My hubby and I were in St George last week and took a tour of the Brigham Young house. It was an interesting experience.
There were 4 different guides - one for every room. I wondered if there was not enough for missionaries to do in St George.
The tour guide said that Brigham Young called his servants "helpers" and treated them like family.
His wife (singular) was mentioned - Amelia. I asked the very young tour guide if any of his others wives lived there. She said "no".
After the tour we googled Amelia and she was 22 years old and BY was 59 when they married Apparently she was a real beauty.

It was interesting how A lot of real history was left out to give the illusion of normalcy.

When I went on that tour years ago, I was more interested in what they had done to the building to restore to be more period accurate. I love that kind of stuff. Regretably, the older gentleman who was giving us the tour didn't know anything about that part of history. Just what felt like the surface script about the house.

Of course at the end, they asked if I had any people we could refer to the missionaries. I told him I was the ward mission leader, so, no, I didn't have any names to give to him.

when I was still so-so TBM. I don't remember having a guided tour--we were able to walk through and look around. BUT my ex and I both took note of him taking Amelia with him to St. George every time. Even as a TBM, that sickened me and we both felt that they can say all they want, it was about having younger wives and putting the old ones out to pasture.

Here's Amelia's Salt Lake City residence, across the street from the Lion House: http://www.ldswomenofgod.com/amelia-folsom-young-and-the-gardo-house/

Did she throw the sewing machine down the stairs of the Gardo House?

In Wife No. 19, she reveals that Brigham wanted their marriage to be kept as secret as possible out of concern that federal officers would find out. But it was Amelia's reaction he feared. "She had raised a furious storm a few months before when he married Mary Van Cott and he did not dare so soon encounter another such domestic tornado."

"Amelia and I rarely spoke to each other," Ann Eliza said. "Since Amelia's marriage, she ruled Brigham with a hand of iron. She has a terrible temper and he has the benefit of it," Ann Eliza remarked. "On one occasion he sent her a sewing machine, thinking to please her; it did not happen to be the kind of a one which she wanted; so she kicked it down stairs, saying, What did you get this old thing for? You knew I wanted a Singer.' She got a Singer at once."

Source: http://historytogo.utah.gov/salt_lake_tribune/in_another_time/073095.html

When Emma Smith kicks something else down the stairs and proclaims: "Where'd you get this YOUNG thing?!?!?!"

I had heard of this one. Is the house in St. George a mansion too?

"BUT my ex and I both took note of him taking Amelia with him to St. George every time. Even as a TBM, that sickened me and we both felt that they can say all they want, it was about having younger wives and putting the old ones out to pasture."

Yep. Putting that into perspective, let's remember that when the Mormons left Nauvoo in 1846, Brigham Young didn't bring his legal wife, Mary Ann, and their children to Utah. Instead, he took a 19-year-old, unencumbered "plural wife," Clara Decker. But I'm sure that Brigham only wanted Clara along so she could cook and mend his socks.

https://books.google.com/books?id=R9YRAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA324&lpg=PA324&dq=clara+decker+young&source=bl&ots=WNxI1bpfpA&sig=SmbWOfZWsHEG8UXM7oe6_wqsSuc&hl=en&sa=X&ei=0k1mVcbzF4nQsAWCkoGYCA&ved=0CGIQ6AEwDw#v=onepage&q=clara%20decker%20young&f=false

Brigham "plural married" Amelia in 1863, when she was 24, and Clara was a 35-year-old maid.

Out with the old, in with the new. Brigham was lucky to have lived as long as he did.

I had the tour a couple of years ago. They had a lady missionary from Texas giving the tour (not fitting, if you ask me). Didn't have time to ask questions, didn't give us time to really look, it was in and out (like the temple open houses, rush, rush, rush). Beautiful yard though, Small vineyard for Brigham's special alcohol I assume, lol

I went on a partial tour in January. There was only one tour guide, an older woman giving the tour. She remarked that Brigham had only one wife accompany him to St. George for their winter getaway. That must've been Amelia, although her name was not brought up.

The guide said that Brigham brought the wife that was a nurse with him to St. George. So, if that was Amelia, then not only was she a very young near like child bride to his years. She was his nurse too. How sickening. Yet he lived like a king, and his house in St. George was like a pioneer mansion. Others lived in dire straits, while he lived like royalty off of their tithes and offerings.

That's sickening in itself. :(

St. George is lovely. It's a beautiful iconic town and the red mountain views are par non.

Funny, I was just about to say that St. George sucks. What happened to the orchards (that I thought I remember) from when I was a kid? Who the hell thought it would be a decent place to settle?

But if they have a Costco now, I'm in!

They have a Costco. :)

And a Johnny Miller designed championship golf course, among the other lovely golf courses there. Note: I don't golf, but I might. ;)

Coyotes and road runners roam freely there in the outlying desert. The vistas and sunsets around there are just breathtakingly beautiful. Tuacahn was perhaps my favorite locally. Zion's National Park, and the scenery along that drive to get there is amazing.

Agreed. Let's all move to St George.

All aboard! :D

sometimes I wonder if Briggy was a (closet) nudist/naturist...

Do they have spittoons in the house? Have them in his home at This is the Place Monument. Mormon guides hide them, non mormon guides bring them out.

I was there a year ago, and I didn't take that tour because it was obvious there were missionaries working as tour guides and I didn't want to be preached at. One pair was a senior missionary couple, and they were just sitting on the porch.

Now, I did love the artist colony outside of St George, and seeing a house on the outskirts that was obviously a polygamist compound because it had 2 wings, one for each wife. This was an older house, so I don't think it had any modern polygs living there as it was considered a historical landmark. I also saw a completely separate RS building, which was something I didn't know that existed since while they might have a room, it's usually part of the chapel complex. It just reinforced to me the idea that Mormons consider women to be second class citizens.

Do we have anything of BYs writing of his reaction to the death of any of his wives? Does it show grief or sadness?


perhaps a contemporary commented on this.

Took our family last year and we loved at George, would move there in a heartbeat (anyone want to sponsor my work visa ;-))

We stayed in snow canyon and fell in love with the place

We did the winter quarters tour and I asked about the other wives and they didn't know too much about them

I also thought the vineyard in the backyard was an interesting touch

Brigham Young gets all kinds of mention for his many accomplishments like Church Leader, Prophet, Utah Governor, when it is in a positive context, but there is so little mention of Brigham's OTHER far more substantive accomplishments like 19th century multi millionaire and mass murderer. To those who object to the second, just remember that Hitler never actually pulled the trigger on any of his many Holocaust victims, Hitler *merely* created the political climate that tolerated and encouraged their murder.

WHen sugar was almost worth its weight in Silver in Utah and many LDS were starving, Brigham Young had a candy store /candy bar installed in his house for his children and he was buying china dolls for his spoiled rotten over privileged offspring.

The closer a person looks, the more OFFENSIVE that MORmONISM is, unless the person is a real MORmON.

Sort of how some of the televangelists operate today?! They live in lavish houses &/or compounds. Multi-millionaires from monies given them by their adoring fans, and prayer teams etc.

And people gladly sponsor them. I wonder how willing Brigham's followers really were? More likely they weren't aware of his lavish lifestyle except those closest to him. Yet those who were approved and supported his lifestyle.