The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1910-07-24
THE GROWING ROSTER.

The roster of new polygamists con-
times to grow in length. The Tribune
ventures to suggest that the following
list, added to the long one which has
already been given, will prove to be OF
interest to those who assert that there
is no recrudesccnce of polygamy in the
Mormon church. Incidentally it may
enlighten those who are uninformed in
the matter, and who have probably been
inclined to give heed to denials from
church writers and pulpiteers that the
practice has been established.
Elder Louis P, Gordon, who resides
at Dublan, Mexico. was first married
in Utah to Miss Ella Sanders, about
1890. Since that time he has taken un-
to himself two plural wives, In 1897
he was unlawfully united TO Miss Edith
Doan, daughter of Abraham Doan-
otherwise known AS "Honest Abe. - of
Dublan-and IN the year 1903 he took
third "wife' in the person of Miss
Irene Pratt, daughter of Helaman Pratt
of Dublan, who is himself new po-
lygamist and president of the Juarez
stake high priests.
Elder Edmund Richardson, q twice
married man even before the manifesto
of 1890 gathered to his polygamous
bosom Miss Rebecca Jacobson of
Guadelupu, Mexico. This was reputed
TO be Elder Richardson g third polyga-
nous venture, and all parties concerned
in the crime are now living at Diaz,
Mexico, together with the illegitimate
results of their celestializing.
Elder Don LeBaron of Mesa City,
Arizona, married widow named Sta
ton, who was a resident of the Mari
was in the year 1904. AT present Lee
Baron is living at Mesa City, while the
woman resides at Dublan, Mexico. Init
mates say that he oven married the
woman polygamously before her first
husband died, and that there has never
been any divorce from the first hus-
band.
Elder Hyrum Cluff of Garcia. Mex
leo, who is first counselor to Bishop
John T. Whetten (also a new polyga~
misty entered the criminal relation in
the year 1901, taking Miss F'loretta
Humphrey as the first acquisition to
his polygamous harem-she being
''wife' number two, The wronged
first wife was Miss Rhoda Hawes.
Elder Walter Lewis is now residing
at Mesa City, Arizona, but he formerly
lived at Juarez, Mexico, where in the
year 1901 he took Esther Wilson in
plural coniugality, The young woman
was at the time attending the church
school at Juarez. (And, by the way,
the Mormon church schools have fur
nished ninety per cent of the young
new polygamists, male and female.)
Elder Charles Wolfenden of Beaver
ls said to have taken a plural woman
since 1900, and the story goes that it
was his outraged first wife who ex-
posed the crime. At any rate, the neigh
bors all know of it, and some of them
attribute the Wolfenden downfall large
ly TO the fact that he was very closely
associated with the notorious and i'll
odored Josiah Hickman-the concubiner
who testified at Washington that he
was married. to an innocent victim
of his lecbery on ga lonely road in
Mexico" 4"
Elder Fred W. Merrill is n teacher
in the Murdock academy at Beaver,
Utah, and he has taken a second CON
jugal partner against the law of God
and man since the manifesto. And an
other interesting fact connected with
his case is that his father, the late Apos
tie Mariner w. Merrill, performed the
unlawful ceremony in the Logan tenn
pie.
And so we have seven more cases of
vicious lawbreaking to add to the list,
and to charge up against the Mormon
church officials The total of exposed
cases to date numbers one hundred and
twenty-sevcn. There are more to come,
and very soon we shall print the entire
list, together with such truthful re-
cital Of incidental details as may be OBJ
4 Il