Polygamy and Mormon Church Leaders
Brigham Young
1801-1877
We thought it might be of interest to those studying Mormonism to get a small glimpse of what the home life of Church leaders may have looked like in the infancy stages of Mormonism. I’ve written a lot about the polygamy issue throughout the years, but have never compiled a concise list of the early prophets of Mormonism and their godless way of life.
I’ve decided to embark upon a series of articles on this topic and to share a few insights along the way about my personal experience of living with the results of polygamy.
As my journey out of Mormonism widened with new experiences of learning the truth about Jesus, so did my understanding of Mormonism when I realized the importance of Joseph Smith’s role and the legacy he left behind. In short, I made a resolute decision to picture him living in the twenty-first century and how I would react to him if he showed up at my front door.
The thought of Joe Smith as a prophet of anything but an evil charlatan is incomprehensible to me. Why people believed him and what the early Mormons were thinking is beyond me because I can’t imagine allowing him into my home or him looking at one of my daughters. Anyone who would tell people they can’t be with God unless the prophet has sex with your wife and daughter…I just don’t have any words…
I honestly believe Smith was tricked by Satan and led astray by parents who were less than forthright about teaching truth to their own kids. He was a perfect target for the devil, being led down a fanciful path of self indulgence and pride that rivaled no one. While part of me feels somewhat sad for him in that regard, on the whole I still see him as being the major instigator for the millions who’ve traded in the truth for a lie; the five generations of my family before me included.
We have a list of Joseph Smith’s wives on the site (http://lifeafterministry.com/2011/01/11/polygamy-and-joseph-smiths-wives) so this time around we’re posting the list of Brigham Young’s wives. In the upcoming weeks we’ll be taking a look at the wives of John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, Joseph F. Smith and Heber J. Grant; all who were presidents/prophets of the Church.
The information for marriages, children and age for each wife of Brigham Young came from the following sources:
Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Brigham_Young’s_wives
Rethinking Mormonism
http://www.i4m.com/think/polygamy/polygamy_summary.htm
Utah Historical Society (who by the way claims Young only had 27 wives)
http://historytogo.utah.gov/salt_lake_tribune/in_another_time/073095.html
The Dark Side of Salt Lake City
http://www.thedarksideofsaltlakecity.org/index.htm
| Wife# | Marriage date & Young’s age at date of marriage | Wife’s name & age atmarriage | Wife’s maritalstatus at time of marriage to Young | Number of kids & additional info |
| 1 | Oct. 8, 1824 (23) | Miriam AngelineWorks (18) | 1stmarriage | 2 kids; died prior to Young becoming LDS |
| 2 | Feb. 10, 1834 (32) | Mary Ann Angell (27) | 1st marriage | 6 kids |
| 3 | June 14, 1842 (41) | Lucy Ann Decker (20) | Abandoned by husband Wm. Seeley | 7 kids |
| 4 | Nov. 2, 1843 (42) | Augusta Adams (41) | Married to non-LDS Henry Cobb (div. 1847) | Young later married her son’s ex-wife, Mary Van Cott Cobb (#51) |
| 5 | Nov. 2, 1843 (42) | Harriet Elizabeth Cook (19) | 1st marriage | 1 kid |
| 6 | May 8, 1844 (42) | Clarissa Caroline Decker (15) | 1st marriage | 5 kids |
| 7 | Sept. 1844 (43 | Emily Dow Partridge (20) | Plural widow of Joseph Smith | Daughter of Ed. Partridge, sealed to JS for eternity & Young for life, 7 kids, mom of Don Carlos Young |
| 8 | Sept. 10, 1844 | Clarissa Ross (30) | 1st marriage | 4 kids |
| 9 | Sept. 19, 1844 (43) | Louisa Beaman (29) | Plural widow of JS | Sealed to JS for eternity & Young for life, 5 kids |
| 10 | Oct. 3, 1844 (43) | Eliza R. Snow (40) | Plural widow of JS | Sealed to JS for eternity & Young for life |
| 11 | Oct. 3, 1844 (43) | Elizabeth Fairchild (16) | 1st marriage | Divorced 1855 |
| 12 | Oct. 8, 1844 | Clarissa Blake (48) | Widow of Morse; married to LDS Lyman Homiston | |
| 13 | October 9, 1844 (43) | Rebecca Holman (20) | 1st marriage | |
| 14 | October 10, 1844 (43) | Diana Chase (17) | 1st marriage | Divorced prior to 1849 |
| 15 | Oct. 31, 1844 (43) | Susanne Snively (29) | 1st marriage | |
| 16 | Nov. 7. 1844 (43) | Olive Grey Frost (28) | Plural widow of JS | Sealed to JS for eternity & Young for life |
| 17 | Jan. 15, 1845 (43) | Mary Ann Clark (28) | Prev. married to Powers (not known if widowed, div. or separated) | Divorced June 1851 |
| 18 | Jan. 16, 1845 | Margaret Pierce (25) | Widow of Morris Whitesides | Sealed to Whitesides for eternity & Young for time; 1 kid |
| 19 | January 16, 1845 (43) | Mary Pierce (25) | 1st marriage | |
| 20 | Apr. 30, 1845 | Emmeline Free (18) | 1st marriage | 10 kids |
| 21 | May 22, 1845 (43) | Mary Elizabeth Rollins (26) | Married to non-LDS Adam Lightner & plural widow of JS | Sealed to JS for eternity & Young for time, remained living w/ Lightner |
| 22 | Jan. 14, 1846 (44) | Margaret Alley (20) | 1st marriage | 2 kids |
| 23 | Jan. 15, 1846 (44) | Olive Andrews (27) | Posthumous plural wife of JS | Sealed to JS for eternity & Young for time |
| 24 | Jan. 15, 1846 (44) | Emily Haws (22) | Widow of Wm. Whitmarsh | |
| 25 | Jan. 21, 1846 (44) | Martha Bowker (23) | 1st marriage | |
| 26 | Jan. 21, 1846 (44) | Ellen Rockwood (16) | 1st marriage | |
| 27 | Jan. 28, 1846 (44) | Jemima Angel (42) | Divorced from Valentine Young (no relation) | |
| 28 | Jan. 28, 1846 (44) | Abigail Marks (69) | Widow of Asa Works | Sealed to Works for eternity & Young for time; mom of Young’s 1st wife, Miriam Works |
| 29 | Jan. 28, 1846 (44) | Phebe Morton (59) | Widow of James W. Angel | Sealed to Angel for eternity & Young for time |
| 30 | Jan. 28, 1846 (44) | Cynthia Porter (62) | Married to Wm. Weston (unknown if widowed, divorced or separated) | |
| 31 | Jan. 31, 1846 (44) | Mary Eliza Nelson (33) | Widow of John P. Greene | Sealed to Greene for eternity & Young for time; divorced by 1850 |
| 32 | Jan. 31, 1846 (44) | Rhoda Richards (61) | Plural widow of JS | Sealed to Smith for eternity & Young for time |
| 33 | Feb. 2, 1846 (44) | Zina Diantha Huntington (25) | Married to LDS Henry Bailey Jacobs; plural widow of JS | Sealed to JS for eternity & Young for time; not sealed to Jacobs; lived w/ Young, 1 kid |
| 34 | Feb. 3, 1846 (44) | Amy Cecilia Cooper (41) | Married to non-LDS Joseph Aldrich; separated later & he remarried | |
| 35 | Feb. 3, 1846 (44) | Mary Ellen de la Montaigne (42) | Divorced from James Boyd Woodward | Div. from Young 12/13/1846 and remarried Woodward; both Woodward & de la Montaigne adopted by Young @ Nauvoo |
| 36 | Feb. 3, 1846 (44) | Julia Foster (36) | Widow of LDS Jonathan Hampton who died in Nauvoo 1844 | Stayed in Ill. When Young emigrated to Utah. Young sent for her in 1855. She and kids went to Utah where she managed the Lion House) |
| 37 | Feb. 3, 1846 (44) | Abigail Harback (55) | Prev. married to John Calvin Hall (unknown if widowed, divorced or separated) | |
| 38 | Feb. 3, 1846 (44) | Mary Ann Turley (18) | 1st marriage | Divorced 1851 |
| 39 | Feb. 6, 1846 (44) | Naamah Carter (24) | Divorced John S. Twiss | |
| 40 | Feb. 6, 1846 (44) | Nancy Cressy (65) | Widow of Oliver Walker | |
| 41 | Feb. 10, 1846 (44) | Jane Terry (26) | Widow of George W. Young (no relation) | Requested on deathbed to be sealed to Young, died 4 days after marriage |
| 42 | Mar. 20, 1847 (45) | Lucy Bigelow (16) | 1st marriage | 3 kids |
| 43 | Mar. 20, 1846 (44) | Mary Jane Bigelow (19) | 1st marriage | Divorced 1851 |
| 44 | Apr. 18, 1848 (46) | Sarah Malin (43) | 1st marriage | Later divorced |
| 45 | Oct. 3, 1852 (51) | Eliza Burgess (25) | 1st marriage | 1 kid |
| 46 | Dec. 16, 1852 (51) | Mary Oldfield (59) | Widow of Eli Kelsey | |
| 47 | Before 1853 (aged 51 before 1.1.1853) | Eliza Babcock (24) | 1st marriage | Divorced 1853 |
| 48 | June 10, 1855 (54) | Catherine Reese (51) | Widow of Zephaniah Clawson | |
| 49 | March 14, 1856 (54) | Harriet Barney (25) | Divorced W.H. H. Sagers | 1 kid |
| 50 | Jan. 24, 1863 (61) | Amelia Folsom (24) | 1st marriage | “Considered to be Brigham’s favorite wife. They would sit by themselves @ dinner, while the rest of his wives and children would eat together.” (Wikipedia) |
| 51 | Jan. 8, 1868 (66) | Mary Van Cott (23) | Divorced James Thornton Cobb (son of wife #4) | 1 kid |
| 52 | Apr. 7, 1868 (66) | Ann Eliza Webb (24) | Divorced James L. Dee | Divorced 1875; later became critic of polygamy |
| 53 | July 3, 1869 (68) | Elizabeth Jones (55) | Widow of David T. Lewis & Dan Jones | |
| 54 | May 8, 1870 (68) | Lydia Farnsworth (61) | Married to Elijah Mayhew | Sealed to Young for eternity, remained living w/ Mayhew |
| 55 | Dec. 8, 1872 (71) | Hannah Tapfield (65) | Married to non-LDS Thomas O. King | Sealed to Young for eternity, remained living w/ King |
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