Ann Eliza Young

Ann Eliza Young (September 13, 1844 – December 7, 1917) also known as Ann Eliza Webb Dee Young Denning was one of Brigham Young's fifty-five wives and later a critic of polygamy. She spoke out against the suppression of women and was an advocate for women's rights during the 19th century.

Ann Eliza Webb was born in Nauvoo, Illinois to Chauncey Griswold Webb and his wife Eliza Jane Churchill. The Webb family moved to the Salt Lake Valley with the Mormon pioneers.

Ann Eliza married James Dee monogamously on April 4, 1863, in Salt Lake City, Utah Territory. They had two children together and later divorced. According to her biographer Irving Wallace, "for the rest of her days Ann Eliza would always refer to James Dee as the man who 'blighted' her life."

On the advice of her family, Ann Eliza married Brigham Young, the second president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), when he was 67 years old and she was a 24-year-old divorcee.

Although Ann Eliza later called herself Young's "wife no. 19," others have referred to her as his "27th wife." One researcher concluded that she was actually the 52nd woman to marry Young. The discrepancies may be due, in part, to difficulties in defining what constitutes a "wife" in early Mormon polygamous practices. An official LDS Church book titled, Pictures and Biographies of Brigham Young and His Wives, provides brief descriptions of 26 wives.

Ann Eliza filed for divorce from Young in January 1873, an act that attracted much attention. Her bill for divorce alleged neglect, cruel treatment, and desertion, and claimed that her husband had property worth $8 million and an income exceeding $40,000 a month. Young countered that he owned less than $600,000 in property and that his income was less than $6000 per month.

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