Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1877-09-07

con. lie had ten brothers and sisters, ana
was the ninth child of his parents. In ear
ly life lie worked on his fathers farm In
Sherburn, Chenanao county, N. Y, re-
colved what Is known rs the rudiments OF
an education then became painter and
glazier, aud worked ut these trades until he
was thiriy-one years old. So far he dis
played no especial aplitudes, and was not
considered man Of unusual promise.
The turning point in his life was reached
in the year 1888, when he was thirty-two
years old. Samuel II. Smith, a brother of
the notorious 400" Smith, at that time con-
veried him to Mormouism. Joe" was
then preaching in the neighborhood the
doctr nos of the Book of Mormon-a treat
Use two years old. The first company of
| Mormons had already assembled al Kirt-
land, o., and Brigham Young repaired to
| that place where he received the appoint
ment of "eder." With great zeal he es-
poused the cause Of the Church of the Lat
ter Day Saints of Jesus Christ, rs the com
munity called itself; and, with more than
the ordinary earnestness Of proselyte TO a
feeble sect, be set about converting others
to his newly adopted.ways of thinking. His
! influence rapidly increased, and on the l4th
of February, 1895, he was ordained one of
the twelve apostles of the church. The
next year he bacame the president of the
| twelve.
Tho Saints soon moved from Kirkland,
o., TO Independence, Jackson county Mis-
souri,, and soon arterward, to the town of
Nauvoo, in western Illinois. In Ohio their
tl,atr hahtg xpbipb
they were too poor to pay; in Missouri,
| from religious persecution. Governor
Boggs, of the latter State, called out a force
of fifteen thousand militia, and threatened
TO exterminate the MOrmons. But the new
settlers in the town Of Nauvoo received
them kindly; and from that town, in the
| year 1910, Brigham Young went forth TO
make converts In Great Britain.
1t was on the 9th of April in that year
that he landed at Liverpool. lie preach
ed Immediately. Herepriuted the Book of
Mormon. He established newspaper
called the Millennial Star, which is still in
existence. Within one year he returned to
America with 100 converts. Three years
aflerward there was riot in Nauvoo. The
Saints had proclaimed and put in practice
their doctrine of polygamy, and had med
died with the civil government. They
were becoming numerically strong in the
region. "Joe' Smith and his brother were
arrested and put into jail, and then were
murdered by mob. His first councillor,
| Sidney Rigdon, seized the presidency.
Brigham Young, who was in Boston when
the riot occurred, hurried to Nauvoo, gath
cred about him what Mormons he could
find, cursed Rigdon, proclaimed himself
| president, finished a large Westinghouse
and built a home for himself
But the Saints were altogether TOO I'M
| popular in Nauvoo, and Brigham Honng
| decided to seek a distant settlement which
they could entirely control, and into which
they could bring their converts without OBJ
| lection. lie led them across the Missis-
sippi, not knowing whittier he went. 1t was
winter, and they were starving. Hundreds
Of them persisted by the way. In tue fol-
lowing spring of lSi7 they reached Coun-
Gil Bluffs in the autumn they crossed the
Missouri aud built log huts near the pres
ent site of the city of Omaha. Five hun
bred of them were there enlisted by the ma
tioual government as volunteers in the
Mexican war. Brigham advised them 10
enlist, received for their enlistment $40, 900
bounty money, aud, ii was said, kept the
funds. Certainly he was able 10 make an
exploring expedition, and to send one hun
dred and forty seven men add seventy
| wagons TO Salt Lake. TIE that place he
soon determined TO transport the Mormons
in Ohio, Missouri, Illinois, who bad been
left behind, and all the converts he could
make. He forthwith clothed himself with
power in the eyes of his followers by styl-
ing himself Prophet, Seer and Revelator as
well as President of the Mormon people.
"The mantle of Joseph Smith," said the
people, "has fallen upon Brigham Young"
Ever afterwards his sway over them was
well nigh absolute.
In September, 1850, Congress gave ter
ritorial government 10 the region, which it
named Utah, and President Fillmore APP
pointed Brigham Young to be Governor Of
the territory for four years. His service in
furnishing recruits for the Mexican war
seems TO have been remembered in his IA
vor. Soon the official census showed that
there were more than eleven thousand per-
sons in the territory. In two more years
the practice Of polygamy had doubled the
population. Young caused many memo
rails to be sent TO Congress, aud Congress
replied by cutting the territory into pieces
and giving big slices to the leaders of the
church. In 1854, when Brigham YouDg's
term OF Office as Governor Of Utah had ex-
pired, Colonel Steptoe, OF the United States
army, with three hundred men spent the
winter at Salt Lake, and received from
President Pierce an appointment as Brig
hams successor. Brigham frightened the
Colonel into resiguing from the office and
recommending him TO be his successor.
The President of the United States acted
upon the recommendation and reappointed
Brigham, who proceeded to get rid as qui-
ely but as rapidly as possible of all the
federal officers in Utah. That brought to
Utah three thousand soldiers Of the army
TO assert the power of the national govern
ment. Brigham declared martial law,
raised an army of his own, entered into ne
gotiations with the national authorities,
aud professed to recognize their appOintee,
Governor Cumming, as Governor Of Utah.
At the same time he commanded his peo-
pie TO leave Salt Lake City. They obeyed
him, going south finy miles. In six days
President Buchanan sent proclamation
of peace, and Brigham agreed to yield obe-
dience to the laws. He soon brought his
people back, after great sufferinGs, to Salt
Lake City. Meanwhile the Mountain
Meadows massacre had occurred, for which
Bishop Lee was executed last year, and the
responsibility for which Brigham Young
is believed to have shared. Brigham has