Milton Holmes Welling (January 25, 1876 – May 28, 1947) was an American businessman, banker, and politician who served two terms as a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

from

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 ...

from 1917 to 1921.

Early life and education

Born in

Farmington Farmington may refer to: Places Canada *Farmington, British Columbia * Farmington, Nova Scotia (disambiguation) United States *Farmington, Arkansas *Farmington, California *Farmington, Connecticut *Farmington, Delaware * Farmington, Georgia * ...

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. ...

, Welling attended the common schools, the

Latter-day Saints' University Ensign College (formerly LDS Business College) is a private college in Salt Lake City, Utah. The college is owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and operates under its Church Educational System. It also includes ...

, and 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 ...

, the last of which he received a degree from. From 1896 to 1898 Welling served as a

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...

for

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 the church's Southern States

Mission Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to: Organised activities Religion *Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity *Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...

.Jenson. ''LDS Biographical Encyclopedia'', Vol. 1, p. 770

Career

He engaged in agricultural and mercantile pursuits and also in banking. Starting in 1902, Welling was the president of the LDS Church's Malad

Stake Stake may refer to: Entertainment * '' Stake: Fortune Fighters'', a 2003 video game * ''The Stake'', a 1915 silent short film * "The Stake", a 1977 song by The Steve Miller Band from '' Book of Dreams'' * ''Stakes'' (miniseries), a Cartoon Netw ...

headquartered in

Malad, Idaho Malad City (also commonly known as Malad) is the only city in Oneida County, Idaho, United States. Its population was 2,095 at the 2010 census, down from 2,158 in 2000. He was elected a member of the board of trustees of Brigham Young College,

Logan, Utah Logan is a city in Cache County, Utah, United States. The 2020 census recorded the population was 52,778. Logan is the county seat of Cache County and the principal city of the Logan metropolitan area, which includes Cache County and Franklin ...

, in 1906. When the Bear River

of the LDS Church, based in

Garland, Utah Garland is a city in northeastern Box Elder County, Utah, United States. The population was 2,400 at the 2010 census. History Garland was originally named "Sunset" and settled in 1890. The first settler was David E. Manning.Andrew Jenson. ''E ...

was organized in 1908, Welling became its first president. He served in this calling until 1917.

Political career

Welling served in the

Utah House of Representatives The Utah House of Representatives is the lower house of the Utah State Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Utah. The House is composed of 75 representatives elected from single member constituent districts. Each district cont ...

from 1911 to 1915.

Congress

Welling was elected as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

to the Sixty-fifth and Sixty-sixth Congresses (March 4, 1917 – March 3, 1921). He did not seek renomination, but was an unsuccessful Democratic candidate for the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

in 1920.

Later career

Welling served as director of registration for the State of Utah 1925–1928. Welling also served as president of the Bear River Stake again from 1925–1929.Jenson. ''Encyclopedic History'', p. 49 Welling was elected secretary of state of Utah in 1928. He was reelected in 1932 and served until January 1, 1937. Meanwhile, he served on the Board of Trustees of

Utah State Agricultural College Utah State University (USU or Utah State) is a public land-grant research university in Logan, Utah. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. With nearly 20,000 students living on or near campus, USU is Utah's ...

from 1926 to 1936 and as a Regent over the

from 1928 to 1936. After fulfilling these responsibilities, Welling was appointed by Secretary of Interior Harold L. Ickes to make a survey of public grazing lands in 1937 and 1938. Later, he resumed agricultural and mining operations.

Death and burial

In January 1943, Welling accepted war service appointment as auditor with Army Air Forces and also served with the War Assets Administration at

Salt Lake City, Utah 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 ...

, until his death May 28, 1947. He was interred in Fielding Cemetery,

Fielding, Utah Fielding is a town in Box Elder County, Utah, United States. The population was 455 at the 2010 census. History A post office called Fielding has been in operation since 1892. The town was named after Joseph Fielding Smith, Sr. (1838–1918), s ...

Sources

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Welling, Milton Holmes 1876 births 1947 deaths American leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints American Mormon missionaries in the United States Democratic Party members of the Utah House of Representatives University of Utah alumni Utah State University people People from Farmington, Utah 19th-century Mormon missionaries Ensign College alumni Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Utah Latter Day Saints from Utah Secretaries of State of Utah