William Jennings

Who was William Jennings?

William Jennings was the mayor of Salt Lake City, Utah Territory, from 1882 to 1885. A merchant and financier, Jennings has been described as "Utah's first millionaire".

Jennings was born in England and immigrated to the United States as a young man. In St. Joseph, Missouri, he married Jane Walker, who was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The newly married couple moved to Salt Lake City in Utah Territory in 1852. Shortly after arriving in Salt Lake City, Jennings was baptized into the LDS Church. Soon afterwards, he married a plural wife.

Jennings opened a butchery and tannery in Salt Lake City and later founded a successful mercantile business. In 1864, he had become so successful that he constructed an expensive building, the Eagle Emporium, and used it as the headquarters of his mercantile businesses. The state of his business at that time made Jennings a leading merchant west of the Mississippi River. Eagle Emporium was later sold to the LDS Church and became a central component of Zions Cooperative Mercantile Institution. His mansion, devereaux, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.