Sources have varied on the number of Young's wives due to differences in what observers have considered to be a "wife".[1] There were 55 women that Young was sealed to during his lifetime. While the majority of the sealings were "for eternity" (i.e., in the afterlife), some were "for time only" (until death). However, it is suspected that not all of the 55 marriages were conjugal,[1] and Young did not live with a number of his wives or publicly hold them out as wives, which has led to confusion on numbering.[1] A book published in 1887 gives brief biographical sketches and photos of a total of 26 wives.[4]
Of his 55 wives, 21 had never been married before; 16 were widows; six were divorced; six had living husbands; and the marital status of six others are unknown.[1]
At the time of Young's death, 19 of his wives had predeceased him, he was divorced from ten, and 23 survived him, with the status of four unknown.[1] In his will, Young shared his estate with the 16 surviving wives who had lived with him; the six surviving non-conjugal wives were not mentioned in the will.[1]
In 1856, Young built the Lion House to accommodate his sizable family. This building remains a Salt Lake City landmark, together with the Beehive House, another Brigham Young family home. A contemporary of Young wrote: "It was amusing to walk by Brigham Young's big house, a long rambling building with innumerable doors. Each wife has an establishment of her own, consisting of parlor, bedroom, and a front door, the key of which she keeps in her pocket".[5]
Chart of Brigham Young's wives.[1]
| No. | Marriage date and Young's age at marriage | Photo | Name, lifespan, and age at marriage | Wife's status at marriage | Notes |
|---|
| 1 | 1824|10|08|1801|06|01}} | | Miriam Angeline Works (1806–1832) (aged 18) | first marriage | 2 children; died a few months after she and Brigham Young were baptized |
| 2 | 1834|03|31|1801|06|01}} | | Mary Ann Angell (1803–1882) (aged 27) | first marriage | This was not a plural marriage, as Young was a widower at the time; 6 children; mother of Brigham Young Jr., John Willard Young and Joseph Angell Young. | |
| 3 | 1842|06|14|1801|06|01}} | | Lucy Decker Young}}Lucy Ann Decker (1822–1890) (aged 20) | abandoned by non-Mormon husband William Seeley (not divorced) | First plural wife of Brigham Young; 7 children |
| 4 | 1843|11|02|1801|06|01}} | | Augusta Adams (1802–1886) (aged 40) | married to non-Mormon Henry Cobb (divorced in 1847) | Young later married her son's ex-wife, Mary Van Cott Cobb (No. 51 below). Grandmother of architect Henry Ives Cobb. |
| 5 | 1843|11|02|1801|06|01}} | | Harriet Elizabeth Cook (1824–1898) (aged 19) | first marriage | 1 child |
| 6 | 1844|05|08|1801|06|01}} | | Clarissa Caroline Decker (1828–1889) (aged 15) | first marriage | 5 children and a servant Sally |
| 7 | September 1844 (aged 43) | | Emily Dow Partridge (1824–1899) (aged 20). | plural widow of Joseph Smith Jr. | Daughter of Edward Partridge; sealed to Joseph Smith Jr. for eternity and Young for life; 7 children; mother of Don Carlos Young. |
| 8 | 1844|09|10|1801|06|01}} | | Clarissa Ross (1814–1857) (aged 30) | first marriage | 4 children; mother of Maria Young Dougall and Willard Young |
| 9 | 1844|09|19|1801|06|01}} | | Louisa Beaman (1815–1850) (aged 29) | plural widow of Joseph Smith Jr. | sealed to Joseph Smith Jr. for eternity and Young for life; 5 children |
| 10 | 1844|10|03|1801|06|01}} | | Eliza R. Snow (1804–1887) (aged 40) | plural widow of Joseph Smith Jr. | sealed to Joseph Smith Jr. for eternity and Young for life |
| 11 | 1844|10|03|1801|06|01}} | Elizabeth Fairchild (1828–1910) (aged 16) | first marriage | divorced 1855 |
| 12 | 1844|10|08|1801|06|01}} | Clarissa Blake (1796–?) (aged 48) | widow of—Morse; married to Mormon husband Lyman Homiston |
| 13 | 1844|10|09|1801|06|01}} | Rebecca Holman (1824–1849) (aged 20) | first marriage |
| 14 | 1844|10|10|1801|06|01}} | Diana Chase (1827–1886) (aged 17) | first marriage | divorced prior to 1849 |
| 15 | 1844|10|31|1801|06|01}} | | Susanne Snively (1815–1892) (aged 29) | first marriage | one daughter |
| 16 | 1844|11|07|1801|06|01}} | Olive Grey Frost (1816–1845) (aged 28) | plural widow of Joseph Smith Jr. | sealed to Joseph Smith Jr. for eternity and Young for life |
| 17 | 1845|01|15|1801|06|01}} | Mary Ann Clark (1816–?) (aged 28) | previously married to —— Powers (unknown if she was widowed, divorced, or separated) | divorced June 1851 |
| 18 | 1845|01|16|1801|06|01}} | | Margaret Pierce (1823–1907) (aged 22) | widow of Morris Whitesides | sealed to Morris Whitesides for eternity and Young for time; 1 child |
| 19 | 1845|01|16|1801|06|01}} | Mary Pierce (1821–1847) (aged 25) | first marriage |
| 20 | 1845|04|30|1801|06|01}} | | Emmeline Free (1826–1875) (aged 18) | first marriage | 10 children |
| 21 | 1845|05|22|1801|06|01}} | Mary Elizabeth Rollins Lightner (1818–1910) (aged 26) | married to non-Mormon Adam Lightner and plural widow of Joseph Smith Jr. | sealed to Joseph Smith Jr. for eternity and Young for time; remained living with Lightner |
| 22 | 1846|01|14|1801|06|01}} | Margaret Alley (1825–1852) (aged 20) | first marriage | 2 children |
| 23 | 1846|01|15|1801|06|01}} | Olive Andrews (1818–?) (aged 27) | posthumous plural wife of Joseph Smith Jr. | sealed to Joseph Smith Jr. for eternity and Young for time |
| 24 | 1846|01|15|1801|06|01}} | Emily Haws (1823–?) (aged 22) | widow of William Whitmarsh |
| 25 | 1846|01|21|1801|06|01}} | | Martha Bowker (1822–1890) (aged 23) | first marriage | one daughter |
| 26 | 1846|01|21|1801|06|01}} | Ellen Rockwood (1829–1866) (aged 16) | first marriage |
| 27 | 1846|01|28|1801|06|01}} | Jemima Angel (1803–1869) (aged 42) | divorced from Valentine Young (no relation) |
| 28 | 1846|01|28|1801|06|01}} | Abigail Marks (1781–1846) (aged 69) | widow of Asa Works | sealed to Works for eternity and Young for time; Abigail Marks was the mother of Young's first wife, Miriam Works |
| 29 | 1846|01|28|1801|06|01}} | Phebe Morton (1786–1854) (aged 59) | widow of James W. Angel | sealed to Angel for eternity and Young for time |
| 30 | 1846|01|28|1801|06|01}} | Cynthia Porter (1783–1861) (aged 62) | married to William Weston (unknown if she was widowed, divorced, or separated) |
| 31 | 1846|01|31|1801|06|01}} | Mary Eliza Nelson (1812–1885) (aged 33) | widow of John P. Greene | sealed to John P. Greene for eternity and Young for time; divorced by 1850 |
| 32 | 1846|01|31|1801|06|01}} | | Rhoda Richards (1784–1879) (aged 61) | plural widow of Joseph Smith Jr. | sealed to Joseph Smith Jr. for eternity and Young for time |
| 33 | 1846|02|02|1801|06|01}} | | Zina Diantha Huntington (1821–1901) (aged 25) | married to Mormon Henry Bailey Jacobs; plural widow of Joseph Smith Jr. | sealed to Joseph Smith Jr. for eternity and Young for time; not sealed to Jacobs; lived with Young; 1 child |
| 34 | 1846|02|03|1801|06|01}} | Amy Cecilia Cooper (1804–1852) (aged 41) | married to (non-Mormon?) Joseph Aldrich; separated later and he remarried |
| 35 | 1846|02|03|1801|06|01}} | Mary Ellen de la Montaigne (1803–1894) (aged 42) | divorced from James Boyd Woodward | divorced 1846-12-13 and remarried Woodward; both Woodward and de la Montaigne were adopted to Brigham Young at Nauvoo |
| 36 | 1846|02|03|1801|06|01}} | Julia Foster (1811–1891) (aged 36) | widow of Mormon Jonathan Hampton, who died in Nauvoo in 1844. | Stayed in Illinois when Brigham Young emigrated to Utah in 1847. Young sent for her in 1855, and she came with her children and managed the Lion House. |
| 37 | 1846|02|03|1801|06|01}} | Abigail Harback (1790–1849) (aged 55) | previously married to John Calvin Hall (unknown if she was widowed, divorced, or separated) |
| 38 | 1846|02|03|1801|06|01}} | Mary Ann Turley (1827–1904) (aged 18) | first marriage | divorced 1851 |
| 39 | 1846|02|06|1801|06|01}} | | Naamah Carter (1821–1909) (aged 24) | widowed from John S. Twiss, who had died September 10, 1845 [6] |
| 40 | 1846|02|06|1801|06|01}} | Nancy Cressy (1780–1872) (aged 65) | widow of Oliver Walker |
| 41 | 1846|02|10|1801|06|01}} | Jane Terry (1819–1847) (aged 26) | widow of George W. Young (no relation) | requested on deathbed to be sealed to Brigham Young; died four days after marriage |
| 42 | 1847|03|14|1801|06|01}} | | Lucy Bigelow (1830–1905) (aged 16) | first marriage | 3 children |
| 43 | 1847|03|14|1801|06|01}} | Mary Jane Bigelow (1827–1868) (aged 19) | first marriage | divorced 1851 |
| 44 | 1848|04|18|1801|06|01}} | Sarah Malin (1804–1858) (aged 43) | first marriage | later divorced |
| 45 | 1852|10|03|1801|06|01}} | | Eliza Burgess (1827–1915) (aged 25) | first marriage | 1 child |
| 46 | 1852|12|16|1801|06|01}} | Mary Oldfield (1793–1875) (aged 59) | widow of Eli Kelsey |
| 47 | before 1853 (aged 51)[7] | Eliza Babcock (1828–1868) (aged 24)[7] | first marriage | divorced 1853 |
| 48 | 1855|06|10|1801|06|01}} | Catherine Reese (1804–1860) (aged 51) | widow of Zephaniah Clawson |
| 49 | 1856|03|14|1801|06|01}} | | Harriet Barney (1830–1911) (aged 25) | divorced from W. H. H. Sagers | 1 child |
| 50 | 1863|01|24|1801|06|01}} | | Amelia Folsom (1838–1910) (aged 24) | first marriage | Rumoured to be Brigham's favorite wife.[8] |
| 51 | 1868|01|08|1801|06|01}} [9][10] | | Mary Van Cott (1844–1884) (aged 23) | divorced from James Thornton Cobb (son of wife no. 4) [9] | 1 child |
| 52 | 1868|04|07|1801|06|01}} | | Ann Eliza Webb (1844–1917) (aged 24) | divorced from James L. Dee | divorced 1875; later became an outspoken critic of polygamy |
| 53 | 1869|07|03|1801|06|01}} | Elizabeth Jones (1814–1895) (aged 55) | widow of David T. Lewis and Dan Jones |
| 54 | 1870|05|08|1801|06|01}} | Lydia Farnsworth (1808–1897) (aged 61) | married to Elijah Mayhew | Sealed to Brigham Young for eternity but remained living with husband Mayhew |
| 55 | 1872|12|08|1801|06|01}} | | Hannah Tapfield (1807–1886) (aged 65) | married to non-Mormon Thomas O. King | Sealed to Brigham Young for eternity but remained living with husband King |
1. ^1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Jeffrey Odgen Johnson, “Determining and Defining ‘Wife’ — The Brigham Young Households”, A Journal of Mormon Thought, vol. 20, no. 3 (Fall 1987) pp. 57-70.
2. ^{{cite web |url=https://www.pbs.org/mormons/peopleevents/e_polygamy.html|title=Polygamy and the Church: A History|accessdate=2007-05-29|date=2007-04-30|work=The Mormons: People & Events|publisher=WGBH Educational Foundation}}
3. ^{{cite web|url=http://unicomm.byu.edu/about/brigham.aspx?content=brigham7|title=Brigham Young Biography|accessdate=2007-07-01|publisher=Brigham Young University}}
4. ^{{Cite book|title = Pictures and biographies of Brigham Young and his wives.Being a true and correct statement of the birth, life and death of President Brigham Young, second president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and brief biographies of his twenty-six wives, and names and number of children born to them.|url = http://hdl.handle.net/2027/uc1.31175035163131|publisher = Salt Lake City,Utah|first = James H.|last = Crockwell}}
5. ^{{cite web |last= DeHegermann-Lindencrone |first= Lillie |title=The Sunny Side of Diplomatic Life, 1875-1912 |url=http://www.gutenberg.org/files/13955/13955-h/13955-h.htm |publisher=Project Gutenberg |accessdate=2006-07-18 }}
6. ^http://www.myfourleggedstool.com/uploads/1/9/2/5/19256439/law2_from_massogvol35no2summer2011.pdf
7. ^1 Age on January 1, 1853
8. ^Hal Schindler, "Brigham Young's Favorite Wife", Salt Lake Tribune, 1995-07-30, p. J1.
9. ^1 The marriage year of 1868 is according to her obituary and {{cite web | author=Broadhurst, Dale R. | title=James Thornton Cobb: the Don Quixote of Deseret; A Spalding Saga Episode | work=The Spalding Research Project | url=http://solomonspalding.com/SRP/saga/saga10a.htm | accessdate=2010-03-29}}; {{cite web | title=Family Group Sheet | work=Brigham Young Family Ancestors | url=http://brighamyoungfamily.org/ancestry/f260.htm | accessdate=2010-03-29}}
10. ^Other sources suggest a marriage on this day in 1865. See Jeffrey O. Johnson and {{cite journal | author=Susa Young Gates and Mabel Young Sanborn | title=Brigham Young Genealogy | date=July 1920 | volume=11 | issue=3 | journal=The Utah Genealogical and Historical Magazine | page=133 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=u78UAAAAYAAJ&dq=mary%20van%20cott%201884&pg=RA1-PA133#v=onepage&q=mary%20van%20cott%201884&f=false | accessdate=2010-03-29}}