Mary Lois Walker Morris was a Mormon woman who challenged both American ideas about marriage and the U.S. legal system. Before the Manifesto provides a glimpse into her world as the polygamous wife of a prominent Salt Lake City businessman, during a time of great transition in Utah. This account of her life as a convert, milliner, active community member, mother, and wife begins in England, where her family joined the Mormon church, details her journey across the plains, and describes life in Utah in the 1880s. Her experiences were unusual as, following her first husband's deathbed request, she married his brother, as a plural wife, in the Old Testament tradition of levirate marriage. Mary Morris's memoir frames her 1879 to 1887 diary with both reflections on earlier years and passages that parallel entries in the day book, giving readers a better understanding of how she retrospectively saw her life. The thoroughly annotated diary offers the daily experience of a woman who kept a largely self-sufficient household, had a wide social network, ran her own business, wrote poetry, and was intellectually curious. The years of "the Raid" (federal prosecution of polygamists) led Mary and Elias Morris to hide their marriage on "the underground," and her to perjury in court during Elias's trial for unlawful cohabitation. The book ends with Mary Lois's arrival at the Salt Lake Depot after three years in exile in Mexico with a polygamist colony. Before the Manifesto The Life Writings of Mary Lois Walker Morris Utah State University Press Copyright © 2007 Utah State University Press All right reserved. ISBN: 978-0-87421-644-8 Contents Preface..........................................................................viiIntroduction.....................................................................11835-1887 Sketch of the Life of Mary L. Morris..................................531879 "Had a Host of Callers"....................................................2041880 "I Can Earn a Triful"......................................................2411881 "Conclude to Trust in God".................................................2891882 "Felt Most Acutely My Baby Was Gone".......................................3271883 "Arose from My Pillow to Behold a Great Fire"..............................3581884 "To Take Charge of the Primary Department of the Ward".....................3851885 "My Husband Has Thought It Wisdom to Absent Himself".......................4201886 "Going South in the Morning"...............................................4571887 "Went to Court to Testify in Favor of My Husband"..........................4961902-1905 Exile in Mexico.......................................................534Abbreviations....................................................................575Bibliography.....................................................................576Biographical Register of Names...................................................585Index............................................................................629 Chapter One 1835-1887 Sketch Of The Life Of Mary L. Morris Preface My dear Children and Grandchildren:- In presenting these few collected thoughts, in the form of a sketch of my humble life as I have tried to live it, I do not claim for them any literary merit, or poetic fire:-but I do claim for them the dignity of truth and correct principles. After having tried to mould my life according to the principles of the Gospel and the commandments of God, I can assure you, my precious children, in all soberness, that if you will seek to serve your God in all things He will surely bring you off conquerors. Mary L. Morris. Salt Lake City, Utah. October 27, 1901. A Sketch of My Life Agreeable to the request of my children, I have endeavored to write this simple sketch of my life, and present the same, hoping it will prove acceptable, and of some profit to them in climbing the rugged path of life. My Father's Family Grandfather Walker My paternal grandfather, James Walker, was born May 22, 1774, and I suppose, in the town of Leek, Staffordshire, England. I saw him for the first time when I was fourteen years old, in which year my mother and I returned to my native town of Leek to reside. He was small of stature and although quite aged, and unable to perform any manual labor and walked with a cane, he was still quite erect. He had keen dark eyes, refined features and white hair. I remember mother having said that he fought in the battle of Waterloo. He was a cabinet maker by trade. Grandmother Walker I cannot say that I ever saw my Grandmother [Elizabeth Gibson] Walker but I am under the impression that she was a large woman. My father, who was not a man given to boasting, told my sister, Ann Agatha, that his mother was the finest looking woman in Leek. Her maiden name was Gibson; I think Elizabeth. Uncle Charles Walker My Uncle Charles Walker was born M