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'Abraham Owen Smoot' (February 17, 1815 – 1895) was a Mormon pioneer and the second mayor of Salt Lake City, Utah. Smoot was born in Owenton, Kentucky. His mother converted to Mormonism in 1833, and he followed her in 1835. Smoot moved from Kentucky to Missouri in 1837 at the urging of LDS church founder Joseph Smith, Jr.. Later he led companies of pioneers to the Salt Lake Valley in 1847, 1852, and 1856. He was mayor of Salt Lake City from 1857 to 1866 and then mayor of Provo, Utah from 1868 to 1880. Abraham O. Smoot died in 1895 and is interred in the Provo City Cemetery.
Smoot's wife, Margaret McMeans Smoot, named the Sugar House neighborhood of Salt Lake City. Abraham O. Smoot was also the father of Reed Smoot, a United States Senator.
Abraham Smoot was the first head of the board of trustees of Brigham Young University. At the time it was known as Brigham Young Academy. This was in connection with his position as president of the Utah Stake, which was essentially coterminous with Utah County.
Smoot is also credited with making major financial contributions to Brigham Young Academy that allowed it to continue functioning. Today, the Administration building at Brigham Young University is known as the Abraham O. Smoot Administration Building.
The apostle Abraham Owen Woodruff was named after him. This was partly because Wilford Woodruff had served as a mission companion with Abraham Smoot and partly because A. O. Woodruff's mother Emma Smith Woodruff was Abraham Smoot's niece.

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External links

★ Utah History Encyclopedia: Abraham Owen Smoot