A Pioneer Mormon Retailer Edwin D. Woolley

dominated Utah. Almost all developed interests in mines, but they also had other businesses—in wholesale goods and groceries, apparel stores and in real estate. Some moved away from Utah in their later years but still kept ties to the state. Many stayed, and Utah was strengthened as a result.

Source materials for this article include the following online web pages: Rochelle Kaplan, “The Earliest Utah Jews,” “Ogden Jews,” and “Corinne: Gentile Capital of Utah,” Utah’s Jewish History; Ivette D. Isom and Eveline Brooks Auerbach, adapted as “Jewish Pioneers: Julius and Fanny Brooks,” I Love History, Utah Division of State History; “The Auerbachs: Jewish Pioneer Department Store Family of Salt Lake City, Utah,” Jewish Museum of the American West; Jack Goodman, “Jews in Zion,” Utah History to Go: The Peoples of Utah; “Brooks Arcade,” National Register of Historic Places in Salt Lake County; “Herbert Watters (1880–1893),” “Seward Watters (1887–1893),” and “Florence Watters (1890-1893),” Find-A-Grave; “Emanuel Kahn,” obituary, Salt Lake Herald, 5 Feb 1905, 2.4, and “City and Neighborhood,” obituary, Intermountain Catholic, 4 Feb 1905, 8, Chronicling America; “Gumpert Goldberg,” community trees, FamilySearch; “Simon Bamberger” and “Samuel Newhouse,” Wikipedia; and Ardis E. Parshall, “Emo’s Grave? No, It’s the Resting Place of Master Brewer Jacob Moritz,” Salt Lake Tribune, 10 Jul 2009, Salt Lake Tribune Online.

A Pioneer Mormon Retailer

Edwin D. Woolley,

came with his family to Utah late in 1848. He was known as a good manager and businessman, as well as a faithful Saint, and spent many years as the bishop of the Salt Lake Thirteenth Ward in the heart of Salt Lake City. Edwin operated both as manager of the fi rst tithing store in Salt Lake and as proprietor of his own retail store located in the same building. Separate records were kept of the business of the two stores. Necessity required early Utah settlers to manage a barter economy. Little hard cash or gold circulated in the Salt Lake Valley during the fi rst decade of settlement. When a woman needed to obtain spices, she might bring a dozen eggs to the store to trade for the needed spice. If a cooking pot was needed, a home-made wooden chair might be offered as barter. This required the store to be able to receive articles and keep produce of varying sizes and quantities, as well as to accept small and large livestock in payment for purchases. The selection of goods for sale was very limited, and higher quality goods were often in demand but unavailable. Woolley’s store was known for selling at “church prices,” meaning fair prices. NonMormon retailers often set higher prices as they sought to make a profi t or because they offered a larger or higher quality assortment of merchandise. Edwin Woolley was not immune to trying to satisfy his customers’ demands. It is reported that when he received a bolt of black suit cloth in his dry goods shipment from St. Louis, he cut the bolt of fabric in half, and placed one of the partial bolts in the front of the store with a sign that read “Our best suit cloth—$2.00 yard.” The other half of the bolt was placed at the back of the store with a sign reading “Suit cloth—$1.00 yard.” The “best” suit cloth always sold out fi rst.