The Heartbreaking Fate Of Brigham Young's Youngest Wife – A Story They Tried To Erase
What happened to the youngest wife of Brigham Young, the controversial Mormon leader who had dozens of wives? Why did her story become one of the most sensational scandals in 19th-century America? This is the tale of Ann Eliza Young, the woman who dared to challenge one of the most powerful men in the Western United States and exposed the dark secrets of Mormon polygamy to the world.
Biography of Ann Eliza Young
Ann Eliza Young was born Ann Eliza Webb on September 13, 1844, in Nauvoo, Illinois. She was the daughter of Chauncy Griswold Webb, a wheelwright, and her mother (whose name is not specified in the source material). Ann Eliza grew up as a member of the LDS Church in a polygamous household that moved to Utah during the Mormon migration.
Full Name: Ann Eliza Webb Young
Born: September 13, 1844, Nauvoo, Illinois
Died: Date and place unknown
Parents: Chauncy Griswold Webb (father), mother unknown
Marriages: Married and divorced three times
Notable For: Divorcing Brigham Young, anti-polygamy activism
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The Marriage to Brigham Young
The most pivotal moment in Ann Eliza's life came when she married Brigham Young on April 7, 1869. According to various accounts, she was either his 19th or 27th wife, with official LDS Church records listing 26 wives. The confusion over her exact position in Young's marital lineup reflects the chaotic nature of his polygamous household.
Ann Eliza grew up in the Mormon faith and was no stranger to the concept of polygamy. However, her personal experience as one of Brigham Young's wives would dramatically change her perspective on the practice. The marriage that began as a spiritual union would eventually become the catalyst for one of the most significant anti-polygamy movements in American history.
Life as a Plural Wife
Life as one of Brigham Young's wives was far from the idealized vision of spiritual unity that Mormon leaders promoted. Ann Eliza's experience revealed the harsh realities of polygamy - the competition for attention and resources, the emotional toll of sharing a husband, and the systemic inequality faced by women in these arrangements.
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The marriage was marked by what Ann Eliza would later describe as neglect and cruel treatment. While Brigham Young was a powerful religious and political figure, his responsibilities as a husband to dozens of wives and father to numerous children meant that individual wives often received minimal attention and support.
The Divorce That Shocked the Nation
In a move that stunned both the Mormon community and the nation at large, Ann Eliza Young filed for divorce from Brigham Young in 1875. Her grounds were serious and specific: neglect, cruel treatment, and abandonment. This divorce was unprecedented - no wife of a prominent Mormon leader had ever before taken such public action against the practice of polygamy.
The divorce proceedings became a national spectacle, drawing attention to the inner workings of Mormon polygamy and the treatment of women within the faith. Ann Eliza's decision to leave her marriage and speak out against the system that had defined her life represented a courageous stand against an entrenched religious and cultural practice.
The Tell-All Memoir
Following her divorce, Ann Eliza published her memoir "Wife No. 19" in 1876. The full title gives a sense of the book's incendiary content: "Wife No. 19, or the Story of a Life in Bondage, Being a Complete Exposé of Mormonism, and Revealing the Sorrows, Sacrifices and Sufferings of Women in Polygamy."
In this groundbreaking work, Ann Eliza purported to tell the real story of her life as one of Brigham Young's wives. The memoir provided a first-hand account of the realities of polygamy, challenging the official narrative promoted by Mormon leadership. Her story detailed the emotional and practical difficulties of being one wife among many, the financial hardships, and the spiritual disillusionment that led to her eventual apostasy.
The Lecture Circuit
Not content with simply publishing her memoir, Ann Eliza embarked on an extensive lecture tour across the United States. She became an impassioned orator, speaking out against the practice of polygamy and its devastating effects on women. Her lectures drew large crowds and generated significant media attention, bringing the issue of Mormon polygamy to the forefront of national discourse.
During her speaking engagements, Ann Eliza was often introduced by religious and civic leaders in Utah who supported her cause. These endorsements lent credibility to her message and helped her reach a wider audience. Her lectures combined personal testimony with broader social and political arguments against polygamy, making her one of the most prominent anti-polygamy activists of her time.
The National Spotlight
The story of Brigham Young's 19th wife captured the national imagination in a way few other stories of the era did. In 1875, when Ann Eliza divorced Brigham Young, wrote her expose, and set out on her lecture tour, Mormon polygamy grabbed the national spotlight. This was not just a personal drama but a window into a religious practice that many Americans found both fascinating and disturbing.
The publicity surrounding Ann Eliza's divorce and subsequent activism put enormous pressure on the Mormon Church and its leadership. It contributed to the growing national debate about the place of polygamy in American society and helped galvanize anti-polygamy sentiment in government and among the general public.
The Impact on Mormon History
Ann Eliza Young's actions had a significant impact on Mormon history and the eventual decline of polygamy within the LDS Church. Her public criticism of the practice and her detailed accounts of its negative effects on women provided powerful ammunition for those arguing for the abolition of polygamy.
The controversy surrounding her divorce and activism occurred during a critical period in Mormon history. The church was already facing increasing pressure from the federal government to abandon the practice of polygamy. Ann Eliza's story added a human face to the political and religious debate, making the issue more relatable to people outside the Mormon faith.
The Mystery of Her Later Life
Despite her prominence in the 1870s and 1880s, the later life of Ann Eliza Young remains something of a mystery. The date and place of her death are unknown, which is unusual for someone who was once such a public figure. This lack of information has led to speculation and has contributed to the somewhat enigmatic quality of her story.
The uncertainty surrounding her later years adds to the dramatic arc of her life - from prominent Mormon daughter to controversial plural wife, to nationally known activist, and finally to an obscure end. It's as if, after taking on one of the most powerful men in America and exposing the secrets of Mormon polygamy, Ann Eliza Young chose to disappear from public view.
The Wives of Brigham Young
To understand Ann Eliza's story, it's helpful to consider the context of Brigham Young's family life. Young was married multiple times, with various historical sources counting his wives differently. The confusion over whether Ann Eliza was his 19th or 27th wife reflects the complex nature of his marital arrangements.
The above photo shows seven of Brigham Young's many wives, though it does not include Ann Eliza, who fell out of favor quite soon into the marriage. This visual representation of Young's plural marriages underscores the scale of polygamy within Mormon leadership and the environment in which Ann Eliza found herself.
Brigham Young's Family Background
Brigham Young's own family background provides context for understanding the polygamous system he led. He married his first wife, Miriam Works, in New York in 1824. A few months after they were both baptized into the Mormon faith, Miriam died of tuberculosis. Brigham's second wife, Mary Ann Angell, helped raise Miriam's children as well as her own, cared for their household alone during Brigham's frequent absences on missions, and accepted the principle of plural marriage when it was introduced to the church.
This pattern - of wives caring for children, managing households during long absences, and accepting new wives - would be repeated throughout Young's life and became the model for polygamous families in the Mormon community.
The Legacy of Ann Eliza Young
Ann Eliza Young's legacy is complex and contested. To some, she was a courageous truth-teller who exposed the abuses of polygamy and fought for women's rights. To others, particularly within the Mormon community, she was a social harlot and opportunist who betrayed her faith and family.
However, by all accounts from the time, Ann Eliza was a genuine sensation when she toured the country on her crusade to end polygamy in the United States. Her story, as told in her memoir and through her lectures, provided a compelling counter-narrative to the official Mormon position on polygamy.
The True Story Behind the Legend
The true story of Ann Eliza Young is perhaps even more fascinating than the legend that grew up around her. She was born into the Mormon faith, married young to one of its most powerful leaders, experienced firsthand the realities of polygamy, and then had the courage to speak out against the practice that had defined her life.
Her story intersects with major themes in American history - the development of the American West, the conflict between religious freedom and federal law, the women's rights movement, and the power of personal testimony to effect social change. Ann Eliza Young may have been, in her own words, "Wife No. 19," but her impact on American religious and social history was far greater than that number suggests.
Conclusion
The story of Ann Eliza Young, Brigham Young's youngest wife, is a tale of courage, controversy, and change. From her marriage to one of the most powerful men in the American West to her dramatic divorce and subsequent activism, Ann Eliza's life embodied the conflicts and transformations of 19th-century America.
Her decision to speak out against polygamy, to publish her tell-all memoir, and to tour the country lecturing against the practice she had once accepted represents a remarkable journey of personal and spiritual transformation. While the exact details of her later life remain unknown, her impact on the debate over Mormon polygamy and her contribution to the broader women's rights movement are undeniable.
The heartbreaking fate of Brigham Young's youngest wife was not just a personal tragedy but a catalyst for national conversation and eventual change. Ann Eliza Young may have been one wife among many in Brigham Young's household, but her voice, amplified through her writing and speaking, would resonate far beyond the confines of that polygamous family, helping to shape the course of American religious and social history.
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Brigham Young's Wife Denounces Polygamy | NewseumED
Brigham Young's Wife Denounces Polygamy | NewseumED
Brigham Young's 19th Wife: She Married Him and Then She Sued Him
