The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1873-08-15
BFi0Ha9a's BOLti1sg Bride.
THE STORY OF MRS. ELIZA WEBB YOUNG
GRAPHICALLY TOLD BY HERsELF--THE
PROPHET AS LOVER AND HUSBAND
his OTHER WIVES.

fRTutu NHp mas iaC itIi lHeeINlc" WIFI
Mrs. Ann Eliza Webb Ydutlg, the wo- /
man who wants a divorce from Brig
ham Young, writes from Salt Lake
City as follows:
In person Mrs. Young is tail and slender, }
with a remarkably sweet face, features
regular and soft, eyes dark blue, hair very
dark brown and thrown loosely behind
after the fashion of the school miss of fif-
teen: 1t is not always safe to Judge by
appearance but nature never gave that
countenance to a viIago. At the present
time the lady is twenty-eight years of age,
hut Ter ill-health imparts languld expires
sion to her countenance that might suggest
to the mind that she was few years older,
1t was in remarking upon her health that
l saw the feeling of her soul upon polyga-
my. Size said that her health had been
failing for the last four years. The men
tai suffering that she had endured in her
polygamic life had affected her to such a
degree that she had become utterly indif-
ferent to life itself, and would rather have
died than lived.
BRIGHAM's CoURTsHIP:
Mrs Young related the following histo-
ry of her courtship: l was living on my
fathers farm in Little Cottonwood, when
in.the summer of 1867, Brigham Young
Informed my father that he wanted me for
a wife. Brigham, With a numbet- of the
| apostles and elders from this city, was yiG-
iting Cottonwood on Sunday and held two
meetings for preaching. 1t was at the
| close OF the forenoon service on that Occa-
sion that he walked up to me and said
! Had l not better accompany You home ?''
! ], said Certainly, if you wish to.'' On
\ the way to my, fathers house Brigham
asked me if l bad had any proposals of
marriage since l had obtained a divorce
from my first husband. l answered lrin,
F~ol al a,.alr lie
| He then asked if there was any of them |
wished to accept. l said ''No," on which
he said that he would like to give me lit
| tie advice -
He advised me, hot to wait to marry
person 1 loved, but to marry some good
man whom l could respect and look up to
and receive good counsel from. .-
/ thanked him for his counsel, and as
fnv home was SO near to the place of meet
ing the conversation abruptly terminate ed.
! thought nothing further of it. His broth
er Joseph and George q. CannOa7 7ioiued us
at the dinner table, and while there Brig
ham and the others remarked how youth
full had grown, since | had got out of my
former troubles AS had much i'm prov q
in every way | did not regard hrs obServa-
ti0nS as any intended compliment or any
Indication of what afterwards learned to
be passing i'll his mind.
Il HE GOES A SPARKLING. =
At the close of the afternoon service lie
went up to my father, took him aside and
talked for at least two hours to him about
-6A, and told him how that he had watched
me from my infancy, saw me grow up to
won;2nhood, had always loved me and in
tended TO marry me, but having taken
Amelia just after the law was passed in
Congress- prohibiting polygamy, lie feared
to take anoth7E wife soon after, lest it
should make trouble, or he would have
taken me then. My marriage with young
man was unlocked for TO him, and when
he was made acquainted with 1.-THE did not
just like to stop it, he said, SO he let 1t go
on, but always hoped that the time would
come when he would have me-.
He wanted father and mother to use all
their influence with me, as it would be. the
best thing l could do. He asked father if
a good house, well furnished, and 81 QC0 a
year pocket money, would be enough for
me, and added that if it was not enough
should have more. Father answered that
lie thought it would be sufficient.
Brigham stood two hours or more with
father and kept the whole of the carriages
that conveyed the party standing waiting
till after sundown, and little did l think
that I was 1.-THE object of interest,"
When father cafi,e home he told mother
by herself; then they told me. l cannot
. describe my feelings; | was frightened.
The thought of it was perfect horror. l
thought father had gone crazy, and l would
not believe his statement for hours. When
/ realized that it was a fact | could do
nothing but cry. The idea of an old man,
sixty-seven years of age, the husband of
about tTenty wives living, asking me, at
twenty-five 20 be added to the number,
filed me with the utmost adherence, and
when / saw that my parents were under
his influence and sustained his proposition,
, | was ready to die in despair. Oh the
moaning no tongue can picture.
When nv father saw that took it so
badly, he told me that would not be forced
into it, but If l could bring my feelings to
1T and accept Brigham itwould be pleasing
to him, and mother favored it in the same
way.
,, About a month after tits was in the
city with an iptimate lady friend, and as
we were walking near to Brigham's S house,
he came to the gate and waited for our
arrival. When | saw him | thought that
L would get up courage enough to tell him
that 1 would not marry him, but 1 could
not say 1t. That peculiar influence that
he throws over everybody when he has a
purpose to effect completely overcame me.
lie did not allude to the subject at all. |
shook hands and passed on.
BRIGHAM IN 4 PECKsSIFFIAN ROLE
He became very kind to my parents and
saw father frequently. He sent for me to
come to the city on several occasions ana
met me at my fathers city residence, and
talked to me about marriage told me how
pure his feelings were, and that his only
motive was to do me good, save me in the
Kingdom and make me queen. All that
had no effect upon me it only disguised
ME the more, and the fear that dared not
resist him never left me. This continued
Tor nearly year. My eldest brother had
had some business transactions with BRIG
ham and oFc of bis sons, which resulted in
trouble and ultimately in financial injury
10 my brother. Brigham had been very
from the Church heard of those threats,
aud believing at that TIME in Mormonism.
heard them in deep sorrow, and confess
that, IN hopes of turning Brieham's anger
away from my brother, | began to enter