When the family reached Zion in the Utah Mountains, they continued to stay in their covered wagon while her father, Chauncey, a seasoned wheelwright, built an adobe house for his family. It was the second house built in that area and much better than the first. It gave the Webb family cause for pride.

Chauncey and Eliza Webb had entered polygamy before going west. It was a serious ceremony in the unfinished Nauvoo temple. When Chauncey became convinced of his responsibility to take another bride, the two wives met their challenges with smiles on their faces. When the second wife, Elizabeth, gave birth to a son, Eliza welcomed her new baby and helped her in every way. In the Webb home, there was a concerted effort to make life in Zion as peaceful and harmonious as possible.

Ann Eliza was firm that no good came out of plural marriage. Her mother and her ‘auntie’ got along well enough, but it was not their preferred way of living. The expectation for a man to take plural wives was high, the pressure was relentless, to refuse was to apostatize, and apostasy invited death. It wasn’t a choice. It was duty.

As a young girl, Ann Eliza sat wide-eyed at stories of Indian atrocities. When a man left home and did not return, he was killed by Indians. An exploration party was reportedly massacred by the savages. When Ann Eliza grew older, she stated with a certainty that most of the persons who perished in this way were gentiles (non-Mormons), apostates, (non-believers) or people who for some reason or another were suspected by, or disagreeable to, Brigham Young, The Lion of the Lord.

The Indians were notorious thieves. They especially liked cows, oxen, and horses. Brigham Young planned to protect his herds, the ones that actually belonged to him and the ones that grazed in the valley. He assigned one elder the task of collecting all the surplus stock from the settlements south of Salt Lake. The elder assigned his helpers and headed south. When they encountered three men who would not relinquish their animals, these men were put in irons while their animals were driven into the herd thus far collected. All the animals were sent to Salt Lake City and placed in the care of Brigham Young. Eventually, they were sold to repay large debts Brigham had with Salt Lake City Merchants.

When the people who owned the cattle realized they would never see their livestock again, they asked the debt, rather than be sacrificed, be exchanged for tithing. Ann Eliza tells us that Brigham said, “ If you had kept them, the Indians would have stolen them. You are as well off as you would have been if I did not take them.” That was the end of that story.

Many of the men were sent on missions. The elders found converts primarily in England, Scandinavia, and Germany. The men traveled without purse or script. One day, Brigham decided to take up a collection on the elder’s behalf. He pleaded eloquently. Everyone pitched in until a sizable sum was raised. Ann Eliza tells us when the missionaries were about to leave for Europe, they stopped by Brigham’s office to pick-up their share of the collection only to find there was no money. What became of the funds collected? It would have been considered improper to ask.

Ann Eliza’s father was sent away on a foreign mission. Her mother had a school teacher’s salary. Many families would have no income while their husbands were abroad. The world marvelled at the number of converts who came to Zion yearly. Very few of the missionaries failed to bring home an English wife. Since polygamy was denied at every turn, these women had no idea they would be wife number 2, or wife number 3, until after they made the long, arduous journey across the ocean, across the prairies, and to the Great Salt Lake Valley.

Ann Eliza Young’s book runs through the issues that plagued Salt Lake City at the time: the Reformation, Blood Atonement, the Mormon War, the Handcart Tragedy, the Utah Expedition, Mountain Meadows Massacre–topics we will look at more closely elsewhere. Where Ann Eliza Young’s knowledge shines through has to do with marriage–especially her marriage to Brigham Young. What prompted her to marry a man older than her father? I am also interested in the gossip around the other wives as well as Ann Eliza’s take on the condition of married women in Salt Lake City.

Ann Eliza’s first marriage was the love of her life, or so she supposed. At Brigham’s insistence, she acted at the theater while she stayed at the prophet’s Lion House most nights. She met James Dee, a very handsome Englishman, at the house of a mutual friend. She was nineteen. Her friends felt it would be wisest if she did not marry James, and her parents, although they did not refuse her the right to decide, also disagreed with her choice. Ann Eliza Webb and James Dee were married in the endowment house on April 4th of 1863. As James’ house was being rented out, the couple moved in with Ann Eliza’s parents.

A month after the marriage, Ann Eliza continued to work at the theater. At the same time, she was becoming aware of the fatal mistake she had made. James often suffered furious fits of anger in which he would threaten Ann Eliza with all sorts of ill treatment. Eventually, Ann Eliza came to realize James was seeing other ladies and feared she would soon have an unwanted addition to her home in the form of a second wife. It was, after all, his duty to enlarge his kingdom.

When Ann Eliza became a mother, James Dee’s fits of passion became more frequent. He was scarcely at home. Ann Eliza sensed that her husband considered their child as a rival. After the second baby came, she wondered that her husband seemed to take no notice of his offspring at all, and she winced as she watched him handle both of the boys so roughly that the little creatures shrieked in pain. She was familiar with Brigham’s saying that ‘a bull never takes care of the calf’, a statement reflecting neglect. What Ann Eliza and her children were living through was abuse.

Then came the day that James seized his wife by the throat and threw her back into a chair. The babies cried, the furniture scraped the floor and banged the walls. Chauncy and Eliza responded quickly.

In the end, James was asked to leave the house. Shortly thereafter, Brigham Young gave his approval when asked for permission for a divorce.

On December 23, 1865, Ann Eliza became a single parent and a happier person. Ann Eliza continued to live at her parent’s house, an arrangement that was best for everyone. This happy condition went on a year or more when, one day, Brigham Young took a walk with Ann Eliza and prompted her about her feelings towards marriage. She was firm in her resolve that she would never marry again. Brigham thought she would probably change her mind in time, and suggested she marry an older man, someone she could respect and look to for good advice. Time went on. Then, one Sunday after meeting, Ann Eliza’s father was called into Brigham’s office, and then her mother followed. When the talking was done, Ann Eliza was informed that Brigham Young had asked her parents for her hand in marriage. She was outraged. Had not the man heard her words when she said she had no intention to remarry?

There was no way out of this proposal. To refuse would bring the anger of Brigham Young down upon her father and brother, as well as herself and her mother. Ann Eliza was told that in refusing Brigham she would lose all hope of future salvation. Also, Brigham could, and would, do severe pecuniary damage to her father and he had threatened her brother that he would be cut-off from the church and run out of business.

Ann Eliza could watch her family sink to ruin, or submit and marry a man that was older than her father. The marriage was to be kept a secret, possibly for fear of the United States officials, as polygamy had been outlawed, or for Brigham’s fear of his current favorite wife, Amelia. On April 7th, 1869, Ann Eliza became Ann Eliza Young. She remained in her mother and father’s home for one month after which Brigham told her that he wished to move her to the city. It was a little house, plainly furnished, but adequate. Ann Eliza cut up the well-worn red carpet that had been taken from the Lion House and pieced it together to cover two rooms. The remaining floors were left bare. Brigham invited Eliza to join her daughter. He would visit occasionally.

Before the year was over, Brigham decided that Ann Eliza and her mother should move to the farm. Previous wives had been moved to the farm house and quickly broke down from overwork. There was butter and cheese to make from forty cows and plenty of dairy work. The farm laborers and other workmen, which numbered between twenty-five to thirty men, had to be fed daily. Add to that the washing and the ironing, and the delivery of the farm supplies to the other wives, and there was little or no free time for reading, or playing with the children. There was little reason for singing.

Brigham visited occasionally. He appeared unexpectedly, found fault where there was none, and expressed his displeasure openly. He felt the workmen were eating too well. They didn’t need to eat butter every day. It was healthier for them to partake of bread and milk than meat and potatoes. After three and a half years in this environment, both mother and daughter felt despair. Brigham, coincidentally, had decided to move someone else into the farm house. He was building a house in town for Ann Eliza and her offspring. They expected it would be for Eliza as well.

It was a pretty cottage, with an air of coziness. The rooms were small, and the kitchen, where all the washing, ironing, and cooking for the family was done, was really small. There were no facilities for water other than the neighbor’s wells. Brigham’s intention was that Eliza would no longer be able to live with her daughter. This caused a lot of tears and disagreement. Finally, Ann Eliza’s brother promised to pay five dollars each month for the support of his mother and Brigham conceded.

As the months progressed, Ann Eliza found her husband, Brigham, more parsimonious than ever. In response, she dared to ask if she could take on boarders and to her surprise, Brigham assented. Most of her boarders were non-Mormon, which opened up a new world. When she came to know the Methodist pastor, Reverend Stratton, and his wife, these people helped her to begin to see her way out of bondage. Other guests, Mr. and Mrs. Hagan, opened more doors. Mr. Hagan was a lawyer of considerable repute in Salt Lake City. The Stratton’s and the Hagan’s advised her to bring suit against Brigham for divorce and alimony.

Ann Eliza struggled in the transition. At times she wondered: What will happen if I apostatize? I should be given over to eternal damnation. Other times, she felt that perils and miseries surrounded her on every side.

Mr. Hagan had been on a trip to California. When he returned, he found Ann Eliza ready to go forward with the plans. She sold all of her furniture and walked away from the auction with nearly four hundred dollars. She was accompanied by her new friends to a gentile hotel, the Walker House. She was still unsure of her fate. At times, her every footstep startled her.

The news of her flight from home traveled fast. The morning papers were splattered with her name and her new fame as Brigham Young’s rebellious wife. Reporters from California, Chicago, and New York, called on her seeking interviews. Ann Eliza could not leave her room for the next two months. Brigham, of course, did all he could to instigate slanders against her.

During her months at the Walker House, she was asked to give an account of Mormonism to the residents of the hotel. She entered the hotel’s parlor to find a large audience had assembled. They listened with the closest attention, often while wiping tear-stained eyes. Ann Eliza was reluctant to parade herself and her troubles before the world, but came to realize that she could open people’s eyes to the enormity of the religious system under which she and her sisters had suffered.

She continued to give her talks to interested listeners while the Mormons threatened her with all kinds of vengeance. Her next talk was planned for Denver, Colorado. Soon, engagements came pouring in: Boston, Washington, New York. In her travels, away from Salt Lake City and everything Mormon, she began to see a different world, one that contrasted severely with the one she had known in Utah. She felt her mind opening in ways she never imagined..

Eventually, Ann Eliza returned to Salt Lake City. A reception was held for her at her old ‘home’, the Walker House. She reunited with many of the people who started her on her new journey as a single woman. That summer, she lectured six times in the city and several times in neighboring towns. Brigham did not attend any of her lectures. Her father and mother, now ranked among the apostates, were often in the audience. They were clearly proud of their daughter and her brave and bold step against the unholy rule of what they now considered to be a religious tyrant. Many changes have happened. This was but a beginning.