12544 S Relation St
Draper, UT, USA

National Register of Historic Places - Mary Smith House

Statement of Significance:


The Mary Smith House, built c.1883, is historically significant as one of the few remaining houses in Draper built to accommodate a polygamous family and the only known house in the community built specifically to comply with the 1882 Edmunds Act, which outlawed "cohabitation"--one man sharing his house with more than one wife. Polygamy was practiced by a minority of Mormons between its official adoption as church doctrine in 1852 and its abandonment in 1890. The Edmunds Act was one of the major steps taken by the federal government to force the Mormon church into giving up the practice. This house was probably built c.1883 in an effort to comply with the 1882 law and thereby protect Lauritz Smith, Mary's husband, from prosecution. Mary, the first wife, moved into this house, while Hannah, the second wife remained in the family home, less than a quarter-mile away (Lauritz Smith House, National Register 1983). This house documents a very significant step in Mormon society toward the abandonment of polygamy in 1890, which eventually led to statehood in 1896 and the overall mainstreaming of Mormons into the American culture.
Lauritz Smith and his wife, Mary Christina (also known as Mary Kristine Mickelsdotter) came to Utah from their native Denmark in 1854 as converts to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon or LDS church). They were married on board the ship as they crossed the Atlantic Ocean. Lauritz fell ill while crossing the plains, so Mary drove the ox team almost the entire way. They arrived in the Salt Lake Valley in October 1854 and moved, to Draper, located in the far southeast corner of the valley, the following spring. Their first home was constructed of horizontal log timbering. It was replaced by a brick salt-box type home c.1865-67 (Lauritz Smith House, National Register, 1983) located at 1350 East 12400 South in Draper. In accordance with Mormon doctrine at that time, Lauritz took a second wife, Hannah Jensen, in 1867. The 1870 and 1880 manuscript censuses show both wives living in the same household. This arrangement would change with the passage of the Edmunds Act in 1882, which made it unlawful for a man to "cohabitate."

In Draper, Lauritz functioned not only as the blacksmith for the community but also as a teacher, training others in the skills. In 1860, a man was living with the Lauritz Smith family, possibly training as a blacksmith. In addition, Lauritz assisted new Danish immigrants who often had little skills with either the English language or with the frontier world to which they had migrated.
Lauritz also functioned as a leader within the local LDS community. For a time he taught church doctrine classes to Danish members of the ward (i.e., congregation). He served for several years as a Seventy, a specialized missionary calling within the Church. In 1914 he was ordained a Patriarch in the Jordan Stake (i.e., a grouping of several wards) which covered the south end of Salt Lake Valley.

Consistent with many local leaders within Mormon communities, Lauritz took a second wife, Hannah Christina Jensen, probably in 1867. Both the 1870 and 1880 censuses show both families living together in the same household. With the passage of the Edmunds Act in 1882 and the consequent increased prosecution for polygamy, it became increasingly important for Lauritz to construct another house so his two wives could live separately. That the families appear to have lived together in one house during both the 1870 and 1880 censuses suggests that the second house for Mary was built to forestall antipolygamy prosecution, rather than smooth out any family relations. It seems almost definite that the Mary Smith house dates from 1882 or later, after the passage of the Edmunds Act.5

Following the increased activity of federal officials in prosecuting polygamy, Lauritz officially lived for some time with Mary in this house on Relation Street. Meanwhile, Hannah used her maiden name in legal documents. Lauritz and Mary sold approximately 33.5 acres to "Hannah C. Jensen" in October 1889 and about 4.55 acres to her on May 6, 1919. Likewise, the censuses of 1900 and 1910 show her as Hannah C. Jensen, head of the house, and list her children. Despite maintaining an appearance of separation, Lauritz continued marital relations with both wives. Hannah and Lauritz had a son in 1882, twin daughters in 1885, and their last child in 1891.

Around 1907, Lauritz and Mary moved from the Mary Smith house. Karen Smith, a great-great-granddaughter of Mary who now lives in the Mary Smith house, indicates that when Lauritz and Mary grew so old that they could no longer care for themselves, Mary moved into her son Joseph M.'s house with his family, and Lauritz moved back into the original home with Hannah. Ann Smith Garfield remembers that her grandmother, Mary, lived in the house alone for several years, and her grandfather lived "with Aunt Hannah." (Plural wives were frequently referred to as 'aunt' by children of their 'sister' wives.) It is likely Mary Smith was eighty when she moved, making it 1907. This approximately coincides with her grandson Joseph Lauritz's marriage and moving to the house.

Joseph Lauritz Smith was the oldest son of Joseph Michael (Joseph M.). According to Mrs. Fairbourn and Mrs. Garfield, Joseph M. received title to Mary's house in exchange for caring for her when she moved in with his family. Joseph M. transferred the title to his son when he married. The 1910 census shows Mary living with Joseph M., and Lauritz living with "Hannah C. Jensen" as a "lodger". Joseph L., his wife, Melissa, and daughter June were living in their own house at that time--apparently Mary's former house."

Polygamy and Polygamous Housing

Polygamy was perhaps the single-most defining element of Mormonism in the nineteenth century; it was certainly the most sensationalized facet. Though a few church leaders were reportedly taking plural wives as early as 1841, it was not until 1852 that the practice was openly promoted as church doctrine and even as a requirement for those wishing to obtain the highest degree of exaltation. Church leaders suspended the practice in 1890 after considerable pressure from the federal government that threatened the viability of the church as an institution. But it took almost fifteen more years for the practice to actually die out within the church. A 1904 resolution reaffirmed the church's opposition to the practice and threatened excommunication for those who persisted."

During the forty years, polygamy was acceptable within the Mormon church, relatively few members actually participated. Estimates of the percentages of Mormon

polygamists have ranged from three percent to twenty-three percent of the adult population. A figure somewhere in the range of 10-15 percent is probably a reasonable estimate. The records to support actual statistics are simply not available.

An examination of the 1880 manuscript census for Draper reveals five polygamous households out of a total of 87 (approximately six percent of the households)." This included three men who each had two wives living in one house, one man with three wives, and one plural wife living in her own house. Lauritz Smith and his two wives were one of the first groups. Given these 1880 numbers, only five women would have had to move out of their shared household and into a separate home in order to comply with the 1882 Edmunds Act. The Mary Smith house is the only known house in Draper that was built for that purpose. Others may exist, but they have not been identified.
Polygamous housing arrangements were, in general, either shared households or separate houses. The major types include the following:
(1) A single house shared by two or more wives and their families. This was probably the most common arrangement because it was less expensive than having separate houses.
(2) A combination of shared and separate households, wherein two or more houses accommodated three or more wives, with some of the wives sharing a house. The Watkins-Coleman House in Midway (National Register) is a good example of this arrangement. Watkins shared a large house with two of his wives, and a third wife lived in a separate house a block away.
(3) Separate houses located adjacent to one another, arranged as a kind of family complex. This housing type is quite rare; perhaps the best example is the George Q. Cannon complex located at approximately 1400 South 1000 West in Salt Lake City.
(4) Separate houses in separate locations in the same town. This is probably the most common separate-house arrangement.
(5) Separate houses in different communities. This arrangement was probably much less common originally, though perhaps more prevalent after the 1882 Edmunds Act which forced a distancing of men from their plural wives. Moving a wife to another community, often to live with one of her relatives, was a frequent solution.
(6) Large, communally-run houses designed expressly for polygamy. These were rare, usually limited to only the wealthiest and most-married men. The most prominent example is Brigham Young's Lion House.