Mary Ann Angell

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Mary Ann Angell

Personal details

Born Mary Ann Angell

June 8, 1803

Seneca, New York

Died June 27, 1882 (aged 79)

Salt Lake City, Utah Territory

Resting place Brigham Young Family Memorial Cemetery

40°46′13″N 111°53′08″W

Occupation Herbalist

Folk doctor

Spouse(s) Brigham Young

Children Joseph A. Young

Brigham Young Jr.

Mary Ann Young

Alice Young
 Luna Young

John Willard Young

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Mary Ann Angell Young (June 8, 1803 – June 27, 1882) was the second woman
married to Brigham Young, who served as president of the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Young's first wife had died in 1832, leaving Young a
widower. Angell and Young were married on March 31, 1834 in Kirtland, Ohio. In 1842,
Angell gave her consent to the practice of plural marriage upon Young's marriage to
Lucy Ann Decker, his first plural wife. Angell remained married to Young until his death
in 1877, and together they had six children.

Contents

 1Early life and conversion

 2Marriage and family
 3Legacy
o 3.1Folk remedies
o 3.2Notable descendants
 4See also
 5References

Early life and conversion[edit]

Angell was born in Seneca, New York to James and Phoebe Morton Angell on June 8,
1803.[1] Her parents moved to Providence, Rhode Island when she was young, where
Mary Ann later became a Free Will Baptist and worked as a Sunday School teacher.
[2]
 Deeply religious and studious of the Hebrew and Christian scriptures, she vowed
never to marry until she met "a man of God" in whom she could confide her spirituality
and with whom her heart could unite in the active duties of a Christian life. [2][3]
Angell first learned of the LDS Church when Thomas B. Marsh traveled to Providence in
1830 to conduct his missionary efforts.[2] She requested a copy of the Book of
Mormon from Marsh, which she prayerfully read and studied. Angell developed a
testimony of the book and continued to learn more about the growing church. In 1831,
Mary Ann, along with her mother Phoebe and brother Truman O. Angell, left Providence
to escape her abusive father and moved to China, New York.[3] While in New York,
Truman was baptized into the LDS Church in January 1832; Mary Ann was baptized
shortly thereafter by Elder John P. Greene.[4] Mary Ann then set out alone for Kirtland,
Ohio, the gathering place of the early members of the church. [5]

Marriage and family[edit]

Shortly after her arrival in Kirtland, she met and married Brigham Young. [2][5] She
encountered the widowed Young while he was giving a sermon, and Angell felt "drawn
to him" as she listened to him preach. Young was quickly impressed by Angell's spiritual
nature and countenance, and the two began their courtship. [3] The couple secured a
marriage license in February of 1834, and were legally married on March 31, 1834.
[6]
 The two were later sealed in the Kirtland Temple. Mary Ann Angell and Brigham
Young had a total of six children together.[4]
Young departed for a mission to England in 1839, just ten days after Angell had given
birth to their daughter Alice. During Young's absence, which lasted over 20 months,
Angell and their six children at the time (two of which were from Young's previous
marriage to Miriam Works) struggled with poverty, illness, and harsh conditions. [5][7] Upon
Young's return from England, Angell helped nurse him back to health after he became
very ill with scarlet fever.[2]
In June of 1842, after being taught the doctrine of plural marriage by church
president Joseph Smith, Brigham Young was married to Lucy Ann Decker. It is
uncertain when Angell first learned of her husband's entrance into the practice of plural
marriage—given that many early plural unions took place without the first wives' consent
—but by 1843 she had signaled her acceptance of the doctrine and given her consent
to her husband's subsequent marriages.[6] Young was later sealed to Angell's mother
Phebe and sister Jemima.[6]

Legacy[edit]
Angell was referred to as “Sister Young” or “Mrs. Young” by her husband's other wives,
whom she befriended. Young established his permanent residence with Angell in the
White House, which was completed in 1854.[6] While Angell never lived in the Lion
House or the Beehive House with Young's other wives, she involved herself in the
gatherings of the family on various occasions. Some of Young’s plural wives recognized
Angell's position of prominence and apparently held her in high esteem. In a poem,
Eliza Snow paid homage to Mary Ann as “Mother of mothers! Queen of
queens.”[6] Unlike some of Young's other wives, Angell never assumed a position of
prominence within the church, other than through her marriage to Young. [6]
Angell died on June 27th, 1882 in Salt Lake City, Utah, surviving Young by nearly five
years.[4] She suffered from cancer for three years leading up to her death. [4] Angell is
buried in the Brigham Young Family Memorial Cemetery near the Mormon Pioneer
Memorial Monument in Salt Lake City.[8]
Folk remedies[edit]
Mary Ann was a skilled herbalist and folk doctor. Following Young's return from England
in 1841, he became ill with scarlet fever. When Young lost consciousness, Angell used
various techniques to revive him, including throwing cold water in his face,
rubbing camphor on his eyes and mouth, and a primitive version of mouth-to-mouth
resuscitation, which would not be commonly practiced until the mid-20th century.
[2]
 During her trek across the plains to the Salt Lake Valley in 1848, she used these same
skills to treat many fellow pioneers.[2]
She brought many seeds with her from Nauvoo and is credited with planting many of
the beautiful trees growing along the eastern end of South Temple Street (once known
as Brigham Street) in Salt Lake City. James H. Crockwell wrote that she was "gifted and
intelligent" but also "humble and meek." [3][9]
Notable descendants[edit]
Mary Ann's brother, Truman O. Angell, assisted in the construction of the Salt Lake
Temple and served for a time as the official architect of the LDS Church. [6]
One of Angell and Young's children was Brigham Young Jr., who was ordained
an apostle by his father in 1864 but was not placed in the Quorum of the Twelve
Apostles until 1868. John Willard Young, another one of their sons, was also an
ordained apostle and was the first counselor in the First Presidency at the end of
Brigham Young's administration as church president.[6] Another son was Joseph Angell
Young, who was ordained an apostle in 1864 but never became a member of either the
Quorum of the Twelve Apostles or the First Presidency. [6] One of the couple's daughters,
Eunice "Luna" Caroline Young (Thatcher), married George Washington Thatcher and
became the matriarch of the wealthy Thatcher–Young family of Logan, Utah.[4] George
Thatcher was a prominent Utah pioneer who had managed a number of Brigham
Young's business interests, and was instrumental in developing political, business and
church interests in Cache Valley, (Logan, Utah) on behalf of Brigham Young and the
LDS church.[10]