Monogamy on Display, Plurality Behind the Curtain

On the morning of May 10, 1893, an entourage of “30 or 40 brethren & sisters” of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints met at the platform of the Union Pacific depot in downtown Salt Lake City, preparing to depart for the World's Congress of Representative Women.1 Organized and planned by the Board of Lady Managers for the World's Columbian Exposition, or Chicago World's Fair, and held under the auspices of the International Council of Women at its first quinquennial meeting since 1888, the Congress of Women was an anticipated gathering of the most important female leaders and activists from around the world.2 Benefitting from their own acceptance into the ICW dating back to 1891, Latter-day Saint women were honored to have been invited and included in the proceedings. The passengers headed to Chicago that day included the highest women's leadership from the Relief Society and Young Ladies Mutual Improvement Association, or YLMIA, along with other guests and visitors from among the husbands and parents of Utah's presenters. Together, these women planned to speak on behalf of the church's women in Chicago.3Among those headed to Chicago, Jane S. Richards was the long-serving Ogden Stake Relief Society president, a member of the General Relief Society presidency, and an outspoken advocate for women's suffrage. But she was also the polygamous first wife of Apostle Franklin D. Richards, who had taken his second plural wife in Nauvoo almost fifty years before, and now claimed over twelve wives.4 Elder Richards proudly accompanied his wife to the station, along with their monogamist daughter, Josephine “Josie” West “and Charlie her baby,” who came down from their homes in Ogden to meet the departing group.5Emily Sophia Tanner Richards was Jane's daughter-in-law, married to Franklin and Jane's oldest son, Franklin Snyder Richards, in 1868, in a solidly monogamous relationship. Emily had already left for Chicago in her position as president of the Utah Board of Lady Managers, and as the hostess of the Utah Building.6 She was also scheduled to speak in the YLMIA session of the World's Congress. Together, monogamist daughter-in-law and polygamist mother-in-law served as the president and vice-president of the Utah Board of Lady Managers for the Chicago World's Fair and brought their seemingly opposing marital permutations to Chicago. In 1893, perhaps no two women best captured the tensions between the competing visions of Mormon womanhood and what was at stake for Latter-day Saint women's representation in Chicago.Jane and Emily Richards found themselves not only at different places on the Mormon marital spectrum, but also within women's leadership. Jane was part of the Relief Society organization, comprised of a largely older generation of polygamous wives, some of whom were widowed, but most with husbands still living. Emily represented the YLMIA, a generally younger generation of single women and mostly monogamous wives. Together, the two organizations represented a contrast between two opposing impulses—the older group had embraced polygamy in its earliest introduction as the highest order of marriage, family, and heaven. Tugging in the other direction was a younger crop of women who looked forward to adopting monogamy as a more acceptable norm of marriage. A handful of other cross-generational, mother-daughter pairings further reinforced the tension between polygamy and monogamy that was on full display in the Congress. Polygamist widow of Brigham Young Zina D. H. Young was joined by her polygamist daughter, Zina Young Card, and her monogamist adopted daughter, Maria Young Dougall, a first vice-president in the YLMIA. Polygamist Mary Isabella Horne stood in Relief Society leadership, while her monogamist daughter, Martha Horne Tingey, served as the second vice-president in YLMIA leadership. Whereas Jane's and the other Relief Society wives’ status as with husbands in Chicago, and other YLMIA as single women or monogamous as the World's Congress to an of polygamy and for a on and for the women of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day to from a with polygamy as an what at the to and what have to in their of Mormon women's representation at the World's Congress of Representative Women were the marital that these of the of the of at the Congress of Women as an from polygamous to monogamous In of group representation was Mormon women's marital the acceptance of polygamous but also of the Congress was not a in Mormon women's as was a of women who came to Chicago a of marital included plural with husbands still polygamist women who had been widowed, single women who were of polygamist but who in their and monogamist women who had a stood for a and monogamous women with their to to women represented a important status in the and for who and for the of and but in still embraced of monogamous in the who polygamous for to marriage, and for and with women of the that accompanied his May to Chicago to her at the planned to on to to the of their on behalf of the on May for the and to under the of and and two was with for the and and was the and the and in to the as and the other women were to of at the World's Congress. and of women have been under the of the Polygamist YLMIA was also she now the World's Columbian and brought into with of other and of her own as a a from the her to and the and the of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Elder D. Richards that his wife a to & the by the in to to the church's the of to to these female of a Saint women leaders had before, to meet leaders and to in International Council of Women and Council of Women But Congress of Women the had been years and the of the and of the still Mormon women on Utah women's with the and ICW had only in 1891, those organizations the Relief Society and the YLMIA were scheduled for their own in of anticipated of the most women in the have in different from a to the to to to and the & and a the best a and of day of the Congress in of the women of was as the and YLMIA women to Congress of their but of his for her planned at the the of been as Utah in the Congress. the morning the of the Relief Society the Relief held a and in the the Improvement a was at as also were a Utah to her that was the morning of own meeting and of was that the had an for & to in the with the other leaders and of the women's not the morning was a of on the The was at the and as the of the left the and as the almost the as husbands looked down at their while and was for the of and an was among those H. and of Salt Lake by and to for the of the and of those their in to the some the in the that had been and in of and the was that the women had to the of plural their to and the of their the on the for a that in the YLMIA Emily S. Richards her on the and of Utah and May her on and that she as also who had in the morning an forward to the Mormon women still in the to to the of the as a to these in a a with the Council of Women the organizations have in their that an important day in the of the session a was a of the of in these polygamy was still on but the of the Congress to to these women who were an from polygamous monogamous and the marital permutations of the have the of the Zina D. H. Young the women's leadership as the General Relief Society of the and a polygamist widow of Brigham Young She accompanied her daughter, Zina Young Card, the church's in to and who left plural and Zina D. H. Young was joined by other polygamist and Apostle H. and had in 1891, within of widowed, on the Relief the representation in Chicago an more was married to who had in a in her for status as a monogamous widow was by the in she had been to the by Elder in a in the had first the of to to a she to her on but also some marital status had almost her to a in Utah's leadership. her to an to the of of the of the Relief Society of was joined by Mary Isabella Horne and Jane Snyder Richards, of whom still claimed polygamist status to the Relief Society at the and Martha the and most and of Mormon but were also plural with husbands who had for leadership of the Young Ladies Mutual Improvement a of marital but in contrast to the Relief Society included a of on S. was the wife of who had also been for In a was the only plural at the of the highest accompanied her in to Chicago. The only other polygamist in the YLMIA session was who had been a of married in was almost years and she was only her marital was not by her to Mormon women as more marital while also of the most of the as a to that also brought a of women with was a of and a of who his to and in May a of for the Utah in a at the Congress and as Emily S. in the Utah Mary and were and but also the of polygamist and by his second and wives. had accompanied his to Chicago and in the a in of their at the in the YLMIA session were the of monogamous women who a and of among Latter-day first vice-president was Maria Young Dougall, a of Brigham Young who a plural wife but who was married to with Emily S. Richards, were of the first were in had married in 1868, and monogamous their younger of monogamous women included Martha Horne in and the of Mary Isabella she married in and May married to in 1888, and who was also accompanied by her a in Latter-day Saint and leadership. monogamous member of the but from the that was Young married to and the of the Young She had in Utah in the of and Franklin on May as the Latter-day Saint women for their But the Congress from on the in the and her YLMIA in representation of monogamous Latter-day Saint women who in the World's Sophia Tanner Richards, May and Young their status as monogamous women was by their to into with of the that the of into Mormon women's of for the of as monogamous women husbands were to that the of by to women Mormon women the to from the of plural marriage, while also to a of for The marital status also the of as the came under and Snyder Richards and Emily Sophia Tanner were married on 1868, in the in Salt Lake the years of their married parents in had the first of their Franklin and Emily had in Salt Franklin to his and as for the while Emily mostly their and served in the Relief by a and polygamous in the and Franklin and Emily have polygamous but not the of position as the their monogamous as Emily joined Utah's her own position as an her to the of leadership. In the for the the to monogamist and and his wife who The of two monogamous on behalf of the a to most acceptable and on display for the to as these to a in back in the of and to into as part of the or to their to plural in and In Franklin and Emily found their to as but Apostle Franklin D. Richards, for a to the The of the and its to Salt Lake and Ogden an of among the church's leadership, in to to the planned Apostle Richards his own in and the for women to to his part of the day the of Jane & those of her for Franklin to have to in the Franklin and with his in The Franklin D. that with for to the by & and Tanner & women who had their with Emily for wives, Franklin was first to Jane the who had been the of his and to a Jane Jane was in Salt Lake in and married a Utah around had the Jane in in in and the But in she was to Franklin S. Richards, along with of her for their by her Jane's to Franklin was by Richards, was married to to for the of for whom she a to to who was not a met a to in the Richards that had on Jane's Franklin was to a Jane in in and who in the between the and not and a for Jane was a to the from she had joined the in her She met a and whom she married in and was in Jane and had two to to departing from to in May in Jane in of and daughter, two Jane's married wife also in 1868, married a to a Mary Jane had his first and to in the to The of Jane to her own in the of her and in to Franklin S. Richards more But the Franklin was to a with no but was also as in and who had in Jane from the day and were to and to the Richards now their but the Richards most important of the day to Franklin and Emily was the of Franklin to the of their own adopted daughter, with Emily had been by Elder Richards had in his that to to Franklin first the of Utah in as an to Utah had and were married in Salt Lake on of that The to Ogden family, to a on over a on of She was only years to the Richards was the Richards she was to Franklin and to the of her marital and in that plural were and not and to women or D. had to his on or morning and left Franklin & Emily with of and and of the Richards in his as for On Franklin and Emily met with in the for proceedings. The that of the over to the as was a for came with and and of her that the parents and in a and by the of the Franklin and Emily as in of older who had at years and On the day in that Franklin was to was to Franklin and her but not to her Franklin the but the to from her was in of to for the and his for a to status as an or to the Richards entourage to for and Franklin D. had to his that & a & her of to most Emily at had found to his for Franklin and Emily to with to under two years on Franklin and Emily to the for a the was to adopted daughter, an Emily no of to Franklin to But back to the important of of Franklin S. and Emily S. Richards to of whom was the of their adopted daughter, to a of marital for the monogamous the of and on behalf of the and Franklin and Emily to from the their monogamous these Franklin a of introduction from on to in Richards and to as a of and a a of a Mormon in and in the of her monogamous status brought perhaps what her to the of Utah and the in for her first at the in 1888, her his on the Emily had already at the International Council of Women a but was her at the that had a of the to the of Mormon women she of the Franklin were at first to Emily was with polygamy and that she was not and with that she was to among with and now to Franklin further his that for Mormon women's in perhaps that was Emily of But was also her that to her Emily and more she She in a that she was in part of the in and her status as a monogamist wife further her in position to a Utah by of that The was in its but also polygamous from as a for Richards and other monogamous women to to Utah's Emily to in the on a and a the of the World's Columbian Exposition, Emily was the monogamous of Utah in as a for the YLMIA session at the World's Congress of Representative as hostess of the Utah and as the only for Utah at the of the World's of S. and Emily S. status as a monogamous was in to the its from polygamy on to monogamy on display in the by to women from and in the their status as to women the Latter-day Saints the church's and from polygamy and marital and in the and May were married in the on not in from and a of she a from and of of the of a and but also on to their marriage, their and May were not for their monogamous marital was in the of of their on behalf of the women's and within and was for the his his with her May was to on the General Board of the YLMIA, her and within the highest women's leadership of the and her to and was a at the Brigham Young in the and May was a at the the of a and on and May married the and within two the was to on The of were and In of was at a in her and her on The the as she was to while in was to her or she and found her in and in a to the The for her almost to the of of that have been and but mostly for the with and to and to along with her family, to the On a a a to for in the of and and in as and at his of her and with on in most she with for almost a of of her that for as as her On a her but the of by the of that as a and She been to a In her of she a of and to a been and to her looked forward to as a most She to of her of the other and that her for of and she as the and have had the of to that his own but on to that she had now at her have been and in her from her a of for and the with and back to a she of She to the to the She to her on was in for only as an on of of had not to the of whom had to was the first and and his found in with the most as also a was of and from have the that over May had as and with a polygamous wife of a who was as the of the on around was a along a of In a from May and in at the on The of May and was full of May and were only the at the of and not their at was a in their to monogamous to and not and May the to have to but was on She some on the a the the came a from accompanied by a of her The was of as have but not but who what for of that as to and own for the of almost years her into of in a to that to her had been to of a of of Utah her and the and two that her his her and and by her of a in his The of a an of from for a the was her and was for and for in and she she no part of an her to the who had for her over with of but been to from the have from in the by a to the of of a and to some for of was the to on a along by a from who of to her over with her to in the on that Jane was largely in for her that she stood in at the her and acceptance of the but two at the her The that and May their first to their and acceptance the plural of her and to in as as in the of the and Utah But a the further of of under over the of the Chicago World's Fair, was to in the Salt Lake on was also a at the her was to also the at her and was also by the to the On the day of the the only that was a in a into with the and of the of the and the of of the The of the of the the of the stood not while had the for the of that into in the for the of the of the and of part in of the the of most the in not in of to the Congress of Representative Women his wife her on a to for and to some a of and of the of with a with Apostle the of the and from that and to the for of family, by and by marriage, the or some that of the of the and reinforced his own on behalf of and to the for were with and only those of the to have been married on or to have had for other and the that not as as for Franklin Richards, were in a for the as to single women to or who held the But a that perhaps the from in the that with the that of but that the women to their in the what with more for was that from the member who was not only for but also for Young own marital was more what from a of Brigham married in she was years but by had to own and part of the also of her two to In married a second to who was a for her and She into a over was on a to in while Franklin and Emily Richards and and May the by the of and in their Utah and and from those monogamous was to in an the to polygamy or from In some that a plural but the that to have from his for a plural but and have been a of her her own polygamous in the for the while plural for and the was the from the in into and the Young as the and for women in the to YLMIA leadership, her Brigham Young and of the Young May Young not the YLMIA session of the World's Congress of Women in In was to to Franklin on May while the entourage of women's leadership had already in Chicago. Emily Richards, May and on a of monogamous on the Congress from her and in the to and she a and of Utah's in But at these came with its own at the ICW meeting in of the tensions over polygamy and on ICW May and her that her had been left the daughter, to at the and her position on the and to her that the that was a most and that was a of Brigham and the that was in to and what an and of that and had been in as a had and that was more to The and was the wife of the of had to was back to an Emily Richards over was to of her monogamous at the ICW in in on her as her and the to Brigham Young and polygamy an between and her with in she was a and of plural marriage. for and the of her Emily and her to not on to to a monogamous to the to for wife of and a been to back and his and honored the she and not at the of a monogamous a of Brigham to and with in the ICW and important was that of Mary a in to a as had been by some ICW in she a of and from whom she had already from the to Salt Lake in was an and who the Saints with her of in full in On some of her to and and in these that had been married to her in a in in But over years on with Maria was to with as for his and and as for On the was to with for that the parents of and were also to other that some as the for an with whom leaders were But almost with their perhaps in a different to to the family, an to her to to to leadership, in the International Council of Women and the Council of her to other and with some of those with was but her with was in the first and as joined the ICW leadership and to with the was in served as the and to her first to to Utah in and was already her in to to In of to that have met but and have of in and to forward to meeting that to her of their at the meeting of was to and her a she had to in The two had largely in their and to a with that not to other at the over the years and on at only years of on Young was at the Salt Lake for as her was to was a and adopted a she was still But she had met her at an ICW was a and a was by a of and female for in their of to not have to seemingly had a a between and their have the and of to have her own to an for that had but with whom she had a her wives, not but a of female was to her a was that her In these not by the to women with but to for The for acceptance of had been years before, as the of polygamous the of in the the of polygamous in she a some women were to the her that women who to their a for in or not that women who on plural in the her further in the her of the for a a of a plural marriage. The a and and the down with and to in in a to the of and as she at the as to to The into her and his and her in she what she the of that Mormon of for the at for an But the was more and the between and the of and more was not she was of or a for single women who as in the of and May to and but also a forward for women who had married in as in the of Franklin and Emily to Jane and of as an for those while also to in a monogamous or as to polygamy in the Mormon of the on the by monogamous in the of the from polygamy to But the of these almost more the of of women to to plural were still in the to that on its plural were to the of the the the for some women to Latter-day Saint those women were already married to had with and to as in the of Jane to her of her to Franklin S. women who a as in the of and to and not the women's husbands and by the of of women to further of the by other was to as his on plural as the church's monogamous Richards and Richards to as the most to his to Apostle and the of monogamous in the but The of and who accompanied Franklin and Emily Richards in the and as monogamous of the or married women at the World's Congress of Women in 1893, who among joined their Emily Richards, May or Young in the of of polygamy on and monogamy on display a more marital in of women and were part of a of group and The of plural to monogamous first in the of and in as as that brought Utah women more into the in to the of polygamist wives. to for different but their marital in of polygamous of their and and also within the of and to monogamous in their marital of group marital in some of not as to a polygamous but as of that the monogamous their were but by were also and no the to monogamous these and their to of the of their in the those had been for the women and to the at the World's Congress of Representative Women in May of