The Mormon Prophet and His Harem: Or, An Authentic History of Brigham Young, His Numerous Wives and ChildrenWaite, C. V. (Catherine Van Valkenburg)
History
The Mormon Prophet and His Harem: Or, An Authentic History of Brigham Young, His Numerous Wives and Children
Waite, C. V. (Catherine Van Valkenburg)
Latter Day Saint churches; Young, Brigham, 1801-1877
"Good-morning, sister _Clawson_," said a young friend whom she met in
walking.
"What do you wish me to understand?" said Alice.
"Nothing more than that your father gave his consent this morning, in
my presence, to your marriage with Hiram Clawson."
"There, Alice," said brother Clawson, who at this moment made his
appearance, "did I not tell you? You would not believe me."
"This matter begins to be serious," said Alice, "now that my father has
given me away to a man that has one wife already, and is courting
another beside me, both of them much handsomer than I am."
Hiram was nettled, for it was true that he was courting a third wife,
and of the three Alice was the least beautiful. She then proposed,
playfully, to elope with an old gentleman, a friend of the family. "I
would do so," she said, "before I would be given away like an old mule,
to a man who already has one wife, and is seeking for others."
Yet Alice, though doubtless giving expression at this time to the
sentiments of her heart, was afterward prevailed upon, and consented to
become No. 2 in the harem of Hiram B. Clawson. Hiram, having commenced
at a much earlier age than his father-in-law, may, if unchecked in his
career, yet rival him in the number of his wives and the extent and
magnificence of his "plural" establishment.
Luna Young is a _character_. She is very wilful and headstrong. She
always governed her sister Alice, and even her father could not control
this wayward child.
She is the fourth daughter, by the first wife, two having died. She has
light hair, blue eyes, and a fair complexion. She is very haughty and
beautiful. Slender as the gazelle, and free and joyous as a bird,
brooking no control, she was the light, and often the annoyance of her
father's house in her girlish days. She is now married, and very likely
will become amiable and docile, under Mormon discipline.
_Lucy Decker Seely._
This is the first wife in "plurality,"--or the second "woman."
Lucy Decker was married to Isaac Seely, and had two children. She
afterward became a Mormon, and went to Nauvoo to reside. Her husband,
Seely, was somewhat dissipated, but treated her well. She, however, saw
Brother Brigham, and loved him. He visited her, told her that Seely
could never give her an "exaltation" in the eternal world; that he,
being "high in the priesthood," could make her a queen, in the first
resurrection.
She yielded to these inducements and the promptings of her inclination,
left her husband, and was "sealed" to Brigham Young.
Lucy Decker has brown hair, dark eyes, small features, a fair skin, and
of short stature; but quite _en bon point_. She would strongly remind
you of a New-England housewife, "fat, fair, and forty." In common with
nearly all the inmates of the Harem, she is of very ordinary intellect,
and limited education.
Her first child, after marrying Young, was named Brigham Heber, and was
the first-born in Mormon polygamy. He is now a lad of about eighteen
years of age.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account