Brigham Young in Mendon, New York: Conversion and Early Life
Brigham, a master carpenter, painter, and glazier, had a home, workshop, and mill-wheel powered by a creek running through the property.
Abstract
Mendon, NY, was the home of John Young, father of Brigham Young. Brigham and his wife, Miriam Works Young, lived on part of his father’s property. Brigham, a master carpenter, painter, and glazier, had a home, workshop, and mill-wheel powered by a creek running through the property. Many artifacts from an archaeological dig of the property are displayed in the nearby Valentown Museum. Brigham and Miriam, along with Heber C. Kimball’s family, as well as others of John Young’s family were converted and baptized in 1832. Before the Young family moved to Kirtland, Ohio, Miriam succumbed to tuberculosis. Heber C. and Vilate Kimball helped Brigham care for his children.
Interesting Facts
- Brigham Young was actually four and one-half years older than Joseph Smith. He was born 1 June 1801, In Whitingham, Vermont, about 135 miles north east of Mendon, while Joseph Smith was born 23 December 1805 in Sharon, Vermont.
- The Church had moved westward to Kirtland Ohio before Brigham was baptized by Eleazer Miller on 15 April 1832. Miller was one of four missionaries out of western Pennsylvania who visited the Mendon area. Heber C. Kimball, Brigham’s lifelong friend, was baptized by another of the four missionaries the next day.
- Brigham’s wife Miriam Words, died just less than five months after they had joined the Church, and is buried in Mendon.