Representative Milton Holmes Welling

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 from Utah from 1917 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, he contributed to the legislative process during a significant period in American history, representing the interests of his constituents in the House of Representatives during the World War I era and its immediate aftermath.

Welling was born in Farmington, Utah Territory, on January 25, 1876. He attended the common schools and pursued further education at Latter-day Saints’ University and the University of Utah, from which he received a degree. Deeply involved in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from a young age, he served as a missionary in the church’s Southern States Mission from 1896 to 1898, an experience that helped shape his leadership skills and public presence.

After returning from his mission, Welling engaged in agricultural and mercantile pursuits and later expanded his activities into banking. His prominence within the LDS Church grew as well. Beginning in 1902, he served as president of the Malad Stake of the LDS Church, headquartered in Malad, Idaho. In 1906 he was elected a member of the board of trustees of Brigham Young College in Logan, Utah. When the Bear River Stake of the LDS Church, based in Garland, Utah, was organized in 1908, Welling became its first president, a position he held until 1917. These ecclesiastical and educational responsibilities paralleled his growing involvement in civic and political affairs.

Welling entered elective office at the state level when he served in the Utah House of Representatives from 1911 to 1915. His legislative experience in the state house, combined with his business and church leadership, positioned him for national office. In 1916 he was elected as a Democrat to the Sixty-fifth Congress and was subsequently reelected to the Sixty-sixth Congress, serving from March 4, 1917, to March 3, 1921. During his two terms as a U.S. Representative from Utah, Welling participated actively in the democratic process at a time marked by American involvement in World War I and the transition to peacetime. He did not seek renomination to the House but instead ran as the Democratic candidate for the United States Senate in 1920, a bid that was unsuccessful.

After leaving Congress, Welling continued to hold important positions in state and church administration. He served as director of registration for the State of Utah from 1925 to 1928, overseeing electoral and registration matters. During this same period, from 1925 to 1929, he again served as president of the Bear River Stake of the LDS Church. In 1928 he was elected secretary of state of Utah, was reelected in 1932, and served in that statewide office until January 1, 1937. Concurrently, he contributed to higher education governance, serving on the Board of Trustees of Utah State Agricultural College from 1926 to 1936 and as a Regent of the University of Utah from 1928 to 1936.

Following his tenure as secretary of state and his service in higher education oversight, Welling was appointed by Secretary of the Interior Harold L. Ickes in 1937 to conduct a survey of public grazing lands, a federal assignment he carried out in 1937 and 1938. After completing this work, he resumed his private interests in agricultural and mining operations, continuing the business pursuits that had characterized his early career.

With the onset of World War II, Welling again entered public service. In January 1943 he accepted a war service appointment as an auditor with the Army Air Forces. He later served with the War Assets Administration in Salt Lake City, Utah, contributing to the management and disposition of government property during and after the war. Milton Holmes Welling remained in this federal service until his death in Salt Lake City on May 28, 1947. He was interred in Fielding Cemetery in Fielding, Utah.