David Orson Calder (June 18, 1823 – July 3, 1884) was a prominent early pioneer settler in

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

Biography

A native of

Thurso Thurso (pronounced ; sco, Thursa, gd, Inbhir Theòrsa ) is a town and former burgh on the north coast of the Highland council area of Scotland. Situated in the historical County of Caithness, it is the northernmost town on the island of Great ...

Caithness Caithness ( gd, Gallaibh ; sco, Caitnes; non, Katanes) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. Caithness has a land boundary with the historic county of Sutherland to the west and is otherwise bounded by ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

, he joined

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

(LDS Church) in 1840, and in 1851 set off for Utah as a

Mormon pioneer The Mormon pioneers were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), also known as Latter Day Saints, who migrated beginning in the mid-1840s until the late-1860s across the United States from the Midwest to the Sa ...

, accompanied by his widowed mother Anne Johnston Calder, his brother George Calder, and five other siblings. A man of excellent business ability, his talents were quickly recognized. In 1857, he was appointed chief clerk to the Trustee in Trust of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and in that position organized a system of accounts and records in all the departments of the church. Between 1859 and 1870, he held office as Territorial Treasurer of the

Utah Territory The Territory of Utah was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from September 9, 1850, until January 4, 1896, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Utah, the 45th state. ...

under

Brigham Young Brigham Young (; June 1, 1801August 29, 1877) was an American religious leader and politician. He was the second President of the Church (LDS Church), president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), from 1847 until his ...

. After a visit to his native country, where he also labored as a

Mormon missionary Missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church)—widely known as Mormon missionaries—are volunteer representatives of the church who engage variously in proselytizing, church service, humanitarian aid, and commu ...

, he was chosen business manager and managing editor of the

Deseret News The ''Deseret News'' () is the oldest continuously operating publication in the American west. Its multi-platform products feature journalism and commentary across the fields of politics, culture, family life, faith, sports, and entertainment. Th ...

, the principal newspaper in Utah at the time, and even today the second-largest newspaper by circulation between

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

and

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

. In 1867, Calder was asked by Brigham Young to establish a commercial college in

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

, which subsequently evolved into one of the components of the

University of Utah The University of Utah (U of U, UofU, or simply The U) is a public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the flagship institution of the Utah System of Higher Education. The university was established in 1850 as the University of De ...

. Calder ran the Deseret Musical Association in the late 1850s, which was largely a school teaching children to sing in choruses. This group was highly acclaimed in Utah by such people as Eliza R. Snow. For part of the 1860s Calder held the monopoly on music supplies in at least

if not all of Utah, as owner of the Calder Music Store in Salt Lake City. He supplied music journals, scores for both classical and popular pieces, and strings, reeds and other necessary aids to playing ones instrument.Hicks. ''Mormonism and Music''. p. 95 Calder was also a founding shareholder of the Utah Central Railroad, and was elected a director of Zion's Co-operative Mercantile Institution (''ZCMI''), widely viewed as the first

department store A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store made a dramatic app ...

in the United States. He held his director position until his death in July 1884.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Calder, David Orson 1823 births 1884 deaths 19th-century Mormon missionaries Converts to Mormonism Deseret News people Mormon missionaries in Scotland Mormon pioneers People from Thurso Presidents of the University of Utah Scottish emigrants to the United States Scottish Latter Day Saints Scottish Mormon missionaries 19th-century American journalists American male journalists Latter Day Saints from Utah