In this Alumni Directory, our focus is on the often-forgotten BY Academy secondary senior classes between 1877 and 1903, and on the BY High School senior classes from 1904 to 1968.

In 1881 Brigham Young Academy's Scientific Department broke new ground by awarding a "collegiate diploma" to James E. Talmage, the first such BYA diploma to be issued. This raised serious questions about whether a secondary school could issue a "collegiate diploma" that would be recognized by colleges. James Talmage and others were required to take extra tests at other colleges before their collegiate credential was accepted.

BYU and the BYU Alumni Association keep records of BYA collegiate-level graduates, but have not in the past kept comprehensive lists of BYA high-school-level graduates. That is why our emphasis in this Directory is on high school graduates. Nevertheless, in this Directory we will also track the relatively small number of BYA students who received BYA collegiate degrees between 1881 to 1903, simply to avoid confusing the two groups, and because there is much overlapping. [We have also added the earliest BYU graduates, 1904 to 1935, for the same reasons.]

BY Academy Class of 1894.

Note: According to 1894 news reports, Brigham Young Academy in 1893-1894 had 851 students, and seven collegiate graduates. We currently have the names of three BYA high school graduates, one honorary BYA high school graduate, and seven collegiate BYA collegiate (listed separately). It may be possible that more than three BYA high school students graduated, since nothing was mentioned about them in the news reports. In 2007, when Scott Cowley researched Book 1 of the Students Record of Class Standings, B.Y. Academy, he found only three collegiate graduates, and only three high school graduates, which indicates that the records researched were somewhat incomplete.

BY Academy High School Class of 1889 and 1891, and BYA Collegiate Class of 1894 and 1897. Faculty. Wilford McGavin McKendrick. ~ ~ ~ ~ In 1889, Wilford McKendrick received a high school Certificate: Bookkeeping. Source: Utah Enquirer, May 28, 1889. ~ ~ ~ ~ BY Academy High School Normal Class of 1891. W. M. McKendrick. Received a high school Normal Diploma on May 21, 1891. Source: Graduation Program of the Normal Class of 1891. ~ ~ ~ ~ Wilford McKendrick. BY Academy Collegiate Class of 1894. He received the degree, Bachelor of Pedagogy (B. Pd.) on May 24, 1894. Source 1: Ogden Standard Examiner, May 26, 1894. Source 2: Students Record of Class Standings B. Y. Academy, Book 1, page 12. ~ ~ ~ ~ BY Academy Collegiate Class of 1897. Wilford M. McKendrick. Received the degree of Bachelor of Didactics (B. D.) in May of 1897. Source: The (Provo) Daily Enquirer, May 27, 1897. ~ ~ ~ ~ Faculty & Staff. Wilford M. McKendrick, Librarian, Mathematics & Geography, 1885-1899. He appears in a photo of the first faculty to serve under Principal Benjamin Cluff in 1892. Among other positions McKendrick served as the librarian at Brigham Young Academy. ~ ~ ~ ~ Wilford was born on June 12, 1870 in Tooele, Utah. His parents were Robert Kennedy McKendrick, and Agnes McGavin McKendrick. Wilford married Lydia Wilson. They had eight children. ~ ~ ~ ~ Wilford McGavin McKendrick served as principal of Weber Stake Academy, the predecessor of Weber State University from 1908-1910. McKendrick had been a faculty member at Weber Academy before he became the principal, filling the vacancy left by David O. McKay when he resigned to serve as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve. Among other Church positions, he served as a counselor in the Ogden Stake presidency. ~ ~ ~ ~ Wilford M. McKendrick died on Monday, May 11, 1936 at the age of 66 in Salt Lake City, Utah.

BY Academy High School Normal Class of 1891, and BY Academy Collegiate Class of 1894. Henry Peterson. ~ ~ ~ ~ Received a high school Normal Diploma on May 21, 1891. Source: Graduation Program of the Normal Class of 1891. Confirmed: BYU Special Collections UA 1008. ~ ~ ~ ~ Henry Peterson received his collegiate degree, Bachelor of Pedagogy (B.Pd.) from BYA on May 24, 1894. Source 1: Students Record of Class Standings B. Y. Academy, Book 1, Page 27. Source 2: Ogden Standard Examiner, May 26, 1894. ~ ~ ~ ~ IS THIS? Henry Peterson, born May 9, 1868 in Huntsville, Utah, to father Hans Jorgen Peterson and mother Else Eliason Peterson. He married Mary Jane Boyden on May 29, 1895 in Salt Lake City, Utah. Henry died on June 18, 1957. His interment, Logan, Utah. ~ ~ ~ ~ OR IS THIS? Henry J. Peterson, born January 21, 1866 in Lund, Sweden. His parents: Nels Johnson and Maria C. Koerner (sic). He died on December 6, 1938 in California. His interment, Brigham City Cemetery, Utah. ~ ~ ~ ~ OR IS THIS? Henry Hugo Petersen, born about 1873 in Manti, Utah. His parents were Hans Henry Petersen and Julia Marie Larsen Petersen. He married twice: first, to Emily Caroline Anderson on July 1, 1893 in Storden, Cottonwood County, Minnesota. He second married Caroline Marie Christensen on January 29, 1896 in Logan, Utah. He died on September 14, 1943 in Hyrum, Utah. His interment, Hyrum, Cache County, Utah. OR SOMEONE ELSE?

BY Academy Collegiate Class of 1894. John Collier (Collie) Robison. He received the degree, Bachelor of Pedagogy (B.Pd.) on May 24, 1894. Source: Ogden Standard Examiner, May 26, 1894. ~ ~ ~ ~ Authored at least three reports from the Berlin Conference, published in the Deseret News, under the name "J. Collie Robison". 1. Deseret News 1897-12-18 - Emperor of Germany's Palace. 2. Deseret News 1898-02-05 - In the Berlin Conference. 3. Deseret News 1898-02-12 - Holidays in Germany. ~ ~ ~ ~ John Collier "Collie" Robison was born December 5, 1875, in Fillmore, Utah. His parents: Benjamin Hancock Robison and Sarah Turner. He married Alice White Farnsworth on July 7, 1897 in St. George, Utah. He died on August 18, 1940 in Salt Lake City, Utah. Interment: Salt Lake City Cemetery.

BY Academy High School Class of 1889, BY Academy Collegiate Class of 1894. In 1889 William Rydalch received a high school Certificate: Elocution. Source: Utah Enquirer, May 28, 1889. ~ ~ ~ ~ BY Academy Collegiate Class of 1894. W. E. Rydalch received his B. Pd. Degree from BY Academy in the Class of 1894. Source 1: Students Record of Class Standings B. Y. Academy, Book 1, page 14. Source 2: Ogden Standard Examiner, May 26, 1894. ~ ~ ~ ~ Faculty & Staff. William E. Rydalch, Law & Geography teacher, 1885-1896, 1902-1904. ~ ~ ~ ~ William Edward Rydalch was born on June 27, 1868 in Grantsville, Utah. His parents were William Mitten Rydalch and Margaret Whitesides Hunter Rydalch. He married Eva Robison on October 29, 1890. She was born on January 17, 1874 in Fillmore, Utah. She died on March 26, 1913. Her parents were Joseph Vickery Robison and Martha Jane Olmstead Robison. W. E. Rydalch died on May 12, 1941 in South Pasadena, California. His interment, Salt Lake City Cemetery, Utah.

BY Academy Collegiate Class of 1894 and 1897. Henry S. Tanner. Henry received the degree of Bachelor of Pedagogy (B. Pd.) in the Class of 1894 on May 24, 1894. Source: Ogden Standard Examiner, May 26, 1894. ~ ~ ~ ~ Henry S. Tanner received the degree of Bachelor of Didactics (B. D.) in May of 1897. Source: The (Provo) Daily Enquirer, May 27, 1897. ~ ~ ~ ~ Henry Smith Tanner was born on February 15, 1869 in Payson, Utah. His parents were Joseph Smith Tanner and Elizabeth Clark Haws Tanner. Henry Smith Tanner married at least five times: to Laura Lauretta Woodland on March 5, 1890 in Logan, Utah; to Mary Isabell Richards on January 6, 1901 in Salt Lake City; to Clarice Thatcher on December 19, 1901 in Salt Lake City; to Louetta Brown on January 16, 1904 in Salt Lake City; and to Columbia Eden Richards on February 1, 1909 in Salt Lake City. He died on May 23, 1935 in Salt Lake City. His interment, Salt Lake City Cemetery, Utah.

BY Academy High School Normal Class of 1892? and BY Academy Collegiate Class of 1894. Weston Vernon. He wrote an original class song for Commencement 1891, which was set to music by Professor H. C. Giles. Listed as a Junior in the 1891 Normal Commencement Program. Source: Commencement Program of the Normal Class of 1891 on May 21, 1891. Did he graduate from BYA high school in 1892? ~ ~ ~ ~ BY Academy Collegiate Class of 1894. Weston Vernon. He received the degree, Bachelor of Pedagogy (B. Pd.) on May 24, 1894. Source: Ogden Standard Examiner, May 26, 1894. ~ ~ ~ ~ Weston Vernon became a teacher of English literature, and head of the English Department at Brigham Young College in Logan, Utah. He later became a faculty member at the AC - the Utah State Agricultural College. He was a Democrat, as served as a delegate to the 1924 Democratic National Convention. ~ ~ ~ ~ His parents lived most of their lives in Kentucky, and father William came to Utah in his old age. In Kentucky they were noted for always opening their home to the missionaries. ~ ~ ~ ~ Peter Weston Vernon was born on February 24, 1873 in Racoon Fork, Blaine, Kentucky. His parents were William Vernon and Cinthia Moody Vernon. Weston married Frances "Fanny" Farnes Maughan on November 23, 1898 in Logan, Utah. Weston Vernon (Sr.) died on March 1, 1941 in Logan, Utah.

BY Academy Collegiate Class of 1894 and 1897. Faculty. Mary Woodruff. In 1894, Mary Woodruff received the degree, Bachelor of Pedagogy (B. Pd.) on May 24, 1894. Source: Ogden Standard Examiner, May 26, 1894. ~ ~ ~ ~ BY Academy Collegiate Class of 1897. Mary Woodruff. Received the degree of Bachelor of Didactics (B. D.) in May of 1897. Source: The (Provo) Daily Enquirer, May 27, 1897. ~ ~ ~ ~ Faculty & Staff. Mary Woodruff, Training School, 1894-1903. She appears in a photo of the first faculty to serve under Principal Benjamin Cluff in 1892. ~ ~ ~ ~ HER OBITUARY: Provo, February 15, 1903 -- A sad and unexpected death occurred here this morning at 3 o'clock, when Miss Mary Woodruff died from pneumonia, with which she had suffered for about a week. Her condition was not, however, considered critical, and her death is a great shock to her aged mother, who is in failing health, and to her many relatives and friends. The deceased was the daughter of the late LDS Church President Wilford Woodruff and Mrs. Sarah Woodruff, and was born in Salt Lake City October 22,1867. She moved to Provo in the fall of 1892, and has since been connected with the the Brigham Young Academy, of which she is a graduate, as a student and teacher. She has held the position of assistant teacher in the grades in the Training Department, and was an Instructor in the Domestic Arts Department at the time of her death, and although her health has been failing for about a month past, she continued in the discharge of her duties in the Academy till a week ago, when she was compelled to cease her labors, her ailment having developed into a case of pneumonia. Miss Woodruff was a woman of most lovable disposition, studious, energetic and conscientious in the performance of every duty, and devoted friends throughout the state will sincerely mourn her death and extend heartfelt sympathy to the bereaved mother and relatives. The time of the funeral has not been decided upon, awaiting an answer to a communication sent to a brother, who is in the Big Horn (Wyoming) country, whose attendance is desired. A funeral will be held in Provo at 2 p.m. Tuesday, the students of the Academy attending in a body. The body will be brought to Salt Lake Wednesday morning for interment in the family lot in the City cemetery. ~ ~ Source: Salt Lake Herald, February 16, 1903.