Truman O. Angell - Work in The West

Work in The West

After the dedication of the Nauvoo temple, Angell moved to Iowa and then went further west. He left his wife behind in Winter Quarters and went on with Brigham Young's pioneering company, entering Salt Lake City in July, 1847. Angell then returned to Winter Quarters in the fall of 1847. Three of his children died and were buried in Winter Quarters, and he entered the Salt Lake Valley with his sick wife and his remaining two children.

Angell was appointed Church Architect by Brigham Young on January 26, 1850. In this position he was in charge of the construction of numerous buildings in Utah, including the St. George Utah Temple, and the Salt Lake Temple. Truman's modifications to the Salt Lake Tabernacle in 1870 are said to have resolved the outstanding acoustical issues with that structure. In 1851, Angell polygamously married his only other wife, Susan Eliza Savage, who had been a textile worker in the Lowell, Massachusetts cotton mills in the early 1840s until she migrated to Salt Lake after joining the LDS Church.

He was originally asked to also be in charge of the design and construction of the Manti and Logan temples, but in consequence of their being about 100 miles distant from him in different directions, they were placed in the care of his two assistants. Truman O. Angell, Jr., took care of the Logan Temple and William H. Folsom did the Manti Temple, while Angell stayed and worked on the Salt Lake Temple. After his son completed the Logan Temple, he assisted his father with work on the Salt Lake Temple.

In April 1856, Brigham Young asked Angell to leave his family and go to Europe so that he could learn the architectural designs there. After he returned from his mission to Europe, he continued to labor on the Salt Lake Temple. From 1861-1867 Angell had stepped down as Church Architect due to poor health and was replaced by William Folsom. However in April 1867 Angell was again sustained as church architect. Even during the time that he was not church architect, Angell worked closely with the construction of the Salt Lake Temple. He continued to serve as Church Architect until his death on October 16, 1887, at the age of 77. For more than thirty-five years he had worked on the Salt Lake Temple. It was said that he knew every stone in its walls. Of Truman O. Angell, Wendell Ashton wrote: "As long as the Salt Lake Temple stands, there will be a magnificent monument to the patience, skill and dedication of its architect." Although Angell did not live to see the temple completed, he was a key mover behind its being built.

A number of Angell's works are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.