Julia Foster

1811–1891

Sealed to Brigham Young 3 Feb 1846 — she was 35, he was 45.

This was a sealing, not a marriage in law — plural marriage had no legal standing. What that meant.

Nauvoo temple, January-February 1846

Who she was, and what happened

A full-circle case. Brigham CONVERTED her back in 1833, then MARRIED HER OFF to Jonathan Hampton - and now, thirteen years later, stood proxy for her eternal sealing to Hampton and became her husband 'for time' himself. He had been the officiant at both ends of her life. She later married Thomas Cole. Her son Brigham Young Hampton was named for him.

Key dates

1846 Sealed to him 3 Feb 1846 A sealing, not a marriage in law: plural marriage had no legal standing.
1891 Died c. 17 Jan 1891

Nothing here is inferred. Johnson's Table 1 has one date column, so where an event is documented but undated it is shown as "no date" rather than given a spurious one — the missing date is itself a fact about how these records were kept. Only two of the fifty-five have a civil marriage date; for the other fifty-three the single date records a sealing, because plural marriage had no standing in law.

What survives in her own words

Nothing from her, and no life of her written by anyone else.

None of her own. Johnson cites her SON Brigham Young Hampton's diary.

Brigham Young Hampton, Diary, holograph; Obituary, Deseret Evening News, 17 Jan 1891

15 of the fifty-five left words of their own. The rest are known only through other people's papers. What that silence means.

The record

Born: 1811
Died: c. 17 Jan 1891
Died at: Salt Lake City
Outlived Brigham Young?: Yes
Marriage or sealing: 3 Feb 1846
Her age at the marriage: 35
His age at the marriage: 45
Age gap: 10 years
Phase of his life: Nauvoo temple (Jan-Feb 1846)
Type of sealing: To Hampton for eternity, to BY for time ?
Already married to another man?: No ?
Her other husbands: (1) Jonathan Hampton (3) Thomas Cole
Widow of Joseph Smith?: No
Sexual relationship?: Not documented here
Children by Brigham Young: 0
Lived with him?: No - later married Thomas Cole
Divorce or separation: None recorded
Named in his will?: Not applicable or not recorded
Sealed to him as an adopted daughter first?: No ?
Kin tie to him or another wife: None recorded
Left the church?: Remained LDS (documented)
Remarried after Brigham Young?: YES - timing not established
Her later husband(s): Thomas Cole

Source and confidence: Turner p. 134; Johnson Table 1 n. 36

A blank or “not established here” means the fact was not documented in the sources behind this table. It does not mean zero, and it does not mean no. We leave it empty rather than guessing, because inventing a detail of her life would be another way of not listening to her. The size of that gap is the argument for the book she never got.