, Book 1, page 201. ~ ~ ~ ~ Collegiate Grad of BYU, Class of 1924. Edgar T. Reid. He received a BS Degree in Education in 1924. Source: Annual Record, B.Y. University, Book 10, page 154. ~ ~ ~ ~ Edgar Thomas Reid was born on March 13, 1877 in Manti, Sanpete County, Utah. His parents were William Taylor Reid and Mary Adelaide Cox Reid. Edgar married three times: ~ ~ First, to Ida Farnsworth [BYA High School Class of 1901] on September 12, 1902 in Manti, Utah. Ida was born on April 27, 1880 in Beaver, Utah. Her parents were William Henry Farnsworth and Harriet Susannah Shepherd Farnsworth. Ida died on August 27, 1929 in Beaver, Utah. Her interment, Manti, Utah. ~ ~ Edgar second married Agnes Mary Hoggan on September 3, 1930 in Salt Lake City, Utah. Agnes was born on June 20, 1879 in Manti, Utah. Her parents were Thomas Alexander Hoggan and Margaret _____ Hoggan. Agnes died on February 1, 1948. ~ ~ Edgar third married Hannah Caroline Christensen Blackham on March 20, 1952 in Salt Lake City, Utah. Hannah was born on November 11, 1883 in Moroni, Utah. Her parents were Peter Christian Christensen and Mary Mallinson Christensen. Hannah first married John Raymond Blackham on October 18, 1905 in Manti, Utah. She second married on February 7, 1946, then divorced, Arthur F. Coombs. Hannah third married Edgar T. Reid. Hannah died on October 12, 1973 in Salt Lake City, Utah. Her interment, Moroni, Utah. ~ ~ ~ ~ Edgar T. Reid died on September 19, 1955 in Salt Lake City, Utah. His interment, Manti, Utah.