Abraham H. Cannon. USHS collections.
The Prison Experience of Abraham H. Cannon BY WILLIAM C SEIFRIT
M A R C H 17, 1886, ABRAHAM H. C A N N O N was to appear for sentencing at 10:30 A.M. before J u d g e Charles S. Zane u p o n his conviction on a charge of unlawful cohabitation one month earlier. Extra guards were in the courthouse; spectators entering the courtroom were searched for concealed weapons; a company of soldiers from Fort Douglas was at the ready. Unusual security for a mildm a n n e r e d twenty-seven year old polygamist? Indeed it was. T h e extra security was not in place because of Abraham's sentencing but because the territorial g o v e r n m e n t anticipated that his father, George Q. Cannon, would appear for his own trial on that morning. W h e n George Q. failed to appear A b r a h a m was all but forgotten and O N
Dr. Seifrit is an editor in Salt Lake City, This paper was presented at the 1984 annual meeting of the Utah State Historical Society.
