Agnes Taylor
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Agnes Taylor Rich Hoagland Schwartz (October 2, 1821 – December 11, 1911) was a
Mormon pioneer The Mormon pioneers were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), also known as Latter-day Saints, who migrated beginning in the mid-1840s until the late-1860s across the United States from the Midwest to the S ...
who played a key role in helping her brother,
LDS Church The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian restorationist Christian denomination and the largest denomination in the Latter Day Saint movement. Founded during ...
president
John Taylor John Taylor, Johnny Taylor or similar is the name of: Academics *John Taylor (Oxford), Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University, 1486–1487 * John Taylor (classical scholar) (1704–1766), English classical scholar *John Taylor (English publisher) ...
, evade authorities during the federal crackdown on polygamy in the mid-1880s. She was also the mother-in-law of later church president
Joseph F. Smith Joseph Fielding Smith Sr. (November 13, 1838 – November 19, 1918) was an American religious leader who served as the sixth president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). He was a nephew of Joseph Smith, founder of ...
and of William W. Taylor, and a wife of
Abraham Hoagland Abraham Lucas Hoagland (March 24, 1797 – February 14, 1872) was an early Mormon leader, pioneer, and one of the founders of Royal Oak, Michigan, and Salt Lake City, Utah, USA. Early life Hoagland was born on March 24, 1797, in Hillsborough ...
.


Early life and first marriage

Taylor was born to James and Agnes Taylor in an
English village English villages are language education institutions which aim to create a language immersion environment for students of English in their own country. The concept is run as a commercial venture in Spain, Italy, Poland, and Hungary and is quasi ...
called Hale in
Westmorland Westmorland (, formerly also spelt ''Westmoreland''R. Wilkinson The British Isles, Sheet The British IslesVision of Britain/ref>) is an area of North West England which was Historic counties of England, historically a county. People of the area ...
. Her older brother, John, would later become president of
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...
. In 1838, 17-year-old Taylor married John Rich in
Carthage, Illinois Carthage is a city in and the county seat of Hancock County, Illinois, United States. Its population was 2,490 as of the 2020 census. Carthage is best known for being the site of the 1844 murder of Joseph Smith, who founded the Latter Day Saint ...
. They eventually settled in Nauvoo and had four children before divorcing when Taylor wanted to go west with the main body of
Latter Day Saints The Latter Day Saint movement (also called the LDS movement, LDS restorationist movement, or Smith–Rigdon movement) is the collection of independent church groups that trace their origins to a Christian Restorationist movement founded b ...
in the late 1840s.


Second marriage

On 26 January, 1846, Taylor married John Benbow in the Nauvoo temple, Nauvoo, Hancock, Illinois. She divorced him 26 May 1847.


Third marriage

On 13 September 1847, Taylor married 50-year-old
Abraham Hoagland Abraham Lucas Hoagland (March 24, 1797 – February 14, 1872) was an early Mormon leader, pioneer, and one of the founders of Royal Oak, Michigan, and Salt Lake City, Utah, USA. Early life Hoagland was born on March 24, 1797, in Hillsborough ...
at age 26. They had five children together before divorcing in 1861 upon the recommendation of
Brigham Young Brigham Young ( ; June 1, 1801August 29, 1877) was an American religious leader and politician. He was the second President of the Church (LDS Church), president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1847 until h ...
. Their daughter Sarah married Taylor's nephew,
William Whitaker Taylor William Whitaker Taylor (September 11, 1853 – August 1, 1884) was a member of the Utah Territorial Legislature, member of the Presidency of the Seventy in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), and a son of LDS Church ...
.


Fourth marriage

In 1862, Taylor was 41 when she married Wilhelm Schwartz, a 24-year-old
Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...
n immigrant. They had two children together, the second of whom, Mary Taylor Schwartz, married 43-year-old
Joseph F. Smith Joseph Fielding Smith Sr. (November 13, 1838 – November 19, 1918) was an American religious leader who served as the sixth president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). He was a nephew of Joseph Smith, founder of ...
in 1884 at the age of 18.


Protecting her brother

After
Brigham Young Brigham Young ( ; June 1, 1801August 29, 1877) was an American religious leader and politician. He was the second President of the Church (LDS Church), president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1847 until h ...
died in 1877, Taylor's brother succeeded him as president of
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...
. John Taylor reluctantly moved into the
Gardo House The Gardo House was a Gilded Age mansion in Salt Lake City, Utah. Built from 1873 to 1883, it became the official residence of the president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Sain ...
in 1882, three years after church members voted to make the then-uncompleted mansion the official parsonage for church presidents. In 1882,
Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...
passed the
Edmunds Act The Edmunds Act, also known as the Edmunds Anti-Polygamy Act of 1882,U.S.History.com is a United States federal statute, signed into law on March 23, 1882 by President Chester A. Arthur, declaring polygamy a felony in federal territories, punis ...
, which made polygamy a felony and posed a serious threat to Utah's long-stalled bid for statehood. Shortly after the law was passed, John Taylor called 16 general authorities to a meeting at the Gardo House. According to attendee
Wilford Woodruff Wilford Woodruff Sr. (March 1, 1807September 2, 1898) was an American religious leader who served as the fourth president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1889 until his death. He ended the public practice of ...
, "President Taylor with the rest of us came to the conclusion that we could not swap off the Kingdom of God or any of its Laws or Principles for a state government." Despite the church's decision to continue business as usual, John Taylor made an effort to comply with the Edmunds Act by moving his families out of the mansion and bringing his sister Agnes in to take over its management while he continued his duties as president. Federal enforcement pressure increased, forcing John Taylor to withdraw from public view and go "underground": frequently on the move to avoid arrest. In March 1885, soon after his final public appearance,
federal marshal The United States Marshals Service (USMS) is a federal law enforcement agency in the United States. The Marshals Service serves as the enforcement and security arm of the U.S. federal judiciary. It is an agency of the U.S. Department of Jus ...
s made a massive raid on the house to capture him. This and subsequent raids were unsuccessful, and his "tough-minded sister ... often held raiding marshals and deputies at bay at the front door of the mansion, admitting no one unless he presented papers properly signed by a federal judge." After her brother's 1887 death while still underground, Taylor vacated the house.


Death and legacy

Taylor died on December 12, 1911, in
Salt Lake City, Utah Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Salt ...
.
Joseph F. Smith Joseph Fielding Smith Sr. (November 13, 1838 – November 19, 1918) was an American religious leader who served as the sixth president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). He was a nephew of Joseph Smith, founder of ...
, Francis M. Lyman,
Charles W. Penrose Charles William Penrose (February 4, 1832 – May 16, 1925) was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1904 to 1911. Penrose was also a member of the First Presidency ...
, Frank Y. Taylor, and Hyrum M. Smith each spoke at her funeral.


Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Agnes English Latter Day Saints Mormon pioneers Converts to Mormonism English emigrants to the United States 1821 births 1911 deaths Taylor family (Latter Day Saints)