The Sacrament of the Lord's Supper was administered each Sabbath. Water was used instead of wine, and along with the bread was carried round by officers of the church, during the delivery of the afternoon address. There seemed to be no effort to make it the solemn occasion that other churches make of the communion service.
In the minds of the curious there is a peculiar interest in the complex family life of a people where numerous families center in a single head. Although an occasional guest at the president's home, I found it impossible to learn with certainty how many persons were comprised in his family, and much diversity of opinion seemed to exist in the minds of those who would be most likely to know the facts. On many semi-public occasions I have seen sixteen of his wives and was led to believe that to be the number then living. In 1869, after the completion of the railroad, when the Boston Board of Trade visited the city, in reply to a direct question made by one of the visitors, Brigham stated that he had 16 wives and 49 children. In the Utah notes MS., the statement is made that this was the first occasion on which he publicly gave the statistics. During our stay I noted such information on this subject as could conveniently be obtained.
These notes have been revised after reference to some later official publications and being now substantially correct may be of interest, especially as the names of his consorts are also given.
The following is a summary of the names of the wives of Brigham Young, the dates of their births as fully as can be ascertained, also the dates of their marriages to the president, also the number of children resulting from each union.
| BORN | MARRIED TO BRIGHAM | DIED | NO. OF CHILDREN | |
| Miriam Works | Oct. 8, 1804 | Aug. 8, 1824 | Sept. 8, 1832 | 2 |
| Mary Ann Angell | June 8, 1803 | Feb. 18, 1834 | June 27, 1882 | 6 |
| Lucy Decker | May 17, 1822 Phelps, N. Y. | June 16, 1842 | Jan. 24, 1890 | 7 |
| Harriet E. C. Campbell | Nov. 7, 1824 Whitesborough, N. Y. | Nov. 2, 1843 | 1 | |
| Augusta Adams | ------ 1802 Lynn, Mass. | Nov. 2, 1843 | ------ 1886 | |
| Clara Decker | July 23, 1828 Phelps, N. Y. | May 8, 1844 | Jan. 5, 1889 | 5 |
| Louisa Beman | Feb. 7, 1815 Livonia, N. Y. | ------ 1844 | Mar. 15, 1850 Widow of Joseph | 4 |
| Clara C. Ross | June 16, 1814 N. Y. State | Sept. 10, 1844 | Oct. 17, 1858 Widow of Joseph | 4 |
| Emily Dow Partridge | Feb. 28, 1824 Painesville, O. | Sept. 1844 Sealed for time | -------- | 7 |
| Susan Snively | Oct. -- 1815 Woodstock, Va. | Nov. 2, 1844 | Nov. 20, 1892 | |
| Olive F. Frost | July 24, 1816 Bethel, Me. | Feb. -- 1845 | Oct. 6, 1845 Widow of Joseph | |
| Emmeline Free | ------ | Apr. 30, 1845 | July 17, 1875 | 10 |
| Margaret Price | Apr. 19, 1823 Ashton, Pa. | ------ 1845 | ------ | 1 |
| Naama K. Carter | Mar. 20, 1821 Wilmington, Mass. | Jan. 26, 1846 Sealed for time | ------ | |
| Ellen Rockwood | ------ 1829 Holliston, Mass. | Jan. -- 1846 | Jan. 6, 1866 | |
| Maria Lawrence | ------ Canada | Jan. -- 1846 | Died in Nauvoo Widow of Joseph | |
| Martha Bowker | Jan. -- 1822 Mt. Holly, N. Y. | Jan. -- 1846 | Sept. -- 1890 | |
| Margaret M. Alley | Dec. 19, 1825 Lynn, Mass. | Oct. -- 1846 | Nov. -- 1852 | 2 |
| Lucy Bigelow | Oct. 3, 1830 Charleston, Ill. | Mar. -- 1847 | ------ | 3 |
| Zina Diantha Huntington | Jan. 31, 1821 Watertown, | N. Y. | ------ 1848(?) Had been sealed to Joseph at age of 17 | |
| Eliza Roxey Snow | Jan. 21, 1804 Becket, Mass. | June 29, 1849 | Dec. 5, 1887 Widow of Joseph | |
| Eliza Burgess | ------ | Oct. 3, 1850 | ------ | |
| Harriet Barney | England | ------ | ------ divorced from former husband | 1 |
| Harriet Amelia Folsom | Aug. 23, 1838 Buffalo, N. Y. | Jan. 24, 1863 | ------ | |
| Mary Van Cott | Feb. 2, 1844 Elmira, N. Y. | Jan. 8, 1865 | Jan. 5, 1884 | 1 |
| Ann Eliza Webb | ------ 1844 Illinois | Apr. 6, 1868 | Had been divorced from former husband |
It will be observed that of the twenty-six wives who were from time to time united to Brigham Young, sixteen were added to his household within a period of forty months, five were united to him in each of two years; two of the wives, Lucy and Clara Decker, are said to have been sisters; six of the number were widows of Joseph Smith, the first president; eleven were born in the state of New York; and six were born in New England. Our investigations also disclose the fact that two of Brigham's wives were women who had been divorced from former husbands, also that one of his wives, the attractive Zina Diantha, had been sealed when a young girl to the prophet, Smith. It also shows that two of the wives were not regularly married but were sealed for time to President Young. These peculiar and varied relations will be referred to in another chapter.
[CHAPTER XXV]
Some Inside Glimpses of Mormon Affairs
THAT fellow is a Danite, one of Brigham's destroying angels," remarked a man who formed part of a group with whom I and some of our boys were sitting in front of the Salt Lake Hotel. Our informant, who was a guest at the hotel, knew that as we had recently arrived any startling information concerning local affairs would certainly be received with interest. As he made the announcement, he raised his eyebrows and cast a knowing glance toward the object of his remark, an unshaven, dark-haired man, who was slowly passing on the sidewalk. Assuming that we were ignorant of the functions of the destroying angels, he informed us, with an air indicating familiarity with the Mormon underworld, that Brigham had a lot of those fellows who were sworn to do anything, even to kill at the Prophet's command.