The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1904-12-04
All About the Smiths.

Readers OF the German Free Press
Of Berlin are no. longer in the dark
concerning the life and achievements
! of President Smith OF the Mormon
church. The Free Press Of Oct. q goes
into the presidents affairs in detail.
revealing several points not known TO
many who 1--we in closer proximity to
the homes of the president than the
editor of the Free Press. The article,
accurately translated, reads:
The man who the greatest family in
the world has is the Mormon president.
joseph Smith. in Salt Lake City. Smith
has six Wives-from one is he di-
, Vorced-45 children and $50 gTdHdChil-
dren- This record in the number of
children has only, as one English week
~ says, Smiths predecessor, the Pres
ident Brigham Young, heated. who Sc
children behind left. The wives and
unmarried children OF Smith live in
one row of isolated houses in Salt
Lake City the married children and
grandchildren distribute themselves
over the whole state. Smith supports
all the inmates Of the five houses; his
married children and grandchildren
must, however. for themselves provide.
This proud father of 40 children is
very rich; he must that even be. be-
cause the cost of the maintenance of
the five households viii al 400, 600 marks
be estimated. He draws u SO great
income as director of twenty separate
corporations banks and factories.
His first wife was his cousin, La
vinia, with whom he himself as a boy
in love fell. In the same year even
rs his marriage with Lavinia married
he the sisters, Julina and Edna Lam
son. He would at the same time both
wives marry, over which all Americans
outside of the Mormon state of Utah
were indignant TO observe. The first
wife raised up but remon6trances
against the second and third: she
went to California and allowed herself
from Smith to be divorced. but he
married Immediately thereupon a
fourth, Sarah. Then came afterward
beside as fifth Alice and Mary as sixth.
None of these wives had precedence
i'm comparison SO that each only
fraction of a lawful wife was. No. D.
Alice. said even for short: i am
proud, moreover, one of five wives to
be
THE favorite wife of Smith shall
Mary be; one knows as confirmation or
this report the fact to perceive thar
she I'm the most beautiful and most
costly Of the five houses lives. His
favoTite wife has TO him five children
borne. LaVinia only two. Thirteen,
the greatest number of all, bore him
his fourth wife, Alice: the fifth has
eight children, and the two sisters,
whom he at the same time married,
presented him the one eleven, the other
six children.
Ago several months had himself
Smith i'm Washington because OF his
much-maTriedness,' which neVerthe-
less for fourteen years had been for
hidden, to Vindicate, On the eve Of
his departure arranged Smith d fam
lily reunion 10 which all the wives.
children, grandchildren, parents-in-law,
etc, were invited. Since none of the
five houses great enough was for the
crowd to hold was a hall for the fam
lily day hired. Out of the whole regi-
ment of children and grandchildren
were % mothers-in-law present
When he was in Washington TO the
government committee in the presence
Of stood, showed he himself over the
question OF his domestic relations in
the highest measure indignant The
congress of the United States has with
my private affairs nothing TO do,
opined he. To the question why he 20
the law not Obeyed took ne a defiant
mien on ana said: / VIII rather all
consequences bear than my extra
wives and children to abandon.
smith returned triumphant to Salt
Lake City back. He has in the recent
months many Mormon families of Utah
in Mexico established. that eventually
the new headquarters Of the Mormon
church shall be, because it in this place
secure against the laws of the United
States is"