The Van Buren press., 1873-08-19
BR1GHAM's LOST AFFINITY.
The Story Of Mrs. Eliza Webb Young
Graphically Told by Herself.
Correspondence New York Herald.l

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Correspondence New York Hcrald.l
SALT LAKE CirY; Aug 3, 1873.
This morning went to the Walker
house and sent up my card to this now
interesting lady, Mrs. Ann Eliza Webb
Young.
THE APPEARANCE or THE LADY
In person Mrs young is tall and slen-
der, with remarkably sweet face, fea
lures regular and soft, eyes dark blue,
hair very dark brown ard thrown loose
ly behind after the fashion of the school
miss of fifteen 1t is not always safe to
judge by appearances, but nature never
gave that countenance to hedgehog OF
a virago. The first thosght was that the
prophet was intensely stupid to have
driven that beauty from the harem.
AT the presedt time the lady il twenty
eight years Of age, but her i'll health i'm
parts q languid expression to her conn-
tenance that might suggest to tho mind
that she was few years older 1t was
in remarking upon her health that | saw
the feeling of her soul upon polygamy
She said that her health had been failing
for the last four years The mental suf.
ferng that she had endured in her polys
annie life had affected her to such de-
gree that she had become utterly indiffer-
ent to life itself, and would rather hav
died than lived.
HER LIFE HAD BEEN BLIGlTTED
And all her ambition had vanished. With
these general observations expressed, |
asked her if it would be agreeable to her
for me to ask such questions as would
enable the world to learn a truthful yer.
sion Of a polyganic life.
Mrs. Young: am willing that the
whole truth should be i,newn. l have
nothing to conceal. 2zr,s p"rv"ts we're
Mormons when was bern, and l have
consequently never known anything else
but Mormonism.
Reporter: Where were you born?
Lady: In Nauvoo, on the Mississip'
| pi.
Reporter: Have YOU been long in
Utah?
Lady: came here when | Was four
years old.
Reporter: Your parents still live, !
am told F?
Lady: Yes my father and mother
live about ten miles south Of this city,
and have two brothers older than my.
self in the territory.
Reporter: Are your father and broth
ers polygamists? 4?
Lady: Father has three wives and
had two more who are dead my eldest
brother has two wives, but the youngest
has only one.
Reporter: Did you prefer the polyg
amic married life to that of monogamy 7
Lady: No, sir; from my earliest rec
ollection of anything, | resolved neverto
"enter polygamy "a common express
sion among the Mormons'
WOMEN UNuAP.Y
Reporter: Are the women in polysa'
mic families unhappy?
Lady: Mostly. ] think all all are un-
happy but some Of them struggle to
conceal it.
Reporter: Did you ever know any
women say that they were happy in that
relationship?
Lady: Oh, yes; have heard women
say so but ! never believe them.
now SHE BECAME rHr PROPHETS WIPE.
Reporter: trust, madame, that you
will not think it impertinent if | ask you
how you came to enter Brigham foung's
family with your feelings SO averse to the
polygamc institutions
Lady: Nothing on this subject, sir
can be impertincnt, as wish the facts to
be made known to the world.
nEn or..ruic STORY.
Here the lady. without further ques
tioning began her story ofthe cour.ship
the marriage, her ,.;;ss with the prophet
and finally her leaving him. She sid;
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 wife
Brigham, with q number Of apostles and
elders from this city, was visiting Cot
tonwood on q Sunday and held two meet
ings for preaching. 1t was at the close
of the forenoon service on that occasion
that he walked up to mo and .alu, p" Had
I not better accompany you homer
said, /" Certainly, II you wish to- Or
the way to my fathers house Brigham
asked me i'll bad a.; rr:.ccrrc:.,, OF mar
rsge since / had obtained divorce from
my first husband. ! answered him, "ios
that had had several proposals. III
then asked IL then asked II there was any
one of them that | wishsd to. accept.
said "No, on which he said that h'
would like to give me little advice.
BRIGHAM GIVES ADVICE.
He advised mo not to wait to marry
person whom loved, but to marry som'
good man whom | could respect ant
look up to and receive good eounse
from. thanked him for his counsel
and as my homo was so near TO the place
of meeting the conversation abruptly ter
minated. / thought nothing further o.
lit. His brother Joseph and George q
Cannon oined US at the dinner table, and
while there Brigham and the others re