Special Collections, in collaboration with the Silver family and the Digital Library, is thrilled to announce free online access to the biography, “Madelyn Cannon Stewart Silver: Poet, Teacher, Homemaker,” by Leonard Arrington.
Madelyn Cannon Stewart Silver was born on March 1, 1901, in Salt Lake City, Utah, to Barnard Joseph Stewart and Leonora Mousley Cannon Stewart, both from prominent LDS pioneer families. Madelyn was profoundly influenced by the examples set for her by the women in her family, in particular, her grandmothers and aunt. Her maternal grandmother, Sarah Maria Mousley Cannon, encouraged Madelyn to read at an early age and modeled a life in which refinement and faith could coexist. Through her paternal grandmother, Elizabeth White Stewart, Madelyn learned that a home could be filled with stories, music and affection. Her aunt, Ann Mousley Cannon, made a particularly deep impact on Madelyn’s life. Ann served for decades in LDS church leadership and edited the Young Woman’s Journal. She moved confidently in literary and civic circles and introduced Madelyn to great works of literature that broadened Madelyn’s exposure beyond local concerns. Through her aunt, Madelyn learned that a woman’s life could include scholarship, editorial work, travel and cultural leadership without forfeiting faith.
From a young age, Madelyn developed a lifelong love for nature and the environment. The Stewart family ranch served as a retreat where the family would go to escape into nature. There, Madelyn rode horses, hiked and swam. The ranch offered her the time to think and inspiration to write many poems expressing her relationship with nature.
Madelyn graduated from LDS High School and then attended the University of Utah from 1919 to 1923, majoring in English. She excelled academically and was a member of honor societies, including Beehive, Mortar Board (then known as the Order of the Acorn) and Phi Kappa Phi. Madelyn was active in many university student organizations, even serving as vice president of the student body. She also helped to obtain a charter to establish the Alpha Chi Omega sorority on campus with a group of fellow students.
Madelyn’s love for writing continued during her student years. She published many poems and plays in the campus literary magazine, The University Pen. She served on the editorial board from 1919 to 1922 and then as editor during her final academic year. Writing poetry became both a refuge and an instrument. In her sonnets, lyrics, and reflective pieces, she explored longing, faith, doubt, beauty and aspiration. Throughout her life, writing became a way for her to explore questions of identity, sacrifice and fulfillment.
Upon graduating from the University of Utah, Madelyn took a job teaching English at Irving Junior High. In 1925, she joined the English department at LDS University, where she taught for four years. In her biography, Arrington highlights Madelyn’s love of teaching, but also her feelings about gender inequality: “Although she was enthusiastic and grateful for her opportunity to teach at LDS University, she was indignant that one of the men teachers who had no more qualifications and experience than she was paid more because he had a family to support. Madelyn spurned this unfair treatment. She worked as hard as the man, was as well prepared as he, and she thought she should receive equal pay. She was feeling the first stirrings of equity feminism.”
It was during this time that Madelyn met and began dating Harold F. Silver. Madelyn and Harold were married in 1929. At the time, LDS University had a policy that prevented married women from teaching. Madelyn resigned from her teaching position and began focusing on her new family life. In 1930, Madelyn gave birth to Elizabeth, followed by Barnard Stewart in 1933 and Judith Ann in 1935. In 1942, at the age of 40, Madelyn gave birth to her son, Brian Quayle. Madelyn wrote the poem, “To My Mother,” after the birth of her first child.
In 1934, Harold and Madelyn moved their family from Salt Lake City, Utah, to Denver, Colorado, for Harold’s work. This became a challenging time for Madelyn as she balanced her role as a mother with her need for intellectual stimulation. Harold traveled frequently for his work and Madelyn had the full responsibility of taking care of the children. She discovered other women with similar intellectual needs, and so, in 1936, Madelyn, with 14 other women, formed the Jane Herrick Literary Club. The group’s focus was to study literature, encourage original writing and perform volunteer work.
In 1945, Madelyn was asked to teach the Gospel Doctrine class at her LDS ward in Denver. She wrote in her diary, “It became my passion to learn my lessons so well that I could transfer their meaning into the lives of those wonderful people who deigned to come to my class.” (p. 174) She viewed these classes as a way to create dialogue, listening as much as she taught and continuing to learn in the process. She experimented with debate and dramatic enactment to engage the members of the class.
Philanthropy was an important part of Madelyn’s life, and she offered both her time and money to support organizations. Throughout the years, she held leadership positions in the American Association of University Women, the Parent-Teacher Association, the English-Speaking Union, the Friends of the Denver Public Library, the Adult Education Council, Planned Parenthood, the Institute of International Education, the Central City Opera, the Denver Symphony, the Red Rocks Festival and other organizations.
When her youngest child left for college in 1960, she declared it her “freedom day.” The time had come for uninterrupted focus on her writing. Tragically, illness cut that dream short within a year. She suffered a fatal cerebral aneurysm on Sept. 26, 1961, at age 60.
Although Madelyn did not have the opportunity to return fully to her writing career, her legacy shines in Arrington’s biography. The tension she experienced between homemaker and artist became a testament to the complexity of women’s lives in her generation. She neither rejected domesticity nor surrendered her intellect. Instead, she carried both, sometimes uneasily, always thoughtfully.
Special Collections is currently working with the Silver family to transfer the Madelyn Cannon Stewart Silver collection to the archives. For more information, contact Special Collections.