Most of us have heard about Brigham Young‘s 15 year-old wife Clarissa Decker. Until now she is thought to be the youngest wife of Brigham Young‘s 56 wives. The age gap between them was 27 years.

More recently, confusion over the birthdate of Brigham’s wife Elizabeth Fairchild, or maybe outright manipulation of the dates, could indicate that Brigham Young actually had a wife who was only 13 years old and there was a 29 year age gap.

We encourage all amateur historians and armchair genealogist to follow the records like we did. Don’t take our word for it. 

(Graphic on thumbnail is not Elizabeth Fairchild, but represents a 13-year-old child of the era.)