Harriet Amelia Folsom
Born 23 Aug. 1838 in Buffalo, Erie Co., New York.[1] Daughter of William Harrison Folsom and Zerviah Eliza Clark.[2] Baptized as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by William Harrison Folsom, 17 July 1856.[3] Migrated to Utah Territory with the Joseph W. Young pioneer company, arriving 3 Oct. 1860.[4] Married Brigham Young, 24 Jan. 1863, in Salt Lake City; no children.[5] One of fourteen women who signed a note to acting Utah territorial governor Stephen A. Mann thanking him for granting Utah women the right to vote, Feb. 1870.[6] Visited and socialized with EBW on various occasions, 1876–1904.[7] Committee member for the Utah Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia, 1876.[8] Attended the wedding reception of President Grover Cleveland and Frances Folsom, 2 June 1886.[9] Among the directors of the Utah Board of Lady Managers for the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago, 31 May 1893.[10] Participated in the women’s suffrage movement, 1870.[11] Active in the Utah Woman’s Silk Association, serving on the board of directors with EBW, 1894–1895.[12] Accompanied a group of Utah women to the Convention of the National Council of Women and the National American Woman Suffrage Association in Washington, DC, and was presented to President Theodore Roosevelt by Senator Thomas Kearns, Feb.–Mar. 1902.[13] Died 11 Dec. 1910 in Salt Lake City.[14]
[1] “Endowments of the Living, 1851–1884,” The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Endowment House, vol. C, 26 Mar. 1857–20 Apr. 1861, p. 174, line 9, Harriett Amelia Folsom, 17 July 1856, microfilm 1149525, DGS 7226466 (restricted access), FHL. “Passing Events: Harriet Amelia F. Young,” Improvement Era, Jan. 1911, 280. “Death Beckons to Mrs. Young,” Salt Lake Tribune, 12 Dec. 1910, 2. “Family Tree,” database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org, accessed 16 Dec. 2019), Harriet Amelia Folsom (L21B-Q9C).
[2] “Endowments of the Living, 1851–1884,” The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Endowment House, vol. C, 26 Mar. 1857–20 Apr. 1861, p. 174, line 9, Harriett Amelia Folsom, 17 July 1856, microfilm 1149525, DGS 7226466 (restricted access), FHL. “Passing Events: Harriet Amelia F. Young,” Improvement Era, Jan. 1911, 280. “Death Beckons to Mrs. Young,” Salt Lake Tribune, 12 Dec. 1910, 2. 1856 Iowa State Census, pp. 790–791.
[3] “Endowments of the Living, 1851–1884,” The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Endowment House, vol. C, 26 Mar. 1857–20 Apr. 1861, p. 174, line 9, Harriett Amelia Folsom, 17 July 1856, microfilm 1149525, DGS 7226466 (restricted access), FHL. Nina Folsom Moss, “Harriet Amelia Folsom Young,” p. 2, International Society Daughters of Utah Pioneers, Pioneer History Collection.
[4] “Harriet Amelia Folsom,” Pioneer Database (https://history.churchofjesuschrist.org/overlandtravel/, accessed 18 Dec. 2019). “Arrivals from the Plains,” Deseret News (Salt Lake City), 10 Oct. 1860, 1.
[5] “U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560–1900,” database, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com, accessed 24 July 2020), 1863, Brigham Young and Harriet Amelia Folsom. “The Gardo House: A History of the Mansion and Its Occupants,” Utah Historical Quarterly 68, no. 11 (Winter 2000): 5–6. 1910 U.S. Census, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake Co., UT, ED 120, p. 1B, A. F. Young. “Death Beckons to Mrs. Young,” Salt Lake Tribune, 12 Dec. 1910, 2. “Passing Events: Harriet Amelia F. Young,” Improvement Era, Jan. 1911, 280. Nina Folsom Moss, “Harriet Amelia Folsom Young,” p. 2, International Society Daughters of Utah Pioneers, Pioneer History Collection.
[6] “To His Excellency, the Acting Governor of the Territory of Utah, S. A. Mann,” Deseret Evening News (Salt Lake City), 23 Feb. 1870, 2.
[7] EBW, Diary, 19 Apr. 1876; 17 Apr. 1892; 26 June 1892; 29 Mar. 1893; 23 May 1894; 30 Aug. 1898; 31 Jan. 1900; 21 July 1904; 31 Aug. 1904.
[8] “Amelia F. Young Called beyond,” Deseret News (Salt Lake City), 12 Dec. 1910, 1.
[9] Nina Folsom Moss, “Harriet Amelia Folsom Young,” p. 5, International Society Daughters of Utah Pioneers, Pioneer History Collection.
[10] EBW, Diary, 31 May 1893. “The Ladies at Work,” Sunday Herald (Salt Lake City), 16 Oct. 1892, 5.
[11] “Death Beckons to Mrs. Young,” Salt Lake Tribune, 12 Dec. 1910, 2. “To His Excellency, the Acting Governor of the Territory of Utah, S. A. Mann,” Deseret Evening News (Salt Lake City), 23 Feb. 1870, 2.
[12] “Utah Silk Association,” Woman’s Exponent, 15 May 1894, 136. “Utah Woman’s Silk Association,” Woman’s Exponent, 1 and 15 Feb. 1895, 237–238. EBW, Diary, 12 June 1894; 31 July 1894; 14 Aug. 1894; 10 Apr. 1896. “Utah Woman’s Silk Association,” Salt Lake Herald, 22 Jan. 1895, 7.
[13] Nina Folsom Moss, “Harriet Amelia Folsom Young,” p. 5, International Society Daughters of Utah Pioneers, Pioneer History Collection. EBW, Diary, 23 and 27 Feb. 1902. “The Age We Live in,” Woman’s Exponent, Apr. 1902, 1. “Happenings Here and There,” Woman’s Exponent, Mar. 1902, 4. “Universal Suffrage,” Evening Star (Washington, DC), 11 Feb. 1902, 7. “Candor Counts with Roosevelt,” Philadelphia Inquirer, 20 Feb. 1902, 2.
[14] “Utah State Archives Indexes,” database and images, Utah State Archives (https://archives.utah.gov, accessed 17 Dec. 2019); Utah Department of Health Office of Vital Records and Statistics Death Certificates, series 81448, file no. 1721/520 (1910). “Death Beckons to Mrs. Young,” Salt Lake Tribune, 12 Dec. 1910, 2. “Passing Events: Harriet Amelia F. Young,” Improvement Era, Jan. 1911, 280.