Skip to main content

Young, Brigham, 1801-1877

 Person

Dates

  • Existence: 1801 - 1877

Biography

Brigham Young (1801-1877) was a Latter-day Saint ecclesiastical leader and politician in Utah.

Brigham Young was born on June 1, 1801, in Witingham, Vermont. He joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1832, and moved to Kirtland, Ohio. He followed the migration of the Church from Ohio to Missouri to Nauvoo, Illinois. In February 1846, he led the "Mormon Exodus" to the West, and was sustained as the second president of the Church on December 27, 1847. Arriving in Utah, he settled in Salt Lake City, and in 1849 was appointed as governor of Utah Territory. Young passed away on August 29, 1877, in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Citation:
Its Proclamation by the governor, 1853: t.p. (Brigham Young)

Webster's new biog. dict. (Young, Brigham, governor, 1849-1857)

Encyclopedia of Mormonism, 1992: page 1650 (Young, Brigham, b. June 1, 1801, Whitingham, Vermont; d. Aug. 29, 1877, Salt Lake City, Utah; occupation: carpenter-glazier; President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Dec 27, 1847-Aug 29, 1877; President of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles, April 14, 1840; Apostle, Feb. 14, 1835) pages 1601-1605 (Brigham Young, colonizer, territorial governor, and president of the Church of Jeus Christ of Latter-day Saints, moved to Auburn, New York in 1815; moved to Port Byron, New York in 1823; married Oct 5, 1824; after four years in Port Byron moved to Oswego; 1828 moved to Mendon; baptized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints spring of 1832; 1833 moved to Kirtland, Ohio; 1834 Zion's Camp; 1838 moved to Caldwell County, Missouri; 1839 moved to Commerce, later renamed Nauvoo, Illinois; February 1846 left Nauvoo; arrived Salt Lake Valley, July 24, 1847) page 1605 (built home in Salt Lake City and eventually Provo and St. George) page 1607 (1849 established the perpetual emigrating fund)

Found in 7 Collections and/or Records:

Andrew Jackson Allen autobiography and diary

 File — Folder 1: [Barcode: 31197230330851]
Identifier: MSS SC 3213
Scope and Contents Photocopy of a microfilm copy of a typescript of an autobiography and diary. Allen writes about his youth in Kentucky and move to Missouri after he joined the Mormon Church. He later moved to Nauvoo, Illinois, and joined the Mormon exodus to Utah in 1847. He tells about the hardships of early settlement in Salt Lake City, Utah. His diary starts in 1857. It has many gaps and entries were often months apart. He writes about the "Utah War;" his work on the railroad in 1868 and 1869; his...
Dates: 1857-1884
Found in: L. Tom Perry Special Collections / Andrew Jackson Allen autobiography and diary

Elijah Larkin diaries

 Collection — Multiple Containers
Identifier: MSS 175
Scope and Contents Materials include three volumes of handwritten diaries where Larkin writes about his life in England as a policeman; his immigration to America in 1863 aboard the ship Amazon; and, the overland journey from Florence, Nebraska to Salt Lake City by ox team in the Daniel D. McArthur Company. Larkin includes a description of preparations for the trail, and wrote lengthy and detailed daily entries about the appearance and geography of the overland trail, company discipline, hunting, and births...
Dates: 1854-1867
Found in: L. Tom Perry Special Collections / Elijah Larkin diaries

James A. Little diaries and autobiography

 File — Folder 1: [Barcode: 31197230330893]
Identifier: MSS SC 3216
Scope and Contents Photocopy of a microfilm copy of a typescript. Little writes about his youth and his participation in the war with Mexico. He tells about his conversion to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in 1849 and his subsequent migration to Utah in the same year. Little writes about his marriage to Mary Jane Lytle in December of 1849 and troubles with Indians in Utah Valley, Utah. Little kept a diary from 1 January 1856 to 12 August 1857 when he served as a missionary for the Mormon...
Dates: 1856-1892
Found in: L. Tom Perry Special Collections / James A. Little diaries and autobiography

John Pack letters

 File — Folder 1: [Barcode: 31197230233055]
Identifier: MSS SC 67
Scope and Contents

Photocopies of handwritten and signed letters dated 1847, addressed to family members, describing difficulties of the journey to Salt Lake City, Utah and Pack's associations with Mormon Church leaders Brigham Young and Heber Chase Kimball.

Dates: approximately 1847
Found in: L. Tom Perry Special Collections / John Pack letters

John Van Cott papers

 Collection — Box 1: [Barcode: 31197230217678]
Identifier: MSS 1743
Scope and Contents

Correspondence, diaries, and a family history. The correspondence is between Van Cott and family members. Also included are handwritten and signed letters from Brigham Young, second president of the Mormon Church, to Van Cott. The diaries cover the time when Van Cott served as a missionary for the Mormon Church from 1852 to 1856 and from 1859 to 1862. He was in Iowa City, Iowa, when the first handcart companies left for Utah.

Dates: 1838-1913
Found in: L. Tom Perry Special Collections / John Van Cott papers

Brigham Young letter to Samuel W. Richards

 Collection — Folder 1: [Barcode: 31197233294708]
Identifier: Vault MSS 779
Scope and Contents Handwritten and signed letter dated 27 Feb. 1853 and addressed to Samuel W. Richards in Liverpool, England. The item was composed in Salt Lake City, Utah. Young reports on the condition of Utah at the end of a severe winter during which the Utahns received no mail from outside the territory. Young also writes about the sugar industry in Utah, the progress on buildings and machinery of the Deseret Manufacturing Company, the excavations on the foundation of the Salt Lake Temple, the...
Dates: 1853 February 27
Found in: L. Tom Perry Special Collections / Brigham Young letter to Samuel W. Richards

Margaret Pierce Whitesides Young autobiography

 File — Folder 1: [Barcode: 31197230306430]
Identifier: MSS SC 882
Scope and Contents

Photocopy of a typescript. Originally written to be read at a 1903 meeting of the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers. Mrs. Young describes her life in Nauvoo and her early years in Salt Lake City, Utah. She also comments on life as a polygamous wife of Brigham Young.

Dates: 1903
Found in: L. Tom Perry Special Collections / Margaret Pierce Whitesides Young autobiography

Staff Interface | Send Feedback or Report a Problem

More information about Special Collections including Hours, Services, Events, and Exhibits can be found at lib.byu.edu/special-collections.

The BYU Library aims to create descriptions of collections that are inclusive and support an “environment of belonging.” If you encounter language in finding aids, catalog records, or collection descriptions that you find offensive or believe to be harmful, we invite your feedback at librarydescription@byu.edu.