Harden Bennion
American politician (1862–1939)
Harden Bennion (October 7, 1862 – October 12, 1936) was the Secretary of State of Utah from 1916 to 1920. He also served in the Utah State Senate and as chairman of the Utah Democratic Party.
Bennion was born in Taylorsville, Utah Territory. At age six he moved with his parents to present-day West Point, Nevada a small community in the Muddy River Valley where they had been called to settle by the LDS Church. For five years they were involved in raising sheep and cattle at that location, and then when Bennion was about 13 he moved back to Taylorsville with the rest of his family. At age fourteen he was involved in a major cattle run from Nevada to Rush Valley, Utah along with his father. In 1876 the Bennion family moved to Vernon in Tooele County, Utah.
In 1878 Bennion began studying at the University of Deseret (now the University of Utah) from which he received a certificate as a teacher after one year. However, for the next seven years Bennion was involved in sheep herding and farming in Vernon.
He later worked for George M. Cannon who was the Salt Lake County recorder.
The public source identifies “Harden Bennion” as american politician (1862–1939). This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Harden, Bennion and American.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Harden Bennion”, the useful work is to connect “american politician (1862–1939)” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
The entry’s evidential value lies in the named roles, institutions and publications that can be tested against primary documentation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 23, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q5655856. VIAF identifies the subject as 67811574. The Library of Congress control number is n82081892. 2 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1862, 1936, 1916 and 1920.
Later biographies can compress uncertainty and repeat inherited reputations, so apparently settled claims may still require comparison. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.
- Establishing names and roles
- Building a first chronology
- Locating cited institutions
Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Harden Bennion”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Harden Bennion primary sources, Harden Bennion archive and Harden research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Harden Bennion”?
- Which primary records establish identity, chronology and institutional ties?
- Which claims depend on a single source or contested interpretation?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Harden Bennion” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.