Evening Star Newspaper, August 17, 1930, Page 85

GTON, D. C, AUGUST V7, realed by One of His 1930. The Amelia Palace, which Brigham Young began to build in Salt Lake City, shortly before his death, but which neither he nor any member of his femily ever occupied. It was named for Amelia Folsom, Brigham’s seventeenth wife. milk and cheese, bread, fresh fruit or baked fruits in the season. Supper time was a time to listen to good and jovial conversation, yet there was never anything ap- proaching boisterous laughter or unseemly It was just a happy, carefree release from the day’s study or burden when father and his adoring family would join in con- genial intercourse. Bmemm YOUNG was a strict observer of the “Word of Wisdom” as revealed by the prophet in 1833, which prohibits the use of all stimulants and tobacco. His wives may not always have been as rigid as he was concerning the use of tea and coffee, but the family was certainly taught that its careful observance was the way of health, As a young man my father chewed tobacco. In after years he told the story of that cone quered appetite. “I carried a half plug of to- bacco in my pocket for a long time,” he said. “When the gnawing of it seemed unbearable I would take it out. look at it, and say, ‘Are you or is Brigham going to be a master?’” Then it went back untouched into my pocket.” The custom of evening prayer time in the Lion House was as fixed as the stars. About 7 o’'clock the rhythmic sound of the prayer bell was heard as father’s hand lifted it in regular counts, and the flying feet of children, the quiet coming of his lady wives (for they were ladies, every one of them) filled the halls with clatter, and soon every chair was taken while the patri- arch and his goodly family sat beside the cen- ter table and waited till the last child came in. A hymn or two was joyously sung, for we War. More than 100 descendants iform at that time. ‘OUNGER CHILDREN flitted off to bed, per- haps, and older ones hurried to study or to prepare for theater or ball if it was Winter or holiday time, or for quiet reading and chatting in the various sitting rooms of the several mothers. Father often remained to talk over the events goldeg words of wisdom and guidance were uttered, and out of those councils have come many of the splen opportunities for wom- an's advancement and her mission within and without thé home. After the prayers were over, father would often turn to us and say: “Come, girls, let’s have some music,” for they were all musicians of sorts, those Young boys and girls, and father loved to hear us sing songs, “Hard Times Come Again No More,” or “Auld Lang Syne,” or, in the later ‘years, “Silver Threads Among the Gold.” Hymns were always sung Sunday eve- ning, for he did not allow us to play dance music on the Sabbath. After prayer time there were family councils held about forthcdming family policies, picnic parties and sometimes there were juvenile troubles to settle, with father as judge of the Juveniie court. We were extremely regular in our sleeping habits as well as in our eating habits. The outer gates of the high stone wall around the Lion House were always loked at 10 o’clock at night. When we were at the theater or a party we had to come in through the office door and be scrutinized there by the watchman. He noted if you had come home with desirable or unde- sirable company. Under these circumstances one did not linger on the corner gossiping with the girls or sparking one’s “best beau” more than a quarter of an hour after the close of the theater, or one might get reported to father, LIGH‘I‘S were generally out at 10 o'clock, and we were all up by 7 or 7:30 in the momn- ing. In the Summer time the boys slept on the lower porch and the girls on the upper porch, in the happiest and gayest of child companionship, innocent and unafraid. Straw beds and feather beds spread on canvas, with a good quilt for cover, and an uplifted prayer of praise gave us a sense of nearness to the stars that compensated for the shudder with which little girls sometimes heard the coyotes howling in the nearby hills. All sorts of ghost stories and jokes passed from bed to bed on those lovely Summer evenings. When we slept indoors, mother insisted on opening our windows even in Winter, for father was quite “set” upon having ample ventilation in both Winter and Summer. The Sabbath was strictly observed. No play, no secular reading or music, or roaming the hills. Little bodies might grow restless, nerves frazzled. and eyes sleepy during the Sunday school and afternoon meetings, but they were Puritan descendants and the spirit of modern “jazz” was an unknown human problem in those days. Visitors to the young people were welcomed Sunday evenings, but they must attend prayers and gayety must be measurably subdued. Card playing was never allowed. We could play checkers and chess on week days, but not on Sundays. Father was ever averse to games of chance that encouraged or suggested gam- bling in any form. But we were never dull, Far from it. Our music helped us and then we played other interesting games, for there were 30 or 40 of us. Father was a natural musician and knew the value of music and the important part it plays in the life of a great people. He fos- tered and encouraged the study and practice of music, not only in his own family, but among the people. We had three organs and two pi- Largest baptismal font in the world, in the Mormon Temple at Salt Lake City. It is supported on the haunches of 12 life-sized, cast-iron oxen. No “gentiles™ or non-Mormons are admitted to this sanctum. anos. One of the latter was brought across the plains in 1848 and is still in existence in our Church Museum. This great leader was so just, so true, so genuine in his domestic relations that those who came into the household to assist, either within the confines of the house itself or with- out, as helpers in the many-sided domestic, farm and field activities which marked his wide circle of home life, felt that each “be- longed” to him and his family. Each man, each woman became & very part of Brigham Young's life and were interwoven into the do- mestic fabric forever. Two of his daughters married his business manager, aitother married the telegraph clerk in his office, another his teamster, while still another msrried a sales- man in the shop. There was no possible class distinction in the household. If a girl worked in the kitchen she was welcomed in the social circle and mar- ried off to relatives of the family or friends in exactly the same way that daughters were re- membered. Indeed, we were all “one in Christ Jesus.” HE wives of Brigham Young lived together without outer friction or violent disagree- ment so far as any of us children knew. That they were all equally congenial could not be expected; for they were not weaklings and all “had minds of their own.” But their differ- ences, if and when they existed, were their own affairs and were settled among themselves with- out disturbing in the slightest degree the serene tranquillity of our family life. They were ladies and lived their lives as such. The children were never aware of any quarrels and indeed they could not have been serious or the chil- dren must have been aware of them. Not all these good women were sweet-tem- pered or unselfish—not by any means. They were just mortals. But there were enough of them who radiated love and comradeship-in ever-widening circles to humanize the group. If all wanted to be happy each must share in . unselfish contribution to family harmony; al- though each had the right to:forsake the mar- riage circle if she chose. Such right was claimed by only one of fa- ther's many wives, one of the Bigelow sisters, whom he married in Winter Quarters, Aunt Mary Jane, the sister of my own dear mother. Because of conditions neither of the sisters was wife in fact, either at Winter Quarters or during the journey. After arrival in the val- ley., Aunt Mary Jane decided that it would be impossible for her to be happy as the plural wife of any man, even a prophet of the Lord. So she went to father, explained her feelings, and asked to be released from her vows. Her wish was readily granted, with no bad feeling on either side; for Brigham Young believed that in all respects and in rharriage especially women should exercise their complete .free agency. She was the only wife to voluntarily leave father's home and protection, except Ann Eliza, who, “loving not wisely but too well,” yielded to the temptation of filthy lucre to show her revenge. All others remained loyal and true throughout their lives. Their loyalty was free and complete, After the settlement in the valley had pros- pered a few years, Brigham Young decided that a farm in the outskirts of the city was neces- sary for his large family and their various needs. A farmhouse of adobe was built, with a milk and cheese house a few feet away, the two connected by a closed porchway. Here one of his wives, Aunt Susan Snively, lived, cook- ing for the men who attended to the farm and directing the making of the cheese and butter, with the care of the poultry also. Others of his wives were here at times for a year or more. My mother, Lucy Bigelow Young, lived in the old farmhouse for a year with her two little girls about 1861. A year or so later the modest dwelling was replaced by a modern cot- tage of generous proportions and was known as “The Farm House.” THz farm was occasionally the scene of fes- tivities on a generous scale. For a num- ber of years New Year day was celebrated by father and' his numerous family with a few of his closest associates in house parties at the farm house. I remember the mammoth long sleigh with its high driver's seat, its green- painted sides outspringing in graceful curves and holding in its capacious hay and buffalo robe filled box a bevy of nearly 50 children of various ages, all cuddled down under the buffalo robes on hay, and all bubbling with laughter and excitement over the expected festivities of the holiday seasons. Drawn by six spirited horses, all jingling and jangling with the most musical of sleigh bells, the brilliant stars overhead saw no merrier sight than this sleigh- ful of unalloyed happiness just behind the leadér’s cutter, and followed by the more dig- nified sleighs holding the mothers of tHese chil- dren on their way for a gala house party at the farm. Entering the front door, we were at once in the dining soom with its odorous breath of mince ples and bake ovens of roast beef with the more delicate aroma of stewing chickens and squash pies. In the sitting room was the wonderful music box whose exquisite selections from “Il Trovatore” and “The Swiss Echo Song” trilled and pealed along its curved and pin-pointed rollers in the most mysterious and uncanny fashion. Here, too, were the winged rocking chairs of home manufacture, rush bot- tomed, feather cushioned and antimacassared in the latest approved pioneer fashion. The usual band of musicians sat in the end of the hall and sometimes even the music box .was sufficient for eager couples to “Sache to the right,” “Balance on the corner” and “All promenade.” Jim Currie was the popular “caller” of the day and the leader's son-in-law, Hyrum B. Clawson, was a past grand master at floor managing on such occasions. THE Lion House was finished in 1856, and six years later father built a large schobl house, as his children had long outgrown the school room in the Lion House. The windows were built comparatively high, as father de- clared that the light should not fall directly on the pupil’s eyes. The benches and desks were unique. We sat on benches or wooden chairs with desks in front of us, the little ones in the front row. Both benches and desks exactly fitted to our backs and legs, so that we suf- fered no discomfort by having-to hang our feet or to stoop over the desk. Each child had a separate desk with sloping lid and place for ink bottles in the corner. I preserved my desk, which I have recently placed in the museum. School opened at 9 o'clock and was dismissed at 4 pm,, with a dinner interval from 12 to 1:30. the morning there was a recess of an hour and another half-hour diversion in the afternoon. How delightful were those breaks! In the Summer the nearby hills furnished romping places if we did not go too.far. The long three months’ Summer vacation was spent by us out on the hills and canyon back of our house; the little girls flower and sego hunting and the small boys playing games. The big girls had to weave, color, spin, sew and knit. The big boys helped on the farm, hauling wood and doing other useful labor. The girls were early trained in all the domestic arts of knitting, spinning, weaving, sewing, embroidering, cooking and cleaning. A . little pin money was most desirable, and if we wanted extra ribbons or finery we had to earn it. The boys had various ways of earning money also; ushering in the theater, chores for others, ete. FOR 10 or 15 years all the family practically lived in the Bee Hive and Lion House, But as the children muitiplied and grew up, father built or bought separate houses for most of his wives, It is a fact not unworthy of note that not one of father's wives married again after his death, though some were comparatively young women. My own mother was only a little past 47 and Aunt Amelia was but 39 years of age, Mother's love of father—her lavish devotion to him in life and to his memory after his death amounted almost to worship! The family, life was as ideal as human rela= tions could ever be, \