Lula Greene Richards

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Louisa Lula Greene Richards
Kanesville, Iowa
DiedSeptember 9, 1944(1944-09-09) (aged 95)
Salt Lake City, Utah
Occupation(s)Poet and editor
SpouseLevi Willard Richards
Children7
Signature

Louisa Lula Greene Richards (April 8, 1849 – September 9, 1944)[1] was a poet and was the first female periodical editor in Utah Territory. Richards's work was published under a variety of names, including Louisa L. Greene, Louise L. Green, Lula Green, and Lula G. Richards. She was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church).

Early life and education

Louisa Lula Greene was born in

Kanesville, Iowa, to Evan M. Greene (a son of John P. Greene) and Susan Kent.[1] Lula was the eighth of their thirteen children.[2] She was born during an outbreak of cholera. Throughout her life, she was a member of the LDS Church.[1] Both of her grandmothers were sisters to LDS Church president Brigham Young. Her family moved to Kanesville in 1846.[2] In 1852, they moved to Salt Lake City, Utah Territory, after Young evacuated Kanesville.[1] Greened later lived in Provo, and her family moved to Grantsville in 1859, and they moved again to and Smithfield in 1864.[2]

Greene began writing poetry as a young girl and there is evidence that she wrote poetry at age fourteen.

University of Deseret in Salt Lake City.[2]

Career

In 1869, Greene was the editor of the Smithfield Sunday School Gazette, a small periodical issued to individuals who attended the LDS Church Sunday School in Smithfield for six issues from October to November.[2] However, in 1871, she was required to return to Smithfield due to a family illness. Lacking the money she needed for the trip, Greene submitted a poem to the Salt Lake Daily Herald and asked editor Edward L. Sloan to buy it for $7.50, which was the amount of money she needed to return home. Sloan agreed, and her poem "Tired Out" was published on the front page of the Daily Herald.[2]

Sloan soon contacted Greene in 1872 and asked her if she would be interested in being the editor of a newspaper for Latter-day Saint women called Woman's Exponent. Greene conferred with general Relief Society president Eliza R. Snow, and after receiving her blessing and the approval of Brigham Young, Greene accepted Sloan's offer.[1] In 1872, Women's Exponent began publication in Salt Lake City with Greene as editor. Her name was printed as "L. L. Greene" in the first issue, but due to letters to the editor that assumed she was male, she changed her name to "Louise L. Greene" in subsequent issues. Greene edited the periodical until she was succeeded in 1877 by Emmeline B. Wells, who edited until Women's Exponent was discontinued in 1914. Greene requested to leave her position there due to responsibilities at home and to her family.[2] However, she continued to contribute to the Exponent and other church publications.[3]

In 1873, Greene married Levi Willard Richards, the son of Levi Richards and a nephew of church leader Willard Richards. Levi served in many positions in the LDS Church, including as a member of the general board of the Sunday School and as a patriarch.[2] Lula and Levi had seven children, four of whom lived to adulthood. One of their children was the artist Lee Greene Richards.[4][2]

In 1883, Louisa Richards became an editor with the

Children’s Friend,[7] and Relief Society Magazine.[8]

Later life

Her husband, Levi, took a

plural wife, Persis Louisa Young, who was Greene's niece. They were married on the eleventh anniversary of Lula and Levi's wedding. Persis stayed at the Richards' household and helped with chores. Levi died in 1914.[1]

Richards continued to be an active member of the LDS Church. She helped with the Young Ladies' Mutual Improvement Association and the Relief Society. She was also called by the church to be a member of the General Board of the Primary, a position she held for twenty-five years.[9] She worked in the Salt Lake Temple from its dedication in 1893 until 1934. She continued writing until her death. Richards died on September 9, 1944,[1] in Salt Lake City.[9]

Publications

Poetry

Fiction

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Lula Greene Richards". Mormon Literature Database. Brigham Young University. Retrieved December 7, 2009.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Bennion, Sherilyn C. (1981). "Lula Greene Richards: Utah's First Woman Editor". BYU Studies. 21 (2): 1–14. Retrieved May 31, 2016.
  3. ^ a b "Louisa Lula Greene Richards". The Deseret News. July 23, 1977. Retrieved May 31, 2016.
  4. ^ Andrew Jenson. Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia, vol. 3, p. 703.
  5. ^ Richards, L. Lula Greene (November 1921). "Father and Son". Improvement Era. 25 (1). Salt Lake City: General Board of Y.M.M.I.A.: 243. Retrieved May 31, 2016.
  6. ^ Richards, L. Lula Greene (1922). "Mother and Daughter". Young Woman's Journal. 33: 250. Retrieved May 31, 2016.
  7. ^ Richards, L. Lula Greene Richards (1912). "New Year's Records". The Children's Friend. 11. Salt Lake City, Utah: Primary Association: 645. Retrieved May 31, 2016.
  8. ^ Richards, L. Lula Greene (January 1916). "A Sure Defense". The Relief Society Magazine. 3. LDS Church: 546. Retrieved May 31, 2016.
  9. ^ a b "Louisa Lula Greene Richards". The First Fifty Years of Relief Society. The Church Historian's Press. Retrieved May 31, 2016.

External links

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