Annie Clark was one of several wives of LDS Church Commissioner of Education Joseph Tanner. A good mother and devout Mormon woman, she nevertheless admitted that she saw her husband so infrequently that she felt more like his mistress. Her disappointment speaks volumes about the hardships of practical polygamy, as opposed to the ideal that was preached from the pulpit. Mormon Mother: An Autobiography by Annie Clark Tanner
4.5 stars. I think this should be a required book. Annie C. Tanner This is a wonderfully written story of a girl from the second marriage of an affluent polygamous family. Her father provided her with an excellent education in a time when few women had the opportunity of higher learning. While attending Brigham Young Academy she met her future husband who was a professor there. Annie became Professor J. M. Tanner's second wife in 1883.
From the day of her secret wedding Annie rarely saw her husband, except for visits to get her pregnant. Her husband never lived with her and rarely provided her with money. Annie gave birth to 10 children, 2 died early in life. She raised her children in poverty while making the best of every moment, and always trying to provide her children with a formal education. During this time polygamy was outlawed in the USA, so Mr. Tanner moved to Canada and married additional wives. Annie never talks bad about her husband, and always provides a positive picture to her children of their father, (who never deserved the kind words in my opinion). Annie C. Tanner Annie Clark Tanner was a second wife during the end of Mormonism's days of openly practicing polygamy. Her autobiography, published by her son O.C. Tanner, chronicles her life, her struggles during her time on the polygamy underground, being flighted from town to town, staying in the homes of relatives and friends as she hid from federal agents who descended on Utah and Idaho searching for evidence of polygamy as they investigated men who practiced it. She struggled to accept the concept of polygamy and had to deal with raising children with a physically and emotionally absent husband whose allegiance is to his first wife and family.
Tanner raised a family where education of her children was her first priority, she taught her children to question and find truth through inquisitive thoughtful research. Her story gives perspective from that time period that is severely lacking. The female perspective on the practice of polygamy and the trials that had to be endured, as well as her own journey to reconcile herself with her spirituality is well written and insightful and shows the pressures and burdens that polygamy placed on the women who bought into it. Annie C. Tanner I loved this book! I learned about where I come from! I couldn't put it down. Read it girls! I am not even a history buff. It was just a fascinating read about a woman I think I would have been friends with. She wrote her autobiography so very well. At times I didn't think I could turn the page for fear and horror of what was about to happen to her. Other times I couldn't stop. After reading this, I think I could have been a polygamist wife, but suffered much just as she did. I am SO grateful I live now, not then!
If you have any curiosity about polygamy in our church, why we practiced it, what it would have been like, then you should read this. If you have curiosity to know what the church was like in general at the turn of the twentieth century, read it. If you like to read about women of strength, courage, beauty, fortitude, read it. Danny and I both come from polygamist families 5 or so generations back. It helped me to love my ancestors more, appreciating them more. Annie C. Tanner I really enjoyed reading this autobiography. In fact, I could not put it down. What an amazing lady. I thought that I would read it and become more disgusted with the early LDS church about polygamy but I didn't (granted my feelings for it were not very kind in the first place). I am certainly not in favor of it-- I think it was extremely hard on mostly the women and children. I am very impressed with what she made of her life in spite of her polygamous marriage. I think that the early LDS church has definitely evolved from a more ancient Israel way of practicing religion to what it is now. Her statement that polygamy was the capstone to their religion and basically secured their glory in the afterlife was really interesting. It was almost a worship of the practice itself that they thought brought salvation. (I would be really curious to know what the monogamous LDS couples believed at that time-- if they felt the same way??) The story of the Manifesto and how it changed the church made me think even more that God truly lets us use our agency, I think even more than we realize. We make things more difficult or look beyond the mark so often. The early members were sometimes like the ancient Israelites-- they wanted so much more than they could really understand, but God gave them a set of strict rules to live by until they could look to the true source of salvation-- the Savior. The way Annie Clark describes her developing beliefs is just like this. I love that she is so candid about how she believed so strongly in polygamy at first, and how her feelings evolved and changed over her experiences living it-- all the while keeping her focus on trusting in the Lord. That is why she survived.
Anyway, enough of my rambling. This book really got me thinking! Annie C. Tanner
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Supposedly this woman is my great-great grandmother or is she my great-great aunt? I can never remember since she was a plural wife and that shit fucks up the bloodline. Annie C. Tanner I loved this book. It's been on my shelf for a long time. I wonder why I put it off. It is such an honest book. She tells her story with out any stops for a pity party. She just looked at life and decided to do what she could to help her children succeed. She is such a woman of principles. It never occurred to her to NOT live by her ideals. Annie C. Tanner I have to admit that when my mom passed this one on to me I took a while to pick it up because it looked so long and boring. I was wrong. Once I picked it up and read the preface, I was hooked and couldn't put it down.
It's basically a biography of a woman who was born to a second wife in polygamy, and then became a second wife herself. You get to see her honest inner struggle throughout the book as she struggles to understand her upbringing and beliefs and what her conscience begins telling her. Her beliefs change and evolve and it is heart wrenching to see what she and her children went through.
Although she seemed to be careful not to say anything really horrible about her husband, it was hard to respect and like him. But, toward the end of the book she recounts his death and mentions that he kind of died alone. He also left the same amount of money to each of his surviving wives (he had 6) even though he was estranged from some of them (maybe all of them? The author didn't seem to know much about his other wives). For some reason this little bit of info about him made me wonder what polygamy would look like from a man's perspective. I'm sure it would vary greatly, but we always hear the woman's perspective and the men always seem like such jerks! I'm just glad I didn't live at that time. Annie C. Tanner The autobiography of a woman (the mother of O.C. Tanner) who married into a polygamous relationship just seven years before the church stopped the practice. It gives a glimpse from a very faithful woman about the history and society of polygamy. Despite becoming disillusioned with polygamy and her husband (the original president of Utah State University), she still remains a faithful and positive member of the church. She says some interesting things about the Bible, however, but I believe that historically, her ideas about the Bible and evolution fall in line with those of BH Roberts. Annie C. Tanner Once again I have neglected logging the books I've been reading for far too long (darn that dissertation and my non-procrastinating ways). Luckily, I have a post-it note right here with all of them, and I will do my best to remember my thoughts.
[Book: A Mormon Mother] was Janell's pick for book club. It's the story of Annie Clark Tanner, as written for her children, of her life as a second wife to J.M. Tanner. It was enlightening and a bit disturbing. I know we are only getting one side of the story here, but she and her children were ill-treated by Tanner who eventually stops supporting them all together. It's only one story and as Annie Tanner says, every plural marriage relationship was different and there were no norms because relatively few practiced this principle, but I'm glad it wasn't my life.
I was so sad to miss book group when this was discussed. I'm sure it was a fantastic discussion.
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My book club in Maryland picked this book, and I finally got to discuss it with a book club nearly ten years after my initial read. I reread the book, and was struck once again by how smart Annie Clark Tanner is. She is very good at explaining how people in her part of the world understood life. It's fascinating to see how Annie changes over time and how her acceptance of certain things as this is how it is shifts to this can't be right. As her son writes in the preface, Annie's life is really one of tragedy, but the bright spot is her relationship with her children. Annie C. Tanner