Michael Barlow

Michael R. Barlow was an American businessman and construction company owner. Michael was born in March 1938 and was a nephew in law (through his eventual marriage) of Joseph White Musser. Michael was an outspoken supporter of polygamy and was a member of what would eventually become the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS Church). Not much is known about Michael's early life apart from that he went on to marry his first wife, Ruth Musser in 1956, Ruth Musser was the niece of fundamentalist leader Joseph White Musser, with Michael claiming to be the son of John Y. Barlow however this is generally considered unverifiable. Michael was married again in 1963 to Lisa Holm (b 1945) and finally in 1986 to Rachel Barlow, despite its significance in his religion Michael was initially reluctant to take a third wife however after the death of his long-time friend Leroy S. Johnson in November 1986, Michael was told not to keep stalling. Michael was eventually married to Rachel Barlow, who was not directly related to him, and was never completely happy with the marriage, nor did he get along particularly well with Rachel who was only 17 when they got married.

Michael went on to have 35 children, 16 daughters and 19 sons, 12 with Ruth Musser, 15 with Lisa Holm and 8 with Rachel Barlow. The last of Michael's children was born in 2004, Michael was almost given a fourth wife in 2005 however after his daughter, Heather Holm escaped her placement marriage with the then prophet's brother and took her two children in the process, Michael's standing was significantly diminished as it was (mistakenly) believed he or his wife Rachel somehow assisted Heather in leaving. Michael's setback within his religion, coupled with his health beginning to deteriorate in the early 2010's means he never fathered any more children, after Ruth Musser's death in 2011 Michael's health got worse and Rachel eventually became his full-time caregiver. Michael eventually passed away early on the morning of April 21 2019 from complications due to pneumonia with Lisa and Rachel at his side. Despite having not only refused all contact with daughters Anna and Heather since they left, but also requiring all other members of his family to similarly shun contact with them, Michael was briefly able to reconnect with both in the days prior to his death. Rachel was able to contact her half-sister Grace Lowell who got in contact with Heather and eventually Anna.

Michael is remembered as being a conflicted figure, he was an outspoken critic of the way the FLDS Church had changed after Leroy S. Johnson's death and even butted heads several times with Johnson's successor Rulon Jeffs. However Michael also gave away at least two of his daughters to underage placement marriages, Anna at 14 and Heather at just 12, he also forced his then 15 year old son Thomas to leave the community and even harbored several family members when they were wanted for various crimes including welfare fraud. Michael is also believed to have used his construction company as a front for several illegitimate business dealings. Despite being the father of Rachel's 8 children, Michael forced her to list his business associate, Jake Holm, as their father on official documents due in an attempt to cover up his marriage to Rachel to further facilitate his welfare fraud, Rachel being listed as a single mother, as well as avoiding scrutiny from law enforcement due to his involvement with polygamy. Despite his controversial history, Michael is generally positively remembered by family, even Heather who reflected "He was always kind and caring, he made a lot of bad choices that negatively impacted a lot of people, myself included. But he was never abusive himself, I never even remember him raising his voice and growing up I always considered we were lucky to have him as a father, especially compared to some other fathers I knew of."

Michael was survived by wife Rachel who eventually moved to Idaho after his death, and Lisa who eventually passed away in 2022 due to a COVID related illness.