The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1904-03-09
lyman as BruSeu IN HIS Defiance
Of Lac as A,rb High Priest Of INorm0nlSn


Merrill. He then said that he had promised
TO love. cherish and support the woman.
ana CID you continue 10 maintain unlaw-
full relations with her after you married the
woman you call your legal wife?" Chairman
Burrows asked
The witness said he lived with both wives.
but they bad different homes in Richmond,
Utah, about a mile apart.
You say you were living with your
mother when you were married the second
time? Where was your father. Apostle
He was on the underground most of the
time, said the witness, jocularly.
What i. =: do you I mean n by ,on the under
He was in hiding"
why was he hiding?" asked the chair
Because about that time there were pros
ecutions going on for polygamy," Mr.. Mer-
| rill answered. He said that ofttimes ne
would not see his father for a month.
Mr.. Merrill said that he had taken his
| 1883 wife to his mothers home occasionally,
| but that she had never stayed all night
| there, and that, so far as he knew, his
| father did not know that he had a wife
| already when he was married by his father
| to the woman ne calls his legal wife. Mr..
| Merrill said his father is still living and is
| still an apostle of the church, but that he
| is very feeble.
A NUMEROUS FAMILY.
In regard to his family, Mr.. Merrill said
he had a father with six wives, and that
| tiers. He was asked how many nephews
and nieces he had and he said he did not
know, but thought there were more than
| one hundred.
my father lives with his first wife and
comes to the home of my mother proba-
bly, not more than once month"; he said.
My father is a very busy man." the wit
ness supplemented.
Mr.. Merrill thought three of his brothers
| have married plural wives and that two
| of his sisters had married into polygamous
| families
The prosecution called to the stand Mrs.
| Emma Matthews, of Marysville, Utah,
| mother of Mrs. Clara Mabel Kennedy. Mrs
| Matthews said she had been member OF
| a Mormon family for twenty-five years and
| is Mormon herself She has been plural
wife, but Is not now. Mrs. Kennedy is the
| child of Mrs. Matthews's first husband, and
was born before Mrs. Matthews became a
| Mormon. Mrs. Matthews said Mrs. kennedy
| is twenty-six or twenty-seven years OLD, ana
| had gone TO Diaz with her parents sixteen
years ago
| Diaz she had known Mr.. Johnson for two
| years prior to his marriage to her daughter.
and that she had no objection to her daugh-
ter becoming his plural wife. She remem-
| bered we'll the marriage of Johnson to her
| daughter and fixed the date definitely at
May, 1894. "He just asked me II was Will
1
| / said yes" said the witness. "She wanted
| to wait until she was eighteen. but he was
| not willing" She saw both MT. and MIS-.
| Johnson, the first wife, when they and the
| daughter who was TO become the second
| wife left for Juarez.
| DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT MARRIAGE.
"You knew they were going to Juarez?"
| yes"
! Ibid you know your daughter was to be
| rriad then m JOhnsOn2'
81 did not
| "Why did you suppose she was going?"
| 81 did not know"
| Then you did not see her married?"
81 did not"
| HAS she ever told you that she was
married to Johnson then?"
"She has not; 1 never asked her"
| These questions were put by Mr.. Tayler.
| When he concluded Mr.. Worthington
asked a number of questions. by which the
| fact was brought out that Apostle Teas
| dale had advised her against allowing her
daughter to become plural wife on the
ground that 1t was against the law OF the
church.
corning her own history, in response TO
| questions by members of the committee
| She is a native of England. and while liv-
ing a widow in that country had become
| converted to Mormonism. about 1885. by
| George Barber, a missionary of the Nor
mon Church. She afterward came to Utah
and married Barber, becoming his third
monism knowing that 1t inculcated polyg-
| amy. but when she became plural wife
she was not told that poiygamy was
| Mr. Merrill was temporarily recalled and
| questioned by Senator Dubois, who said
| .'Mr Merrill. do you still uphold the doc
| trine of polygamy?
mo sir" was the reply.
But you practice II?
ments?'' one of the members of the commit
| tee asked.
The witness did not reply. but a member
| of the COMMITTEES illustrated by saying that
he was like the man who was for prohibit
| ton, but "agin' the enforcement of 1t.
ANOTHER OLD POLYGAMIST.
Francis NJ Lyman. an apostle of the Nor
mon Church and the prospective successor
| of Mr. Smith as president of the church,
was the next witness. He was born sixty
| four years ago, and had been an apostle
since 1880
"Are YOU a polygamst?' Mr.. Tayler
asked. and the witness replied frankly:
| Yes"
| He said that he had three wives and that
| two of them are still living. By his second
| wife. to whom he was married in 1884, he
| had five children, the last being born in
/ 1900 Mr. Lyman said that he had been
| one of the signers of the prayer for am
/ nesty. pledging himself to all that ii con-
| tanned He did not, however, recall just
| what ii did contain.
| Mr.. Tayler read portions of the prayer.
| Did YOU" he asked, interpret that to
| mean that you would abstain from polyga-
| nous conducts?
| Il interpreted it to mean that should
| do all that was right
| snid vou think in would he right To ah-
stain from polygamous conduct?"
4 This was not answered directly at the
1 time Several questions by the members
| of the committee followed in rapid success
| sion and Mr. Lyman admitted in response
| to them that he knew that in living in
| nolvgamv he was disobeying both the law
| of the land and the rule of his church. He
| also said in reply to one of these questions.
| that he was not only now living in polyga-
| nous relations, but that he expected to
continue so TO live.
| hand and brought out a succinct statement
| from him which was of a character to in
| terest all present.
| referring to the rule of which you have
| snoken" Mr. Hoar said, you understood
| the rule or law TO he the law of God; do
you not?'
| MIR. Lyman replied that such was his
| understanding
| Then YOU are living and intend to live
| i'm violation of the law of God and man?"
| APPROVED BY HIS CONSCIENCE.
| Il fully intend said Mr.. Lyman. show
ing a disposition to elaborate more than he
had done, Ito be true to the law of my