Prof. Josiah E. Hickman
1862-1937
The Principle
The Utah War didn't begin in 1857, and it didn't end in 1858. Utah's political history is one of minorities struggling to dominate and overcome the majority, and various ways were applied to reduce the political influence of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
In 1902 Mormon Apostle Reed Smoot was elected to the US Senate, but many leading non-Mormon citizens of Utah thought he should be excluded from serving in Congress because, though he was not a polygamist, he belonged to a church that was still practicing it.
Our Josiah Edwin Hickman was a polygamist, and the fact that he continued to be one after the 1890 Manifesto is probably what excluded him--though a gifted public speaker--from ever being selected to serve in a position of leadership in the LDS Church. Two of his friends from college, James E. Talmage and Richard R. Lyman, non-polygamists, were later ordained Apostles.
These hearings took place in Washington, D.C. beginning in 1903; they lasted more than thirty months and resulted in nearly four thousand printed pages of testimony.
The Chairman of the Committee on Privileges and Elections was Senator Julius Caeser Burrows of Michigan. Other players in this national drama were Senator Lewis E. McComas of Maryland and Senator Fred T. Dubois of Idaho. Also involved were lawyers Robert W. Tayler and Waldemar Van Cott.
In December 1904, following the testimony of Brigham Young University President George Brimhall, Josiah E. Hickman was called to testify of his knowledge of polygamy:
[p.93]
TESTIMONY OF JOSIAH HICKMAN.
The CHAIRMAN. Who is the next witness, Mr. Tayler?
Mr. TAYLER. Call Josiah Hickman.
JOSIAH HICKMAN, being duly sworn, was examined, and testified as follows:
Mr. TAYLER. Where do you live, Mr. Hickman?
Mr. HICKMAN. I live in Provo.
Mr. TAYLER. What is your occupation?
Mr. HICKMAN. I am a teacher.
Mr. TAYLER. In Brigham Young University?
Mr. HICKMAN. Yes, sir.
Mr. TAYLER. How long have you been a teacher there?
Mr. HICKMAN. Nearly five years and a half.
Mr. TAYLER. Did you always live in Utah?
Mr. HICKMAN. Yes, sir; except a few years I was away as a student.
Mr. TAYLER. That has been your home always?
Mr. HICKMAN. Yes, sir.
Mr. TAYLER. What do you teach in the university?
Mr. HICKMAN. I have charge of psychology and astronomy.
Mr. TAYLER. How many wives have you?
Mr. HICKMAN. I have one living.
Mr. TAYLER. When did you marry her?
Mr. HICKMAN. In June, 1890.
Mr. TAYLER. June, 1890?
Mr. HICKMAN. Yes, sir.
Mr. TAYLER. When did the other one die?
Mr. HICKMAN. A little over four years ago.
Mr. TAYLER. When did you marry her?
Mr. HICKMAN. In 1885, perhaps 1884; I have just---
Mr. TAYLER. You married first in 1884 or 1885, did you?
Mr. HICKMAN. Yes.
Mr. TAYLER. And again in 1890?
Mr. HICKMAN. Yes sir.
Mr. TAYLER. And the first wife died when?
Mr. HICKMAN. Four years ago the 2d of last November.
Mr. TAYLER. And the wife you married in 1890, who was at the time you were married your plural wife-- that is correct, is it?
Mr. HICKMAN. If I understand your question rightly, it is.
Mr. TAYLER. She is your present wife?
Mr. HICKMAN. Yes, sir.
Mr. TAYLER. How old is she?
Mr. HICKMAN. About 33 or 34.
Mr. TAYLER. What children have you by her?
Mr. HICKMAN. Five children.
Mr. TAYLER. How old is the oldest?
Mr. HICKMAN. Thirteen years old, I think, the 13th of last September.
Mr. TAYLER. You have children by the other wife also?
Mr. HICKMAN. Yes, sir.
Mr. TAYLER. Where did you live when both of your wives were living--from 1890 to 1900?
[p.94]
Mr. HICKMAN. Part of the time in Utah and part of the time in Idaho.
Mr. TAYLER. And for ten years you lived with two wives?
Mr. HICKMAN. Yes, sir.
Mr. TAYLER. From 1890 to 1900? When did you begin to teach in the Brigham Young University?
Mr. HICKMAN. Five years ago.
Mr. TAYLER. Exactly five years ago?
Mr. HICKMAN. Five years ago last September.
Mr. TAYLER. Have you been married again to your plural wife?
Mr. HICKMAN. No, sir.
Mr. TAYLER. No ceremony has occurred except that which took place in 1890?
Mr. HICKMAN. Except we went through the Temple and were sealed there.
Mr. TAYLER. When?
Mr. HICKMAN. Something like a year ago--no, between two and three years ago.
Mr. TAYLER. You deem that a marriage ceremony, do you not?
Mr. HICKMAN. Well, it is simply the sealing.
Mr. TAYLER. There was no marriage license issued?
Mr. HICKMAN. No, sir.
Mr. TAYLER. I suppose you are familiar with such things and know that there is a law in that State--is there not--requiring certain formalities before a valid marriage can be solemnized?
Mr. HICKMAN. Yes, sir.
Mr. TAYLER. You have not undertaken to comply with that law at all?
Mr. HICKMAN. That is, to be married by the State--the laws of the land?
Mr. TAYLER. Yes.
Mr. HICKMAN. No, sir; not so far.
Mr. TAYLER. Then--and I merely want to get the truth and not at all to harass you by any unnecessary questions--as you understand it, you are not lawfully wedded to your wife?
Mr. HICKMAN. No, sir.
Mr. TAYLER. That is all.
Mr. VAN COTT. What do you mean by saying, in answering Mr. Tayler, that you have not been married "so far?"
Mr. HICKMAN. Not married according to the laws of the land.
Mr. VAN COTT. You said "so far," did you mean anything by that?
Mr. HICKMAN. I can say this: It has been rather neglect on our part. We have talked it over and we have decided that we should take out a marriage license and be married according to the laws of the land. But on account of negligence, I stated, up to the present time we have not done that.
Mr. VAN COTT. How many teachers, professors, or instructors are there in the Brigham Young College at Provo?
Mr. HICKMAN. I think between 65 and 70.
Mr. VAN COTT. Of the 65 or 70, how many are polygamists or reputed to be polygamists?
Mr. HICKMAN. Well, if you count myself, I suppose there are two.
Mr. TAYLER. I did not catch the answer.
[p.95]
Mr. WORTHINGTON. He says counting himself there are two.
Mr. TAYLER. Two what?
Mr. WORTHINGTON. Two polygamists among the 65 or 70 teachers at the university.
The CHAIRMAN. You mean the president and yourself?
Mr. HICKMAN. Yes, sir.
Mr. VAN COTT. When you count yourself as a polygamist, it is under the answers you have given Mr. Tayler?
Mr. HICKMAN. Yes, sir.
Mr. TAYLER. I do not suppose he means that he is any different kind of a one than he told us about.
Mr. VAN COTT. That is all.
Senator DuBOIS. You have made it your special business to inquire whether the teachers are in polygamy or not?
Mr. HICKMAN. No, sir.
Senator DuBOIS. How do you know there are only two?
Mr. HICKMAN. I am simply speaking from what I know or what I do not know. I simply said that I know of no one in the institution.
Senator DuBOIS. You know of no one except the gentleman whom you yourself heard testify that he is in polygamy; and you know that you yourself are in polygamy?
Mr. HICKMAN. Have been.
Senator DuBOIS. Would you be surprised if ten others should come here and testify that they were in polygamy?
Mr. HICKMAN. Very much so.
Senator DuBOIS. Why?
Mr. HICKMAN. Because I never heard even the faintest rumor, and I am not certain that they believe in the principle. I know some do not.
Senator DuBOIS. Do you know whether John W. Taylor, an apostle of the church, has gone into polygamy since the manifesto?
Mr. HICKMAN. No, sir.
Senator DuBOIS. Did you ever hear a rumor to that effect?
Mr. HICKMAN. It is just possible I have heard that rumor; nothing definite.
Senator DuBOIS. You do not know much about that?
Mr. HICKMAN. Not a thing.
Senator DuBOIS. He is an apostle, I believe?
Mr. HICKMAN. Sir?
Senator DuBOIS. Do you know whether Mathias F. Cowley, an apostle of the church, has gone into polygamy recently?
Mr. HICKMAN. No, sir.
Senator DuBOIS. You have never made it your business to inquire?
Mr. HICKMAN. No, sir; I never heard, even, that he had.
Senator DuBOIS. But you are certain that there are none of the professors except yourself and the other gentleman in polygamy?
Mr. HICKMAN. Morally certain.
Senator DuBOIS. That is all.
Mr. TAYLER. When were you married?
Mr. HICKMAN. In June, 1890.
Mr. TAYLER. Where?
Mr. HICKMAN. In another nation.
Mr. TAYLER. Where?
[p.96]
Mr. HICKMAN. In old Mexico.
Mr. TAYLER. By whom?
Mr. HICKMAN. McDonald, I think, is the name; J. F. McDonald.
Mr. TAYLER. A. F.?
Mr. HICKMAN. I am not certain as to the initials.
Mr. VAN COTT. Yes, it is A. F.
Mr. TAYLER. And what is the name of the place? [A pause.] Juarez?
Mr. HICKMAN. I think that was the place.
Mr. TAYLER. Was the young woman whom you married a resident there at the time?
Mr. HICKMAN. No, sir.
Mr. TAYLER. Were you?
Mr. HICKMAN. No, sir.
Mr. TAYLER. Where did she live?
Mr. HICKMAN. She lived in Utah.
Mr. TAYLER. And you lived in Utah?
Mr. HICKMAN. Yes, sir.
Mr. TAYLER. What were you doing then?
Mr. HICKMAN. I was a teacher.
Mr. TAYLER. And what was she doing?
Mr. HICKMAN. She had been a teacher.
The CHAIRMAN. Let me understand. Was this in New Mexico or Utah?
Mr. HICKMAN. In old Mexico.
Mr. TAYLER. She had been a teacher where, the Senator asks?
Mr. HICKMAN. In Utah.
Mr. TAYLER. Whereabouts?
Mr. HICKMAN. In Millard County.
Mr. TAYLER. Had you known her long?
Mr. HICKMAN. Three or four years.
Mr. TAYLER. Where had you known her?
Mr. HICKMAN. In Provo and in Millard County.
Mr. TAYLER. Had she gone to school at Provo?
Mr. HICKMAN. Yes, sir.
Mr. TAYLER. At the university?
Mr. HICKMAN. Yes.
Mr. TAYLER. How long after she left the university did you marry her?
Mr. HICKMAN. Three or four years; I do not remember exactly.
Mr. TAYLER. You married her when she was about 18 years old, did you not?
Mr. HICKMAN. About 19 or 20. I am not so certain; 19 or 20.
Mr. TAYLER. You and she made the journey to Mexico for the sole purpose of being married?
Mr. HICKMAN. Yes, sir.
Mr. TAYLER. Did you go together?
Mr. HICKMAN. Yes, sir.
Mr. TAYLER. What was the official position of the man who married you?
Mr. HICKMAN. I can not say.
Mr. TAYLER. What were you married in? What kind of a place?
Mr. HICKMAN. It was in no place; that is, just a small company; I do not remember who the company were, except this man. We [p.97] were out walking through the country--over the country--and we were married.
Mr. TAYLER. Who were the witnesses?
Mr. HICKMAN. I do not know the witnesses. They were all strangers to me.
Mr. TAYLER. Was no certificate given to you of the fact of your marriage?
Mr. HICKMAN. No, sir.
Mr. TAYLER. You have, therefore, no record, and no record, so far as you know, exists, of the fact of your marriage with this young woman?
Mr. HICKMAN. That is all.
Mr. TAYLER. You went there, I suppose, because you did not want to be guilty of the crime of bigamy or polygamy in the United States.
Mr. HICKMAN. There were no marriages even performed at that late date in the United States.
Mr. WORTHINGTON. You say "no marriages." You mean plural marriages, I suppose?
Mr. HICKMAN. Yes, sir.
Mr. TAYLER. You say there were none?
Mr. HICKMAN. That is, I: was told that there were no marriages performed in the United States at that time.
Mr. TAYLER. Did you hear of Brigham Roberts being married about that time to a plural wife?
Mr. HICKMAN. No, sir.
Mr. TAYLER. You entered this plural marriage relation because you thought it was right to do so?
Mr. HICKMAN. Yes, sir.
Mr. TAYLER. You believed in the divinity as well as the propriety of the revelation on the subject of plural marriage?
Mr. HICKMAN. Yes, sir.
The CHAIRMAN. We will have to stop here.
Mr. TAYLER. I have only one or two more questions to ask.
Mr. VAN COTT. I have a few.
The CHAIRMAN. We may as well stop here.
Thereupon (at 11 o'clock and 55 minutes a. m.) the committee took a recess until 2 o'clock p. m.
The committee reassembled at the expiration of the recess.
The CHAIRMAN. Proceed, Mr. Tayler.
Mr. TAYLER. Is Mrs. Geddes here?
Mr. VAN COTT. We were not through with the witness on the stand.
Mr. TAYLER. That is true. I was about to ask him a question myself?
TESTIMONY OF JOSIAH HICKMAN--Continued.
JOSIAH HICKMAN, who had been previously sworn, was examined and testified as follows
Mr. TAYLER. Mr. Hickman, do you remember the question I asked you?
Mr. HICKMAN. I do not.
Mr. TAYLER. All I remember about it is that I had not finished the line that I was pursuing. Did you know Lillian Hamlin?
[p.98]
Mr. HICKMAN. Yes, sir.
Mr. TAYLER. Did she teach in the Brigham Young Academy or University while you were there?
Mr. HICKMAN. In the academy; yes, sir.
Mr. TAYLER. Do you remember when she last taught there?
Mr. HICKMAN. Not exactly. Some two or three years ago.
Mr. TAYLER. What was her name then?
Mr. HICKMAN. She went by the name of Mrs. Cannon.
Mr. TAYLER. Did you know her when she taught there before that?
Mr. HICKMAN. No, sir.
Mr. TAYLER. You were not there in 1896?
Mr. HICKMAN. No, sir.
Mr. TAYLER. Can you tell me any more definitely when it was that she left or ceased to teach at that school?
Mr. HICKMAN. It seems to me her successor has been there a year and a half, and she left some three months before.
Mr. TAYLER. So that you estimate the time at something less than two years ago when she left?
Mr. HICKMAN. As I remember.
Mr. TAYLER. Did you know at the time where she went?
Mr. HICKMAN. I believe I am mistaken. I think it is two years and a half. Still my memory does not serve me on that. The records would show that.
Mr. TAYLER. What records?
Mr. HICKMAN. The catalogue of the university.
Mr. TAYLER. Have you it with you?
Mr. HICKMAN. I have not.
Mr. TAYLER. Do you recall that she went to Salt Lake?
Mr. HICKMAN. Yes, sir.
Mr. TAYLER. Have you any idea how long she taught there?
Mr. HICKMAN. I do not. I never saw her after she left the university.
Mr. TAYLER. I think that is all now.
The CHAIRMAN. I understood you to say that you were married in old Mexico?
Mr. HICKMAN. Yes, sir.
Mr. TAYLER. Will you state by whom?
Mr. HICKMAN. By McDonald.
The CHAIRMAN. What McDonald?
Mr. HICKMAN. I thought his initials were J.F., but somebody corrected and said---
Mr. WORTHINGTON. A.F.
Mr. HICKMAN. A.F.
The CHAIRMAN. That is already in evidence?
Mr. WORTHINGTON. Yes; he said he did not know what position the man held.
The CHAIRMAN. Had you ever seen him before?
Mr. HICKMAN. Never.
The CHAIRMAN. I did not understand clearly where you said this ceremony was performed?
Mr. HICKMAN. I forget the name of the little village or place. We just went down and back.
Mr. VAN COTT. Juarez was suggested by Mr. Tayler.
[p.99]
Mr. TAYLER. And he did not seem to have any recollection aroused by the suggestion?
Mr. HICKMAN. No.
Mr. TAYLER. It was merely a suggestion.
The CHAIRMAN. At some house in the city?
Mr. HICKMAN. No, sir.
The CHAIRMAN. Whereabouts?
Mr. HICKMAN. As I stated, just out in the country.
The CHAIRMAN. Out from the town?
Mr. HICKMAN. Yes, sir.
The CHAIRMAN. In the highway?
Mr. HICKMAN. Yes, sir.
The CHAIRMAN. How many were present in the highway when the ceremony took place?
Mr. HICKMAN. Perhaps half a dozen.
The CHAIRMAN. In the daytime, or evening?
Mr. HICKMAN. In the daytime.
The CHAIRMAN. Can you remember the ceremony?
Mr. HICKMAN. Only in general.
The CHAIRMAN. What was it?
Mr. HICKMAN. I could not quote it word for word. I could give the substance.
The CHAIRMAN. Well, give the substance.
Mr. HICKMAN. That I promised to take her as my wife, to care for and protect her, and to love her, and that she was to be mine for time and eternity; and I think she made some such a covenant.
The CHAIRMAN. Who can perform this ceremony of marriage for time and eternity?
Mr. HICKMAN. Only those that have authority.
The CHAIRMAN. Who are those who have authority to do that?
Mr. HICKMAN. I understood that McDonald lead it at the time.
The CHAIRMAN. Presumably those higher in authority?
Mr. HICKMAN. Yes, sir.
The CHAIRMAN. He had not the authority himself?
Mr. HICKMAN. It must have been conferred upon him.
The CHAIRMAN. Who could confer it?
Mr. HICKMAN. It must have been the president, either directly or indirectly.
The CHAIRMAN. He had not the authority primarily?
Mr. HICKMAN. No, sir.
The CHAIRMAN. It was then conferred upon him by the president of the church?
Mr. HICKMAN. It must have been the president, directly or indirectly, as I say.
The CHAIRMAN. In order to have performed such a ceremony as that?
Mr. HICKMAN. Yes, sir.
The CHAIRMAN. Did you go to this place where the ceremony was performed on foot or by carriage?
Mr. HICKMAN. On foot..
The CHAIRMAN. How far was it from the town?
Mr. HICKMAN. Oh, perhaps about a mile. I don't remember now.
The CHAIRMAN. Why did you go out of the town or in the highway?
Mr. HICKMAN. Well, we did it to be secret, for one thing.
[p.100]
The CHAIRMAN. Did that make it secret, in the afternoon or in the daytime, in the highway?
Mr. HICKMAN. Well, we went away from where anyone would see the ceremony save those that would be there as witnesses.
The CHAIRMAN. Why did you want it secret?
Mr. HICKMAN. We didn't wish to create any more furore or trouble than could be helped.
The CHAIRMAN. Furore about what?
Mr. HICKMAN. About plural marriages.
The CHAIRMAN. That was a plural marriage?
Mr. HICKMAN. Yes, sir.
The CHAIRMAN. Your purpose was to consummate it with as little publicity as possible?
Mr. HICKMAN. Yes, sir.
The CHAIRMAN. After it was consummated, you then returned to Utah?
Mr. HICKMAN. Returned where?
The CHAIRMAN. To Utah.
Mr. HICKMAN. Yes, sir.
The CHAIRMAN. How long after?
Mr. HICKMAN. A week.
The CHAIRMAN. That is all.
Mr. VAN COTT. Mr. Hickman, was John W. Taylor ever a professor or instructor in the Brigham Young University?
Mr. HICKMAN. No, sir.
Mr. VAN COTT. Or M. F. Cowley?
Mr. HICKMAN. No, sir.
Mr. VAN COTT. You believed in the rightfulness of plural marriage, did you, at the time you took the second wife?
Mr. HICKMAN. I certainly did.
Mr. VAN COTT. Do you now believe or have you since the manifesto was issued, in 1890, believed in further or future polygamous marriages?
Mr. HICKMAN. Not since the manifesto.
Mr. VAN COTT. And why?
Mr. HICKMAN. Because I thought that that manifesto was binding and God's will to the people.
Mr. VAN COTT. Had the manifesto been issued at the time you took this second wife?
Mr. HICKMAN. No, sir.
Mr. VAN COTT. Has Mr. Smoot ever said anything to you regarding polygamy--that is, the future contracting of polygamous marriages?
Mr. HICKMAN. As I remember, he once told me, in conversation as a friend, that he believed there would be no more. He was not a believer in them at all since the manifesto.
Mr. VAN COTT. Did he ever call your attention to any letter?
Mr. HICKMAN. If I remember, he read me a letter. I think it was from Apostle Lyman to him..
Mr. VAN COTT. Is that the letter that was referred to by Mr. Brimhall?
Mr. HICKMAN. I should judge it was the same one.
Mr. VAN COTT. I would like to know a little more fully about this [p.101] matter than you testify to in regard to your taking the second wife up to the temple, and about that sealing.
Mr. HICKMAN. We went to the temple and went through the temple for the dead. When we were through we, asked President Winder, then the president of the temple, in regard to being married. We told him that we had been sealed for time and eternity in Old Mexico many years before, and asked him if we could be married. He made the statement that if we desired to it could be done, but we would have to have a license. But under the circumstances he took a record of our marriage and said then if we desired to come and be married according to the laws of the land, and bring a license, they would marry us, but were forbidden to do so otherwise.
Mr. VAN COTT. This McDonald you have mentioned, do you know whether he is living or dead at the present time?
Mr. HICKMAN. I have heard that he is dead.
Mr. VAN COTT. Can you remember now, calling your attention to it, whether it is A. F. McDonald or J. F. McDonald?
Mr. HICKMAN. I do not.
Mr. TAYLER. Was he an elderly man?
Mr. HICKMAN. As I remember, he was a man perhaps 55 or 60 years of age. He may have been over 60, but I never saw him but that time and once after.
Mr. TAYLER. I noticed that the Biographical Encyclopaedia, published by the church, in its description and account of Alexander Findley McDonald, first president of the Maricopa Stake of Zion, Arizona, was born September 11, 1825, which would make him 65 years old in 1890, and that he lead lived for many years at Colonia, Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico, and had been in charge down there. That age would probably correspond?
Mr. HICKMAN. I think that would correspond.
Senator McCOMAS. Mr. Hickman, what was the time of that conversation with Senator Smoot? When did it occur?
Mr. HICKMAN. It was some time last spring. Just when, I don't remember.
Senator McCOMAS. After the close of the last session of Congress, in April last?
Mr. HICKMAN. I think so.
Senator McCOMAS. What was the date, if you know, or about the time, of that letter of which you speak?
Mr. HICKMAN. I can't tell that. I don't remember recognizing the date.
Senator McCOMAS. Can you approximate it?
Mr. HICKMAN. I can not.
Senator DUBOIS. Last May, was it not?
Mr. HICKMAN. I really can not recall, but I remember it was last spring.
The CHAIRMAN. Have you anything further, gentlemen?
Mr. TAYLER. You went to Mexico to be married? You knew, of course, that there was a law against plural marriages in Utah?
Mr. HICKMAN. None, as I remember.
Mr. TAYLER. In Utah? Why did you go to Mexico to be married?
Mr. HICKMAN. For the simple reason that the brethren stated that they were not marrying any more in the United States.
[p.102]
Mr. TAYLER. Not because it was a violation of the law to be married to a plural wife in Utah?,
Mr. HICKMAN. It had not been then decided so in their estimation.
Mr. TAYLER. How old are you?
Mr. HICKMAN. I am 41.
Mr. TAYLER. You knew that the courts had decided that those marriages were unlawful, did you not?
Mr. HICKMAN. As I remember, the litigation was going on in the Supreme Court. My memory, however, does not serve me accurately.
Mr. TAYLER. We have learned many times here that it was decided in the Supreme Court in 1878.
Mr. HICKMAN. But it was repealed, I believe.
Mr. TAYLER. Oh, no. And do you not know that prior to 1890, and that that was what brought about the manifesto; innumerable polygamous Mormons had been prosecuted?
Mr. HICKMAN. Yes, sir.
Mr. TAYLER. And were in 1890 in hiding?
Mr. HICKMAN. Yes, sir.
Mr. TAYLER. Now, you married before the manifesto?
Mr. HICKMAN. Yes, sir.
Mr. TAYLER. You intended, as indeed you did, in fact, to come back to Utah and live with two wives?
Mr. HICKMAN. Yes, sir.
The CHAIRMAN. You continued to do so, as you stated in your former examination, for ten years?
Mr. HICKMAN. My wives were not in the same place, but were in the United States.
Mr. TAYLER. Where was the other wife?
Mr. HICKMAN. In Idaho nearly all the time.
Mr. TAYLER. The first wife?
Mr. HICKMAN. The second wife.
Mr. TAYLER. What was she doing in Idaho?
Mr. HICKMAN. She taught school part of the time.
Mr. TAYLER. Of course you knew all this time that it was against the law to live with two women?
Mr. HICKMAN. Yes, sir.
Mr. TAYLER. Or to have two wives?
Mr. HICKMAN. Yes, Sir.
Mr. TAYLER. How long have you known Senator Smoot?
Mr. HICKMAN. Twenty years; perhaps longer.
Mr. TAYLER. Intimately?
Mr. HICKMAN. I can't say it was intimately, but I knew him.
Mr. TAYLER. Have you any reason to suspect that he did not know you had two wives?
Mr. HICKMAN. I certainly do.
Mr. TAYLER. Was it concealed?
Mr: HICKMAN. If I might explain, I can give my reasons, if you desire.
Mr. TAYLER. Very well; I would like to have them.
Mr. HICKMAN. Soon after my marriage with my second wife she went to Idaho to live, and it was not known to the public; and during some two years after that I went East and studied. I was gone between three and four years, and when I returned she lived in Idaho most of the time. After being in Utah a year, or such a matter, I [p.103] moved to Idaho, and I had both my families in Idaho then; and five and a half years ago, or over five, I moved back to Utah, leaving my second wife in Idaho, and my second wife remained in Idaho until my first wife's death and until nearly a year afterwards. When I was engaged in the university or the academy I was very doubtful whether he knew it or not, and whether he knew anything of it until my second wife came to Utah. He may have, but, as I understand it, it was not generally known that I had two women.
Mr. TAYLER. Was it generally known that you had had two wives when you brought your second wife to Utah?
Mr. HICKMAN. Not generally.
Mr. TAYLER. I mean after you brought her did it not become known?
Mr. HICKMAN. I think so.
Mr. TAYLER. It has been generally understood in Provo what the status was of your legal relations to your present wife?
Mr. HICKMAN. I don't know what the knowledge is of the public on that.
Mr. TAYLER. There has been no studious effort to conceal that, has there?
Mr. HICKMAN. I don't know as I get your question. You said "legal rights." I don't know--if I understand your question--whether they knew that I had been married legally to my second wife or not. They knew that I lived with her.
Mr: TAYLER. You have been familiar with the doctrine of plural marriage and with the law of the church as laid down in respect to it, have you not?
Mr. HICKMAN. I think so.
Mr. TAYLER. Your first wife was not present when you were married to your second wife?
Mr. HICKMAN. No, sir.
Mr. TAYLER. You understood that that was the rule of the church--that the first wife should be present?
Mr. HICKMAN. Not necessarily.
Mr. TAYLER. You had her consent, had you?
Mr. HICKMAN. I did
Mr. TAYLER. That is all.
The CHAIRMAN. Who is your neat witness?
Mr. TAYLER. Mrs. Geddes.
Mrs. Margaret Geddes of Salt Lake City was then questioned.
During the later questioning of John Nicholson, Chief Recorder of the Salt Lake Temple, several things that Josiah had told the Committee were brought into question, and he was returned to the stand:
[p.252]
TESTIMONY OF JOSIAH HICKMAN--Recalled.
JOSIAH HICKMAN, having previously been sworn, was examined, and testified as follows:
Mr. VAN COTT. Mr. Hickman, what did you mean, in answer to one of my questions, when you answered that President Winder made a record of your plural marriage which had been celebrated in Mexico? What did you mean by the word "record!"
Mr. HICKMAN. He just had a tablet, I suppose a notebook, although I do not remember, as it has been some two years and a half ago, and took a note of our marriage, when and where.
Mr. VAN COTT. That is all.
Senator McCOMAS. Did he say why he took that note, or what he would do with it?
Mr. HICKMAN. No, sir; but he expected us to come back with our license to be married.
Senator McCOMAS. But you said that "under the circumstances he took a record of our marriage."
Mr. HICKMAN. Yes.
Senator McCOMAS. Did he indicate to you that he took that mem-[p.253]orandum of the names of the persons married, the date, and place, in order that there might be a record kept of the marriage?
Mr. HICKMAN. He made no explanation, and I gave it no further thought.
Senator McCOMAS. Did he say that he would keep a record or take a record?
Mr. HICKMAN. He took that record, but what he was to do with it I do not know; whether it was to hold it until we came and got married and then put it on the books I do not know.
Senator McCOMAS. You have no other knowledge of the reasons for taking it down?
Mr. HICKMAN. No, Sir; he just made that remark.
Senator McCOMAS. What remark?
Mr. HICKMAN. That was read.
Senator McCOMAS. What remark?
Mr. HICKMAN. Under the circumstances he would take a note of that or take it down.
Senator DuBOIS. Is it permissible for a Mormon, or was it permissible when you were married the second time, for a Mormon to enter into plural marriage without getting the consent of some one in authority in the church?
Mr. HICKMAN. No, sir. You mean in my second marriage?
Senator DuBOIS. Yes; or any second marriage.
Mr. HICKMAN. I do not think it could be done without authority.
Senator DuBOIS. Without the consent of some of the authorities? Who gave you your authority to enter into this marriage?
Mr. HICKMAN. Francis M. Lyman.
Senator DuBOIS. Was he an apostle at the time?
Mr. HICKMAN. Yes, sir.
Senator DuBOIS. And he gave his consent?
Mr. HICKMAN. Yes, sir.
Senator DuBOIS. That was in the summer of 1890?
Mr. HICKMAN. I think it was June 7, 1890; that is when the marriage was performed. I got his consent some weeks or months before.
Senator DuBOIS. You have not been married since the marriage of June 7, 1890?
Mr. HICKMAN. No, sir.
Senator DuBOIS. You have not contracted any kind of a marriage?
Mr. HICKMAN. No, sir.
Senator DuBOIS. Since that of June 7, 1890?
Mr. HICKMAN. No, sir.
Senator McCOMAS. Have you been sealed for time to any person or persons since that time?
Mr. HICKMAN. No, sir.
Thereupon (at 12 o'clock and 55 minutes p. m.) the committee took a recess until 2 o'clock p. m.
AFTER RECESS.
At the expiration of the recess the committee resumed its session.
The CHAIRMAN. Call your next witness.
Mr. TAYLER. Is Mr. Penrose present?
Charles W. Penrose, a member of the LDS Church's First Presidency was then questioned.
After obtaining nearly 4,000 pages of testimony from witnesses, including LDS President Joseph F. Smith and several apostles the Committee recommended that Senator Smoot should be expelled from Congress. The full Senate, however, influenced by President Theodore Roosevelt, allowed him to retain his seat, where he served until 1932.
--Proceedings Before the Committee on Privileges and Elections
of the United States Senate in the Matter of
the Protests Against the Right of Hon. Reed Smoot,
a Senator from the State of Utah, to Hold His Seat,
Vol. II, Washington: Government Printing Office, 1904,.
pages 93 to 103; 252 to 253.
The photo is from Mark K. Allen, The History
of Psychology at Brigham Young University,
Provo, UT: BYU Psychology Dept, p.170.
For a better understanding of Mormon polygamy, click here.
To learn about LDS Church leaders mentioned above, click here.
To read a biography of any member of Congress, click here.
To learn more about Prof. Josiah E. Hickman, click here.
To return to the Hickman Family index page, click here.
