House of Representatives

Of the first legislative session's forty-five representatives, thirty-one were Latter-day Saints, eighteen were Utah-born, and thirty were Republicans. The average age was forty-one years old, with George L. Nye (twenty-six years old) as the youngest member and John Lowry as the oldest (sixty-six years old).

This diverse group included:

  • George Beard, a British immigrant-turned Coalville merchant, noted as a prominent early Utah photographer.
  • Ogden doctor, Amasa S. Condon, a poet and veteran of the Civil and Spanish-American wars.
  • Presley Denny, a Beaver County lawyer elected Speaker of the House who was esteemed by both parties. On the session's last day, the Republicans gifted him a gold watch and the Democrats presented him with a gold-headed cane.
  • R. E. Egan, a Davis County judge and rancher who had been a Pony Express rider.
  • Emil J. Raddatz, a German immigrant and mining manager who became the first mayor of Stockton. As a legislator, he notably referred to his young daughters as "girl voters."
  • Siblings on "opposing sides" Republican and Latter-day Saint William P. Nebeker and his younger brother, Democrat Aquila Nebeker, who was not a Latter-day Saint.

Like the Senate, the House discussed, debated, reviewed, and wrote bills on the organization and functions of courts of law and various other offices, and governing cities and counties. Additional issues included irrigation, school administration, the age of consent, and capital punishment. See the House Journal for more of the session's proceedings. 

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Representatives of the First Legislative Session, 1896. Utah State Historical Society.

1.(Henrietta Clark-Clerk) 2.(James X. Ferguson) 3.(Emil J. Raddatz) 4.(Thomas D. Lewis) 5.(Harwood M. Cushing) 6.(Presley Denny) 7.(George Beard) 8.(Orvil L. Thompson) 9.(William Gibson) 10.(Peter M. Maughan) 11.(Andrew P. Sorenson) 12.(M. W. Mansfield) 13.(Joseph Monson) 14.(Joseph R. Murdock) 15.(Joseph E. Robinson) 16.(William W. Wilson) 17.(Abraham O. Smoot) 18.(Thomas J. Stevens) 19. (Amasa S. Condon) 20.(James T. Thorne) 21.(William Howard) 22.(R. E. Egan) 23.(Adelbert Cazier) 24.(Marinus Larsen) 25.(Thomas Fergusson) 26.(Alvin V. Taylor) 27.(George L. Nye) 28.(Aquila Nebeker) 29.(James Andrus) 30.(J. F. Snedaker) 31.(Edgar L. Clark) 32.(William P. Nebeker) 33.(Daniel Heiner) 34.(Nathan J. Harris) 35.(Seth W. Morrison) 36.(Thomas Sevy) 37.(Charles Morrill) 38.(John Lowry) 39.(Hyrum Lemmon) 40.(John Shafer) 41.(James Bolitho) 42.(Lee A. Curtis) 43.(William H. Gibbs)

Not Pictured: (Edward B. Critchlow) (John M. Bernhisel) (Peter Thompson)